Kansas State “Star Struck” in Colorado Game

Colorado has a secret weapon that few knew about until last Saturday. Colorado backup QB Tyler Hansen, who led Colorado to their fourth win this season by defeating KSU 14-13, was relatively unknown in the college football world. Although few knew of his football talent, many still recognize and celebrate him as a famous childhood musician from his work as a member of the popular 90's band Hanson. Tyler, along with brothers Isaac and Zachary, were famous for their 1997 hit song Mmm Bop, and redefined the term "Boy Band" drawing record crowds to their wonderful concerts.

Unaware that Hansen was even on the roster due to his redshirt status and the fact that his picture wasn't even listed in the media guide, it appears as if Kansas State just got "caught up in the moment," and fell victim to the "stop and stare" mentality that often accompanies a celebrity sighting. Colorado coach Dan Hawkins inserted Hansen into the game following a mediocre performance by his son Cody, and he immediately ignited the Buffaloes leading them to the victory on an incredible 7 of 14 passing effort gaining a mind boggling 71 yards with 1 touchdown.

The Kansas State secondary was torched on a couple of plays, including the touchdown pass to Colorado WR Scotty McKnight. KSU defensive back Josh Moore said, "I didn't even see the play coming. All I could think about was that beautiful, long blond hair that I used to watch on TV bobbing up and down to Mmmm.Bop." Kansas State Defensive lineman Ian Campbell said, "Damn, not only did they score a touchdown, but now I can't get that stinkin' song out of my head!"

Kansas State coach Ron Prince defended his squad saying, "It's sometimes hard to keep your wits about you when you're surrounded by such stardom." He did go on to say, "All that aside, we do however need to do a better job staying focused on the football field".

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to get any easier for the Wildcats as they take on the Oklahoma Sooners next week, who have Juaquin Iglesias listed on their roster. Juaquin is of course the youngest son of legendary Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, Sr. and brother to pop star Enrique Iglesias.

Hopefully the Wildcats can find some focus this week and concentrate on a little football as their fans are growing weary of their consistently uninspired and futile efforts.

Scouting Tech: Mike Leach on Dating

Tuesday Recycle: OU Recovery + Mike Leach

RECOVERING FROM OU
If you're not quite feeling so Rock Chalky after a loss, tune into Brian Hanni and David Lawrence on KLWN on Monday night. They do a great job of putting some perspective on the result. We did go on the road and test what is one of the elite teams in the country for roughly 2.5 to three quarters despite two giveaways. Sure the pass D got torched again, but I did like the early game pass rush. Interesting move by OU to roll away from that early on.

ON THE TURNOVERS
Perhaps it's time to focus on a little more ball security in big games. Eliminate that action and maybe we are right in the mix until the end.

MY MIKE LEACH MOMENT
Did you hear Leach get a dig in on the North during his interview on College Football Live on Sunday night? The question was something about his tough schedule. He said he alway's expect that since he started coaching in the Big 12, especially since the play in the South. It's a bit of a reach, but I'd put it on the bulletin board.

THIS YEAR'S KANSAS
So far the Pokes are giving this a real go as now hearing things like, "best start since 1945." Yep, Oklahoma State moved on with a solid 34-6 win over Baylor, but the real frenzy would start with a win at Texas.

Full list of perfect teams and next opponent:
Oklahoma State 7-0 at Texas
Penn State 8-0 at Ohio State
Texas 7-0 vs OSU
Texas Tech 7-0 @ Kansas
Alabama 7-0 at Tennessee
Ball State 7-0 vs E Michigan
Utah 8-0 vs Bye Week
Boise State 6-0 at San Jose St (FRI)

Off the List:
BYU lost at TCU 32-7 after climbing to #9

Around the Big 12: Week #8

It's clear now, the South rules ... 1-7 vs the North.

1 (A+ 99%) - Texas (7-0) #1, s = 12
I'm not sure what an Orakpo is but I want one. OSU visits next Saturday.
(HD rank 4-4-3-3-3-3-1-1)

2 (A 95%) - Oklahoma State (7-0) #8, s = 67
OSU will be looking to "shock the world" in Austin next Saturday. They'll actually have to play better than they did in Columbia.(HD rank 6-6-6-7-6-6-2-2)

3 (A 94%) - Oklahoma (6-1) #4, s = 3
I guess the Sooners will be rooting for OSU next week. They have a nice rest week planned in Manhattan.
(HD rank 1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3)

4 (A- 92%) - Texas Tech (7-0) #6, s = 81
Mike Leach adds the last minute touchdown to make it look convincing against A&M 43-25. Going to Lawrence to finally play in a big game.
(HD rank 5-5-4-4-4-4-4-4)

5 (B 85%) - Missouri (5-2) #18, s = 2
That one was for mature audiences only, but the Tigers still indicate that winning the north will be no problem.
(HD rank 2-2-2-2-2-2-5-5)

6 (B 84%) - Kansas (5-2) #22, s = 32
Well, the Hawks should be prepared for Tech. Finally, a big game in Lawrence.
(HD rank 3-3-5-6-5-5-6-6)

7 (C 75%) - Nebraska (4-3) #45, s = 16
Hey, it kind of seemed like old times with the 35-7 win at Ames. Beating Baylor at home doesn't seem like to much to ask.
(HD rank 8-7-7-8-8-8-9-7)

8 (C- 70%) - Colorado (4-3) #49, s = 6
You can't say the 14-13 home win over KSU was a work of art, but it was a nice way to recover from the early schedule. Travelling to Columbia could cause a serious relapse against the "angry" Tigers.
(HD rank 7-8-8-5-7-7-10-8)

9 (D+ 69%) - Kansas State (4-3) #67, s = 83
Any kind of win at Boulder would have sufficed. That just can't happen. Up next: the Cats welcome OU to Manhattan.
(HD rank 9-9-9-10-10-11-7-9)

10 (D+ 68%) Baylor (3-4) #90, s = 54
Depending on what happens in Austin next Saturday, the 35-7 loss to OSU might not be as bad as it appeared. Going to Lincoln this week for a Husker team that looks like it wants to start picking on lightweights again.
(HD rank 11-11-10-9-9-10-8-10)

11 (D- 62%) Texas A&M (2-5) #92, s = 40
Since they gave it their best go against Tech, the Aggies move up one. They host the Cyclones for a head-to-head cellar match-up.
(HD rank 12-12-12-12-12-12-12-11)

12 (D- 61%) Iowa State (2-5) #95, s = 104
This train is going the wrong way.
(HD rank 10-10-11-11-11-9-11-12)

# = CBS Sportsline Rank

s = CBS Strength of Schedule  

Kansas vs Oklahoma Animated Drive Chart

Full Screen Version

Inside the Tent: Oklahoma 45, Kansas 31

FROM THE HEARTH ROOM
This was one of the more compelling chess matches I've watched in a while. Of course, Bob Stoops started with a few more pieces on the board, but it was still impressive the way they set up the KU defense. Once you saw OU running the ball, you knew we'd have to play straight up and that's a pretty good challenge against a talented squad like the Sooners. Essentially, after halftime, OU made the right adjustments and leaned on an overmatched KU outfit. Clearly, OU is a cut above at this point in the season, but the separation isn't quite as wide as the real score of 45-24 would indicate. The usual issue of pass rush versus secondary coverage was in plain site for all of the world to see, but there are two things that I feel were unacceptable yesterday:

1) Tackling at the line of scrimmage. Definitely an issue of playing against talented athletes and later on fatigue, but you played the gaps right most of the game but failed to bring down the ball carrier. That opened up the playbook for a dangerous offense.

2) The wideouts failiure to get separation from the OU DBs in the second half isn't a positive trend. I saw some of that in the USF game as well.

PLUS
If you can bury this game and maybe beat up a Red Raider Pinata (from Mack Brown's Pinata website) to get fired up for a homecoming win over Texas Tech, the path to the Big 12 championship is clear. Mizzou is not as bad as they've looked the last two weeks, but our schedule is going to have us fully prepared for that matchup.

MINUS
I guess the jury is still out on whether or not we can play at the "A-level" in college football with our talent set on the defensive side of the ball. They're not that far off, but we'll have to wait to see if the Jayhawk D learned anything from playing the best this Saturday. Fortunately, we have some top level talent headed into Lawrence over the next month that will give us the opportunity to see if this crew can step forward.

WORLD VIEW
We're 0-2 in big games this year, but they were both roadies. As a complete homer, I felt like we could get a winning record in the five mega-games this season (USF, OU, Tech, UT, MU). At this point, I'm sweating it a bit. Sure the toughest one is out of the way, but I don't like the 0-2 start as we all really wanted to silence the critics. We're off the radar now, so I guess the thing to do is take that and utilize it as the positive that it can be.

Game Preview: KU vs Oklahoma

Series: OU 66-27-6
Time: Saturday, Oct. 18 – 2:30 p.m. (CT)
Venue: Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (82,112)
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
TV: ABC
Line: Oklahoma (-20)

Recent History (OU 6-4)
1992 KU 27, OU 10
1993 OU 38, KU 23
1994 OU 20, KU 17
1995 KU 38, OU 17
1996 KU 52, OU 24
1997 KU 20, OU 17
2000 OU 34, KU 16
2001 OU 38, KU 10
2004 OU 41, KU 10
2005 OU 19, KU 3 in KC

Hawk Digest Oklahoma Preview Capsule

Rock Chalk RoundTable 1.3 -- OU Preview

The Rundown
The game that never was. It would have been nice to have played this one in San Antonio last December, but we'll take what we can get. There are 1,001 good reasons to win this game, but one of my favorites is the meltdown that it will cause in the Mizzou locker room prior to their game at Texas. This is the toughest game on the schedule and it seems like there are those who want to write it off in advance. I say we've been preparing for this one since we played Virginia Tech ... or really since we hired Mark Mangino. It's fantastic that Vegas has us as 20-point dogs. The deeper the perceived gap -- the better. This is the big one that KU hasn't quite been able to put in the resume yet. We've got some weaknesses, but I can't imagine a Jayhawk football team more prepared to battle a true NC contender on the road.

The Key
You know the matchups. You know we need to get past the 20 on kick returns (and cover kick returns). You know that our corners have to be in the ball game. You know that we need an up the middle/quick hit run game. However, the deciding factor will be the attitude of the Jayhawks. Are they ready to go to the next level and play with big time college football passion? Because anybody that's watched them knows they've been in a slumber for most of the season. Truly, they've looked bored on the field. When USF wilted early in the game, the Jayhawks lost interest until it was too late. That's over now. Finally, we have a team of warriors worthy of our best, so I certainly hope we give it to them.

The Bullets

• The Jayhawks have won five straight on the road in the Big 12
• KU has dropped four in row to Oklahoma
• KU has won seven straight day games
• Todd Reesing (462) needs just six completions to pass Frank Seurer (467) for the KU career completion record
• He also needs just 39 yards to pass Frank Seurer (6,112) for the KU career total offense record
• 62% (33 of 53) of Kerry Meier's receptions have produced a first down
• Kansas has posted a 5-46-1 record against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll all-time
• Most recent wins 24-21 over #5 Virginia Tech last season and 40-24 over #4 Colorado in 1995
• Mangino's wins over ranked teams: 35-14 win vs #23 MU in 2003 / 30-24 win at #24 KSU and 24-21 #Va Tech in Orange Bowl in 2008
• Since 2003 Mangino is 3-7 versus ranked teams

"Sometimes things are just going to happen like that.  Mark May of ESPN usually picks us to lose, but it doesn't bother us.  We always have a chip on our shoulder and we just want to go out there every week and show that we can play with anybody.  We are going to go out there this weekend and play with confidence and hopefully come out with a win.  I have always liked being an underdog.  It is great to prove people wrong when they pick against you."

--James Holt, on KU as an underdog

19.5 reasons why KU will beat OU

19.5 point underdogs and still going up? Here's 19.5 reasons why you are wrong:

1) Todd Reesing 17-2

2) Mark Mangino will beat Bob Stoops at some point in his career. You never know when it will happen.

3) OU lost the division last Saturday. To have any hope, they have to win every game. If a few bad things happen early on, they might start to get a little panicky as the pressure is on.

4) OU is a great team; however, can you ever remember a KU team and QB more well-equipped to take on a great team?

5) Experience against a better defense -- Virginia Tech

6) Experience against a hard-hitting defense with all kinds of athletes and the best defensive end in the nation -- USF

7) 19.5 points ... um that's a freakin' insult

8) Kerry Meier

9) Starters moving to the kick coverage unit

10) Five big games this season -- we need to get win #1 in that series

11) The game that never was -- a chance to silence those that said we wouldn't have had a chance against OU in the Big 12 Championship

12) A chance to silence Mark May for probably 30 seconds before he starts spinning

13) James Holt

14) A conference championship is the goal -- this game could get us a two-game lead in the division

15) If Texas is better than OU, then we certainly need to be able to handle the second place team in the south

16) Dezmon Briscoe

17) The Ryan Reynolds injury

18) At 3.7 ypc OU's running game isn't really all that either (KU at 3.4 ypc)

19) Joe Mortensen -- "If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best."

19.5) Inspirational presidential campaign means Jayhawks are going to get all Mavericky on OU

You Like To Watch Jake Laptad Sack Quarterbacks?

Run & Gun Investigation: OSU Gets Wind-Aided Victory

Immediately following Oklahoma State’s upset victory of the University of Missouri football team a barrage of nasty rumors surfaced that OSU and billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens may have used unethical means to assist in the Cowboys victory last Saturday. Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel, who threw three costly interceptions including the last with less than two minutes to play clinching the game for the Cowboys; was quoted as saying to the media that he “should have made all three of those throws.” However, a report later surfaced that Daniel was overheard speaking privately about the interceptions to his head coach, Gary Pinkel. One source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Daniel was complaining about an abnormal amount of strong wind that seemed to “push his passes back and in the direction of his opponents” as they were thrown. He said “there is no way a Heisman Hopeful as good as me could have made three errors like that without some other explainable cause.”

Rumors have circulated that T. Boone Pickens, a strong advocate for alternate energy sources including an enormous wind powered farm in Texas, may be the mastermind behind the shenanigans that lead to Missouri’s demise. Although, nothing has been proven at this early date, there does (at least initially) appear to be evidence linking Pickens and OSU to the possible scandal.

Columbia resident Cletus Bumpkin said, “At the time of the game no one was paying attention to them two really big fans at the end of the fields” referring to the large wind turbines that may have been strategically placed directly behind each goal post. “We just thought it was kind of hot, but in hindsight maybe we should have paid a little more attention rather than kissing up on our cousins.”

Photo: Flikr Common, Evan McKern

The Big XII has said they will investigate the issue using every resource available, including any camera video evidence that may have captured the wind turbines in action; however, they did go on to say that there must be “conclusive evidence from the booth" to overturn the results of the game.

In other news, Missouri fans nationwide are one by one conceding to KU fans that maybe Oklahoma State “isn’t a cupcake after all” as previous stated after KU’s 2007 road win in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Hey, Someone Is Giving KU A Chance In The North

Keep your eyes peeled for black helicopters Mr. Griffin. Your 36% chance for KU to win the North is going to raise a lot of eyebrows.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/big12/0-3-106/Tim-s-mailbag--More-Jayhawks-coverage-looming-from-me.html

Grant from Houston writes: How do you break down everybody's chances of winning the Big 12 South? What would your percentage chances be for everybody of winning it. And also how about for the North, too.

Tim Griffin: OK, here goes. South: Texas 40%, Oklahoma State 25%, Texas Tech 20%, Oklahoma 15% And in the North: Missouri 62%, Kansas 36%, Kansas State 2%.

Tuesday Chatter: OSU Got Lucky

MU Lineman Wasn't Impressed By OSU
Kansas City's 610 Sports had an interview with Mizzou offensive lineman Kurtis Gregory yesterday. When asked about OSU, he didn't seem to be too impressed indicating that it was more about Missouri not playing well -- a few dropped balls and missed blocking assignments. Otherwise, the Tigers would have been okay. That's not exactly the way it appeared on TV, but maybe you just had to be there.

Marcus Herford and the Kick Returns
I'm not sure how after two years of averaging around 25 yards per return you drop to 13 yards per, but I would suggest that Marcus abandon the attempt for the home run and go back to his straight line running style. Catch the ball and get up to speed -- even with the poor blocking the freeze juke is probably producing a negative four yards on each attempt.

Special Teams Hall of Famers: B-Mac and Derek Fine
If the loss of those two on special teams creates a 12-yard per return drop in average, do you think they can make the ring of honor just for special teams blocking?

"This Year's Kansas"
As Vanderbilt and Northwestern faded over the weekend, Oklahoma State becomes the last remaining "surprise" undefeated BCS team. The Cowboys will be favored when they host Baylor this week.

Full list of perfect teams and next opponent:
Oklahoma State 6-0 vs Baylor
Penn State 6-0 vs Michigan
Texas 6-0 vs Mizzou
Texas Tech 6-0 @ A&M
Alabama 6-0 vs Mississippi
Ball State 7-0 vs E Michigan
Utah 7-0 vs Colorado St
BYU 6-0 @ TCU
Boise State 5-0 vs Hawaii

Off the List:
Vandy exits with a 17-14 loss to Miss. St
Northwestern bails with a 37-20 loss to Michigan State
OSU knocks out Mizzou 28-23
Texas drops OU from the list 45-35
Florida pounds LSU 51-21