I think it's difficult to underestimate the importance of this game on Saturday. A win would mean an 8-4 record and a second-place finish in the North, and it would reestablish that KSU is *the* football program in the state of Kansas. It would stick a dagger into the ku football program and pretty much kill what little momentum they claim to have, leaving it dead in the water with Mangino playing out his string for the next year or two.
Everybody knows that we can't have a letdown after that huge win on Saturday. The fans know this. The coaches know this. The players know this. That being said, it's human nature for these 18-22 year-old kids to look at a struggling ku team after a huge win against the #4 team in the country and to let down their guard at least a bit...to expect an easier game. Here's hoping that the coaching staff finds a way to get the kids to come out fired up and still riding the momentum from this week. Perhaps the Vegas underdog card will help. The fact that it's a rivalry game, on the road, may help with that focus as well. Let's sure hope so.
ku's offense, while productive, is also inconsistent and turnover-prone. ku's best play may be the QB choice/zone read...Meier runs the fake very well and has fooled the cameraman, and the opposing defense, several times this season. It's important to slow down Cornish--he's particularly vulnerable at and behind the line of scrimmage...sometimes takes too long to hit the hole. ku's receivers are inconsistent, as well...making some nice catches followed by wide-open drops, and don't always run the best routes The moral of the story is...ku's offense is capable of making big plays, but because they can be inconsistent and don't always protect the ball, if KSU's defense plays with intensity and wraps up, we should be able to make some positive plays on D and get a couple of momentum-shifting turnovers.
ku's defense has some solid players, but they've obviously had their problems this year. Talib can definitely make the big play, but the secondary has been exposed repeatedly. If we can get some run game going, and I think we can, it should open things up for the big passing play.
Momentum and emotion will probably be the biggest factors, though. Although ku plays pretty resiliently, if we could pounce for a couple of early scores and get our defense fired up, we could win comfortably. If we fall behind, we need to keep in mind that ku's prone to the comeback. Probably the worst case scenario for us would be a game in which ku is behind by 3 or so for most of the game. This is where I could see the crowd and desperation/"make a play" factor giving ku a chance for a late drive for a win. It may be better for the Cats to be down by 3 with 5 minutes left rather than being up by 3.
In keeping with my "realist" stance throughout the season (Which has turned out to be incredibly pessimistic. 4-8?), I'll say that Meier gets injured, but Reesing runs in for a late touchdown to give ku a 24-19 win. Freeman throws for 1 TD and 2 INT. Hope I'm wrong (in a good way).
