(Photo: The Wichita Eagle)
Campus Clash
(25) Kansas State Wildcats at (16) Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas State: The last time I saw them play, they lost a tough game against the Texas Longhorns in overtime. To this day, Chris Kileman has defeated every other team in the Big-12 except for one, those Longhorns I just mentioned. They were able to bounce back in a strong way against the Baylor Bears at home on Saturday behind a strong day at the office from Will Howard and DJ Giddens. Will threw three touchdown passes and DJ added on 115 yards rushing. What makes this Kansas State team flow is they have two formidable Quarterbacks and that can confuse a defense. It hasn’t just been Will Howard, Don’t forget Freshman Avery Johnson who will take over when Will is gone. Back to Will for a quick second, he’s put together a strong season throwing 21 touchdown passes with eight interceptions. Their offense does more than enough to get the ball up and down the field and their defense is one of the best in the conference. Opponents are just averaging 18 points per contest on this Wildcats defense and their biggest strength is limiting the opposition’s ground game. They may not be the exciting team such as a Texas or the Oklahoma Sooners (when they want to show up). They are a disciplined group that can score when the opportunity presents itself and they can play that stingy defense. On Saturday night, they will make a trip to Lawrence for a rivalry game.
Kansas: The schools known as college basketball blue bloods have also been making nice names for themselves in college football. I’m talking about the Duke Blue Devils, the North Carolina Tar Heels and even the Kentucky Wildcats have been relevant the last few years. So many programs looking for a Head Coach had the opportunity to hire Lance Leipold and they all hired other candidates instead. Once the Kansas Jayhawks were looking for a Head Coach after Les Miles and Lance fell right into their laps. It was also a hand and glove fit. Yes, in the first year, they did go 2-10 and last year, they got off to a quick start and finished with a 6-7 record. This year, they sit at 7-3 and have one of the biggest upsets in the country a few weeks ago over the then sixth ranked Oklahoma Sooners. Most recently, Kansas dropped a close game to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and struggled to get much of anything going. It also doesn’t help their cause when your two Quarterbacks are both hurt and the third stringer is in to try and get things going, but they just couldn’t. Cole Ballard is the Quarterback I’m talking about and he didn’t look bad against Texas Tech, but he wasn’t sharp either if that makes sense. He only completed nine of his 20 pass attempts for 124 yards and an interception. Cole also rushed ten times for 20 yards. We can play the what if game all we want, but what if Jalon Daniels didn’t get injured? It’s a completely different ball game. The Jayhawks will return home for a rivalry game on Saturday night with the Wildcats from Manhattan, Kansas coming to town.
Kansas State X-Factor: Austin Moore– This kid is a tackling machine. Austin was meant to play Linebacker. He’s that read and react guy meaning he watches the play unfold, then he reacts and makes a play on the football. Austin said before the season in an interview that he wanted to be more of a leader on this defense and he was talking about being that guy that his teammates can point too and say that’s our voice. This year, he leads Kansas State in tackles with 54.
Kansas X-Factor: Cole Ballard– With Jason Bean and Jalon Daniels both hurt for Kansas, Cole will be the starting Quarterback. What people need to understand is this kid is only 18 years old and is still developing. He won’t come out and fire away. Football is a game where you need to let everything come to you and that’s exactly the situation Cole is in. He will have his hands full against a physical Wildcats defense.
Final Thoughts: Kansas bragging rights are on the line here. It’s the “Sunflower Showdown”. As of late, the Kansas State Wildcats have dominated this matchup winning the last 14 games between these two. The last time the Jayhawks won this game was back in 2008. I’m watching the Kansas defense against the Kansas State Running Back, DJ Giddens., The one thing about these Wildcats is they are going to run the football and they average a little over 200 yards on the ground. Kansas can have some success if they can neutralize the Wildcats pass rush. Ballard must also be patient and not rush things which is a tough ask of a young Quarterback making his first start in a rivalry game. I like the Kansas State Wildcats to continue their winning streak in this rivalry.
Prediction: Kansas State 30, Kansas 14
