Saturday Chatter: Concerns, Big East

Concerns, Issues ...
I would guess the word "concern" is probably the most utilized word in the college football world (print, TV, blogs, fans) during the month of September. "Issues" might rank directly behind. Still, today I would encourage KU football fans (especially the ones that have been around a while) to sit back and enjoy the atmosphere. The game shouldn't be much of a challenge, but tonight we'll be treated to great weather and a full house. Stick around for four quarters and take it all in. You only get seven/eight chances to watch football in Memorial each year.

Big 12/Big East Challenge
Baylor gave it probably their best shot but fell at UCONN 31-28. That makes the Big 12 1-3 this week versus the Big East. Of course all three losses were on the road. Still, not a good start for the Big 12 which is now 4-6 in BCS match-ups.

The Buffs
Nobody wants to play in Boulder, but still the WVA win is pretty impressive and a good way to start off the stretch of playing four straight ranked opponents. CU will travel to Jacksonville to match up against #24 FSU in two weeks then host #7 Texas in Boulder before their trip to Lawrence. We should know a lot about the Buffs by then.

USF Fans
It was interesting that the talk about USF fans getting hardcore with KU fans at the Ray Jay carried on throughout the week. More interesting was the fact that it was partially driven by apologetic Bulls fans. In fact, USF QB Matt Grothe mentioned witnessing some of the behavior as well and was pretty disappointed. Hopefully, they can work that out. I was thinking this was a good series to continue. A solid BCS opponent that gives fans a chance to go to Florida every now and then. Of course, if the game experience is brutal, then there is no reason to keep it going.

Neil Barlow De-Commits
I mentioned this in the forum, but didn't have time to post it in the main news section. WR Neil Barlow has switched to Arkansas according to Rivals. It's not the end of the world, but I have to say it sure would have been interesting to have a receiver with that kind of height and speed on deck.