Inside the Tent: Kansas 35, Iowa State 33

DJ watching the game

“Worst collective half of football since I've been here.”
--Todd Reesing

From the Living Room DVR

I believe our quarterback is referring to the first half in the quote above. And remember, Todd was here to witness the second half of the 2006 Oklahoma State game, so he's witnessed some bad football. I'm inclined to agree and right now I think I'm as confused as I ever been. I'm not surprised that the offense was able to cover a 20-point deficit in relatively short time. I'm even used to the KU offense going brain dead for back-to-back series or a quarter here and there, but this was an impressive thirty minutes of rest time that Jayhawks took in the first half. A lot of teams have played five games at this point in the season. By taking quarters off on occasion and a full half against ISU, I'd say the KU offense is the most rested unit in the nation. My estimate would be that they've played roughly 3.25 games to date. Possibly, they're just trying to make it a little more interesting like when you let the X-Box build up a 30-point lead to see if you can come back.

Still, I shouldn't be hard on this team as road trips to Ames are generally like this. Todd Reesing witnessed an aberration during his last trip to Jack Trice when KU had a rare 41-10 blow out on the Cyclones home field. As the great philosopher Luke Skywalker once said, "Overconfidence is your weakness."

For ISU road games, KU fans are more accustomed to the 13-7 freakshow loss we witnessed in 2004 or the 50-47 torture-fest from 1992. For future reference, it doesn't matter if they put a knitting club in yellow and red uniforms, you better be ready to play on down number one when you go to Ames.

And on Defense 

If I'm an NFL scout, I have got to go find James McClinton and sign him to a contract immediately. It's clear now that McClinton and Aqib Talib were the two best defensive players in the history of college football. There is just no way a defense can regress this much with the loss of two players. Again, it's feels wrong to bash the defense when they were able to force a pair of field goals in the first half while playing nearly the entire half. Plus, they just dominated the third quarter. Unfortunately, KU's dirty little secret was blatantly on display. The best place to play KU is from behind -- when you have to pass every down. Clint Bowen will not blitz on your half of the field with the lead. So, you can get nice and warmed up as an opposing QB in the fourth quarter. You'll have all day to throw against the first down three-man rush. By the time he starts blitzing when you've reached the KU 35-yard line, you should be nice and warmed up.

Note to Big 12 quarterbacks* -- invite NFL scouts to visit during the second half of your date with Jayhawks.

In Conclusion

Okay, each unit played roughly 30 minutes each and we still won a road game in Ames after falling into a 20-point chasm. Considering the 17-7 Oklahoma affair last year in Ames, I think I might consider possibly thinking about being okay with that. I would also like to request that the team go back to playing three quarters per game and at least move for a referendum on playing a full four quarters in Norman.

The Randoms

• I have to admit -- there were a few times during that game that I thought we might not win 
  
• Well, we finally saw a running game, but I wonder when we'll see Jocques Crawford again.
• When I said there was a likely Big 12 upset on deck for Saturday, I really wasn't intending for it to be us.
• I don't know if Kerry Meier is right- or left-handed, but if he is a righty, do you know how hard it is to catch a ball over the head on your right shoulder? This guy is an awesome wide receiver -- definitely the best KU wideout I've seen since Isaac Byrd.
• Great game for Jake Sharp. A welcome addition to the season 
• Not a bad start for Dexton Fields -- I really wanted him to get to the endzone on that play 
• Mike Rivera played like the man that I remember 
• 1-0 in conference -- that's all that matters  

 *Does not apply to Chase Daniel or Graham Harrell.