🏀 KuBuckets Archive

It's quite discouraging to be a three TD dog to IState, but good for them. Maybe our coaches will learn something. I'm hoping IState suffers a hangover from the upset of OU and we pull the upset this week.

The first quarter has taken an hour to play. We need to rush the ball and take some time off the clock.

Looking at the Big 12 statistics, Joe Dineen continues to be a bright spot for our KU defense. He's first in tackles per game and leads in tackles for loss. Dineen has a total of 52 tackles through four games, which is an average of 13 tackles/game. That's 6 more tackles than second place ISU's LB, Lanning.

Joe Dineen also leads the conference in tackles for loss with 9. So, at least Joe shows up to play defense for our Jayhawks. I hope he has about a million tackles today against TTech.

Difficult games to predict this week. Here are my week 5 Big 12 predictions:

I State over Texas

KState over Baylor

OState over Texas Tech

If the dadgum defense will just get some pressure on the QB, I call us even money against KState, IState and Baylor. Our success or lack on success is on Bowen's shoulders the rest of the year.

@jayballer54 I agree other team's are focusing on Armstrong, but too many times I've seen him miss a tackle in space. If other team's are doubling Armstrong, then it should be easier for the other defenders to get to the QB. Not, so; no one is getting to the QB. My criticism is with Bowen and the defensive staff, not so much with Armstrong. Our defensive scheme made the MAC QBs look like NFL Pro Bowlers.

The offense is fine with Bender at QB. We are averaging 32+ points a game with Bender and Coach Meacham. We only averaged 19 points a game last year. I give Meacham credit for exploiting the weak rush defense of W V. My goodness, it was wonderful to see our rushes work.

If we had this year's offense coupled with last year's defense, we would have the competitive team that all of us crave. The defense gave up 49 points to W V. It's not reasonable to require 50+ points from the offense in an effort to overcome such a weak defense that Bowen is fielding this year. Where the hell is the pass rush? The only sack was by Joe Dineen and as a team we only had 4 QB hurries for the game. W. V. passed 39 times, during which we had 1 sack and 5 hurries, which is pressure on less than 13% of the pass attempts. Armstrong and the rest of the D line are just complete non-factors this year. Armstrong only had 1 solo tackle (3 total), compared to 11 (14 total) for Dineen. Lee had 10 tackles and Torneden had 9 tackles.

The solution to KU football being more competitive this year is on the defensive side of the ball, not bringing in Carter Stanley. I think the offense will improve slightly as the season goes on, but not enough to overcome the collapse by Bowen's defense.

It's on the defense now to get a big stop. Come on fellas: 3 and OUT. RCJHF

@Texas-Hawk-10 It won't be by Coach Beaty. During the pregame, CB spoke very highly of the job Bowen is doing.

Ouch, 3 and out for us. Our defense is going to get worn down, just like last year.

Our defense needs to step up right now and get a stop. 3 and out, please. Another TD here and I think our guys will just go through the motions to finish out the game.

What's the crowd look like? 15,000. Pathetic.

For week 4, I pick:

W Virg over KU

Houston over TTU

Oklahoma over Baylor and

OSU over TCU

I see some progress on the offensive side of the ball. The offense still has a long way to go before other teams worry about us, but I do see progress. Why isn't Coach Beaty talking about the defense and its failure to put enough pressure on quarterbacks? The C Mich and Ohio QBs got to stand in the pocket and look the field over for as long as they wanted. No pressure at all. So far this year, our lack of competitiveness lies wholly on the failure of the defense.

@justsayn OK, you support Coach Beaty and KU football. Good. So do the rest of us who post here. I don't doubt for one second that Coach Beaty puts in an extraordinary effort for our program. I like the guy. But, lack of wins is not acceptable. I probably paid too much attention to all the accolades and hyperbole for our team during the off season. I expected much more from the defense this year, especially the defensive line. How do you explain the drop off in the defense this year? Hey, welcome to the board and I hope you keep posting.

@kjayhawks When Coach Beaty cried after the Texas win, I doubted he had the right mindset to be a winning coach. Great person, yes. But, winning coach, no. What other D1 coach would you expect to show that much emotion after an upset win? Coach Snyder? Coach Mangino? There's no crying in football, ever.

I still consider the Terry Allen teams as the worst teams since I started following KU football in 1973. Those teams were described as being on the level of high school teams. This year, I've been told by the media and KU staff that this team has very good athletes. If that's true, don't we then have to place the blame solely with the coaching staff?

Let's see if Coach Bowen can fix the defensive deficiencies we saw last week. I'm really discouraged by how poorly the defense played.

For week 3 I pick:

W Virg over Del St

Ohio over KU

I St over Akron

OSU over Pitt

Duke over Baylor

TCU over SMU

Okla over Tulane

Vandy over K St

TTech over A St

USC over TX

OK this is fun, but because I picked I State to lose, I was rooting against them in OT and I'm pretty sure that's why they lost. Normally, I always root for the Big 12 teams, even K State.

Isn't it our best guess that Carter Stanley is hurt? A wrist or hand injury of some sort? So, Peyton Bender is our guy. He does many good things, but sure forces the ball at times and overthrows routes at times. The C Mich defensive line played way better than our offensive line did. Peyton didn't always have enough time to complete his reads. C Mich just outplayed us on offense and defense. The loss is really that simple.

Another big penalty against us. WT_ heck. We keep killing ourselves.

Alright, 10-6. Our offensive line must do better. C Mich's defensive line in dominating our's.

I've got the pregame on now and I wish I was there. Very important game for Coach Beaty.

Really big game today that will show the exact development of Coach Beaty's program. Are we competitive with a middle of the pack MAC team. We need Peyton Bender to be on target today and not throw any passes behind his receivers. Our receivers must step up on their routes and must refuse to allow a defender to intercept a pass. I hope Dom Williams gets the start. He certainly was our only running back last week who found a way to advance the ball. Let's get it done 'Hawks.

@Crimsonorblue22 I saw quite of few people at the SEMO game with their own chair backs. I thought we were prohibited from bringing our own chairs. Maybe they made on exception for the first game with the new rules.

Great win. Great start to the season. Alex Smith was the man. But, 4 hours to play a game. Come on now. The families who attended the game were driving home at 1 am. I thought the NFL was trying to keep game times down to 3 hours.

Very glad to have Joe back. Loneker had 2 tackles, Kyron Johnson had 3 and Ogbebor had 2. Joe Dineen sure carried the load for the linebackers last week.

Week two:

Ok State over S Alabama

K State over Charlotte

W Virginia over E Carolina

Iowa over I State

Texas over San Jose St

TCU over Arkansas

Kansas over C Michigan

Ohio St over Oklahoma

Baylor over UT San Antonio

Now I know why others had to double space between games.

@Texas-Hawk-10 My concern over time of possession is just that in the last several years our defense has simply worn down by the late third quarter due to all the 3 and outs by our offense. Last year we were nearly even with O State until late in the third Q, when they went on a scoring run. I hope our better depth helps us defend all game long.

I see that Central Michigan presents a more balanced offense with 50 rushes and 49 passes against Rhode Island Saturday. All the central players on offense for Central Mich are seniors, the QB and the top two running backs and wide receivers. It's going to be one tough ballgame on Saturday.

I finally found a box score of the Redhawks game. The announced attendance of 32,000 felt much bigger. The only noticeable empty seats were in the bowl behind the ill-advised beer garden and in the two sections on the east side for the Redhawk fans. Only about 12 Redhawk fans bothered to attend. If you haven't been to a game lately, it really is quite a show. There's a lot of excitement and merriment at Memorial Stadium. The huge posters on the outside of the stadium are great. Good food too; Way more choices than just the old hotdog or cheeseburger choices.

The time of possession stat and the snaps from scrimmage both favored the Redhawks. 35 min to 25 min tells me we've got a lot of work to do on offense to give the defense a break. Maybe our quick scoring drives on 3 series was the difference here. The Redhawks ran 15 more offensive plays than we did. The defense stopped 14/20 3rd down attempts and 3/4 4th down attempts.

Next Saturday against the Chippewas will be a good indication of our level of competiveness. It took 2 OTs for Central Michigan to beat Rhode Island, so it would appear they too will be looking to improve. RCJHF

@Texas-Hawk-10 I always appreciate your knowledgeable input. I'm glad you saw more positives than I did. The offensive line gave Bender plenty of time to throw. Dom Williams found space to run. The defensive line did put pressure on Hosket. And the kicking game looked good all around. But, there's plenty of film being watched and critically evaluated today. I hope we improve a lot by next Saturday.

@mayjay My most fond memories of four years at KU don't have anything to do with academics. My best memories are of going to KU football and basketball games with friends and cheering hard for our guys. When I was in school there wasn't any television coverage of the away games, but you could go anywhere in Lawrence and hear the radio broadcasts of the games from stereos and cars. It was great. Even though my college buddies are spread out from coast to coast, I still text them during games to get their responses. RCJH

My strongest impression of Saturday's game wasn't about the team at all. We had a great crowd for the game and seeing Coach Mangino, Todd Reesing, Aquib Talib and the others was great. It was the biggest crowd I've seen in 5 years and most of the students were gone because of the holiday. The beer garden in the bowl is pretty stupid though. I like it when the bowl is full of fans, not a two story structure that blocks the bowl.

KU football was underwhelming. If SE Mo really is the 7th best team in the 9 team Ohio Conference, we've got a long ways to go to be competitive. Peyton Bender made some passes, but he also missed some throws-badly. Our defense didn't dominate the Redhawks like I thought we should. Our offensive line didn't open a single lane for the running backs all evening. Plenty of wood still needs to be sawed on both sides of the ball. After tolerating the insulting game Beaty played with naming a starting QB, my biggest hope is that Beaty and Meacham chose not to show their cards against the Redhawks and will roll out the real offense next week. But hey, we've got a keeper in Dom Williams. Let's build a running game around that guy, coach.

kj: I do plan to go to the Central Michigan game. Of course things could change, but my plan is to be there. We will set a place and time to meet. I thought about making a stoptheflop t-shirt, but haven't gotten around to it. We sure could use a few more regular posters on here.

@Crimsonorblue22 I hope you and your family have a great time. I'm really looking forward to a good game by our rebuilding Jayhawks and to all the accolades and festivities surrounding the 2007 team. RCJHF

I like the idea of posting our predictions each week in a friendly competition. I haven't studied this week's games at all, except for our game. I'll just go on record predicting all Big 12 teams will win. I assume our schools are smart enough to pick opponents they will most likely beat to start their seasons right. I plan to be in Lawrence by 3 PM Saturday and to get to the stadium early. Thank goodness my wife is very patient with my devotion to KU football. RCJHF

I want this game to be a solid, but conservative offensive performance. Solid. Bender takes care of the ball and doesn't turn it over. RBs find some holes and make consistent gains. WRs run accurate routes and make some decent catches. On defense, this should be a confidence building game. The secondary should be able to break up pass plays and the defensive line should get 5 or 6 sacks. My hope is to dominate the game on both sides of the ball and come out with no injuries. All eyes then on the Central Michigan game where we will run more of the offense and the defense better bring the heat. RCJHF

I agree with the designation of one starter and then sticking with him for a least the first three games. Last year I didn't know Cozart was going to start until he took the field for the first offensive series against Rhode Island. It's silly to think waiting until game time to show our hand at QB gives us some advantage over an opponent that we should be able to beat without any trickery.

I thought we needed more down field pass plays last year and fewer sideline passes. I always thought our QBs had enough time to throw the 15 yd. pass, but our pass plays were in the 0-6 yd. range. I sure hope Coach Meacham airs out the Air Raid offense. RCJHF

The Central Michigan game on Sept. 9 is going to definitively show how much progress Coach Beaty and staff are making. A win against the Chippewas will propel this team to a good season. A loss isn't the end of a successful season, but will demonstrate that Coach Beaty has much more work to do and that other posters' predictions of a longer rebuilding process are correct. 40,000 fans in the stands for the Central Michigan would sure help our players. They certainly deserve our support. RCJHF

I'm expecting Hurricane Meacham to unload a torrential offensive storm on the poor, poor Redhawks. The Jayhawk Air Raid Offense will rain down points from all directions. Be safe Texans, but look out Redhawks.

Thanks for all the replies. I sure would like to see more football discussion here since the season starts in a few days. I hope I'm not taking SE MO too lightly, but it should be a nice warm up game for the rest of the season. The Redhawks were just 3 and 8 last year, but played Memphis more competitively than we did. The Redhawks do return their starting QB from last year. Our team talent is on the rise and we will be competitive with everyone on our schedule this year. I'm looking forward to at least four wins this season and I won't be surprised by one or two more. RCJHF

@kjayhawks The September 7 SE MO game and the recognition of the 2007 Orange Bowl team is the perfect way to start the 2017 season. Fans will be able to tailgate all afternoon ahead of the 6 PM start. This is a game to enjoy because the real season starts on Sept. 9 with the 3 PM Central Michigan game. RCJHF

I'm really happy that we are honoring Coach Mangino and the entire 2007 team. It's smart to reflect on all the positives from the Mangino era and to let the negatives recede into the past where negatives should go and stay. As Kansas football rebuilds under Coach Beaty, it's important to use all available tools to assist and encourage the current players and coaching staff. Come on now, the 100 or so viewers here: Please make plans to attend the SE Missouri game. RCJHF

@approxinfinity It's going to be fun getting to know Newman's shooting motions. So far, he isn't worrying about squaring up and having both feet set, like Frank and Devonte. It seems like his lower body is all over the place depending on what he needs for balance. He's built much bigger than any guard I can remember since Darnell Valentine. RCJH

@Crimsonorblue22 They're just foam triangles. I saw a couple of our players hit them in the second game; they didn't seem to mind the foam ads.

Lightfoot already with 2 fouls and Doke's out. Look out.

@RockChalkinTexas I just use our local radio station, KFH 1240 AM in Wichita.

I didn't spring for the video, so I'm listening on the computer/radio feed. Thanks again to BShark for reposting the first two exhibition games from another site. Lots of fun watching KU basketball in August. RCJH

I still think Svi will earn back his starting spot. We are going to need the extra height he brings over Vick. Anyone else think it will be Doke, Preston, Svi, Newman and Graham starting on Oct. 31 against Pittsburg St.?

Doke must stay healthy and find his FT touch for us to go the distance. You can see he's working on finding a FT form that works for him. In the second Ex. game he moved off-center at the FT line. So, he's trying some things out. I hope he shoots about a million FTs in the next 3 months.

I sure like Marcus Garrett's energy. He'll be a great energy guy off the bench like Vick has been doing for us. RCJH