Kind of a chill weekend, with the holiday ahead of us. M does not come home until Tuesday so it was the usual crew around the house. L had a game Friday, more on that later. The weather was nice, so S and I did some yard work at a sister\u2019s house Sunday. And a fair amount of football, the biggest game being a certain showdown in a certain state when a certain blogger attended college.<\/p>\n
Ugh.<\/p>\n
Uggggghhhhhhh.<\/p>\n
So freaking close to ending the 14-game losing streak to the Wildcats, closing out the current edition of Booth Memorial Stadium with a huge win, and going to Cincinnati next weekend with a chance for win #8, the program\u2019s most since 2007.<\/p>\n
The first four minutes could not have gone worse for KU, giving up a long pass on K-State\u2019s first play then letting them score soon after, and following that up with a quick three-and-out. K-State is not a team you can get behind under normal circumstances. When you\u2019re playing with your third-string quarterback, there is way less room for mistakes.<\/p>\n
Fortunately the KU defense bucked their heads on K-State\u2019s second drive, then Devin Neal got busy. Two Neal touchdowns had KU a PAT away from a touchdown lead in front of a frenzied home crowd. So naturally KU decided not to block a dude, who smothered the kick and then ran it back for a safety. Instead of 14\u20137, it\u2019s 13\u20139 and KU fans are getting a queasy feeling in their stomaches.<\/p>\n
Still KU led by four at halftime, and quickly added another Devin Neal TD early in the third quarter to extend the lead.<\/p>\n
Then came the play of the game. Senior linebacker Rich Miller had a sure pick-six in his hands. And he dropped it. It was inevitable that KSU would rip off a long run on the next play, and eventually punch it in and get the two-point conversion to cut the lead to three. The game might have been over if Miller walks that interception into the end zone. Seriously, he could have done cartwheels into the end zone. Maybe he was trying to do just that and that\u2019s why he dropped it.<\/p>\n
Now it was just a question of how KU would find a way to blow the game. Turns out it was by fumbling a punt at midfield early in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Such a dumb play. So, so stupid. I don\u2019t want to kill the kid who made the blunder, but he did the exact same thing in the Oklahoma game. JUST CATCH THE DAMN BALL.<\/p>\n
31\u201327 Kansas State, final. Which, if KU blocks that guy in the first half and then K-State doesn\u2019t go for two in the third quarter, it\u2019s actually a tie game as KU drove late. And instead of getting picked off in the end zone on fourth down, they kick the short field goal to take the lead in the closing minutes.<\/p>\n
Who am I kidding? If the game was tied and it came down to a field goal attempt, KU would have missed it. Or K-State would have blocked that one and run it back.<\/p>\n
Sigh.<\/p>\n
A game effort from KU when a lot was stacked against them. The offensive coaches had a pretty great plan for limiting what freshman Cole Ballard had to do, and he played a nearly perfect game in the first half. It felt like KU ran out of wrinkles in the second half, though, and Ballard was asked to do more than he is capable of at the moment. He was lucky that a couple bad balls weren\u2019t picked, then luckier when his first interception was negated two plays later by a Mello Dotson pick. I can\u2019t fault Ballard for the interception on KU\u2019s final offensive play. It wasn\u2019t a great throw and as the Fox announcers pointed out, the KU receivers did not run great routes. I was more annoyed that since KU knew it needed a touchdown, that Neal didn\u2019t touch the ball on first or second down. Passing early with an inexperienced quarterback against a good defense seemed like a real reach. Give your stud who grew up in Lawrence hating Kansas State a couple shots at punching it in.<\/p>\n
Oh well. KU did a lot right Saturday and aside from three mistakes, did more than enough to win the game. Those three mistakes were huge, though, and K-State took advantage of each one. That\u2019s where KU is trying to get, when you are the team that holds steady in the game\u2019s biggest moments. The Jayhawks are closer, so much closer than they have been for years, but they still aren\u2019t there yet.<\/p>\n
Throw in the fourth quarter collapse in Stillwater and the funkiness last week against Tech, and KU is very close to being 10\u20131. 9\u20132 is much more realistic. 7\u20134 with one to play is nothing to be mad about, especially at KU. But Saturday was a huge missed opportunity.<\/p>\n
I have to say I got sick of all the KU-KState \u201cbanter\u201d on Twitter. It\u2019s one thing to talk shit with your rival. But a lot of what happens on Twitter is just dumb, lacking in either thought or foundation in facts. I guess that kind of sums up social media, right? I miss the old, third party Twitter apps that allowed you to mute people for specific amounts of time and then automatically bring them back into your feed. Maybe the Tech Toddler will post some more racist\/anti-semitic stuff and he\u2019ll get bought\/forced out and some new ownership will bring back those options.<\/p>\n
In other college football news, I\u2019ve never felt strongly about Michigan. Pretty much everyone here in Big 10 country seems to hate the school and their fans. In the time we\u2019ve lived here, Ohio State has generally been the better team, so I\u2019ve learned to hate Buckeyes fans more than Wolverines fans. The only Michigan person I know is pretty cool, plus he\u2019s an Indy native so his Hoosier DNA balances some of that Wolverine douchiness.<\/p>\n
But the last couple weeks have flipped that.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not super fired up about the Michigan sign stealing scandal. Everyone is trying to steal signs. You can\u2019t tell me every program doesn\u2019t have some grad assistant watching tape and trying to match up formations with whatever signs they can pick up on the sidelines, looking for an advantage.<\/p>\n
And I feel like whatever Michigan was doing was way less egregious than what the Houston Astros did. A baseball hitter knowing whether the next pitch is a fastball or off-speed makes a huge difference in their approach. I don\u2019t think stealing signs in football gives you the same advantage, as it\u2019s an 11-v\u201311 matchup, and if you adjust your defense, the offense can audible to another call. Plus pretty much every coach who has talked about it claims they often rotate their signals, so what you learned in week three may have no relevance in week six.<\/p>\n
That said\u2026Michigan fans need to shut the fuck up. This whole Michigan Vs. Everybody bullshit is so fucking dumb. You had a booster paying someone to go to games and steal signs. That seems a little dirty, even if 90% of other coaches are smacking their heads because they didn\u2019t think of it first. And it\u2019s pretty telling when the Big 10 presented all their evidence to UM and Jim Harbaugh quickly agreed to serve a three-game suspension. That doesn\u2019t seem like a manufactured witch hunt to me at all. It seems like UM fans should be thankful Harbaugh folded and a more significant punishment wasn\u2019t levied.<\/p>\n
And I think those UM fans who rushed the field in Maryland after UM won the program\u2019s 1000th game should all be shot. Or at least imprisoned for a lengthy amount of time. And they have the nerve to wonder why people hate them. I might actually root for Ohio State this week\u2026<\/p>\n
Not super relevant to our family but thought I would share that Indiana will have a new 6A football champion for the first time in four years.<\/p>\n
Center Grove was down 18 in the third quarter, came back to take a lead, then couldn\u2019t cover a Ben Davis fumble in the closing seconds of regulation, allowing the Giants to kick a tying field goal that sent the game to overtime. CG could only manage a field goal while Ben Davis scored a touchdown to advance to the state title game.<\/p>\n
Quite a run for the Giants. They were down 18 to #1 Brownsburg in the sectional finals and came back to win with 24 fourth-quarter points. It took a field goal in the final 90 seconds then an interception to knock off Cathedral in regionals. And now this, the biggest win of all. Props to them. Ben Davis is one of the most successful programs in Indiana history, but they\u2019ve been down a little lately. A lot of people who probably wouldn\u2019t normally pull for them were hoping they could end Center Grove\u2019s streak Friday night. Not only had CG won three-straight state titles, the year before their streak began they lost in the state title game. Hell of a run. I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll still be really good next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kind of a chill weekend, with the holiday ahead of us. M does not come home until Tuesday so it was the usual crew around the house. L had a game Friday, more on that later. The weather was nice, so S and I did some yard work at a sister\u2019s house Sunday. And a fair amount of football, the biggest game being a certain showdown in a certain state when a certain blogger attended college. KU-KSU Ugh. Uggggghhhhhhh. So freaking close to ending the 14-game losing streak to the Wildcats, closing out the current edition of Booth Memorial Stadium with a huge win, and going to Cincinnati next weekend with a chance for win #8, the program\u2019s most since 2007. The first four minutes could not have gone worse for KU, giving up a long pass on K-State\u2019s first play then letting them score soon after, and following that up with a quick three-and-out. K-State is not a team you can get behind under normal circumstances. When you\u2019re playing with your third-string quarterback, there is way less room for mistakes. Fortunately the KU defense bucked their heads on K-State\u2019s second drive, then Devin Neal got busy. Two Neal touchdowns had KU a PAT away from a touchdown lead in front of a frenzied home crowd. So naturally KU decided not to block a dude, who smothered the kick and then ran it back for a safety. Instead of 14\u20137, it\u2019s 13\u20139 and KU fans are getting a queasy feeling in their stomaches. Still KU led by four at halftime, and quickly added another Devin Neal TD early in the third quarter to extend the lead. Then came the play of the game. Senior linebacker Rich Miller had a sure pick-six in his hands. And he dropped it. It was inevitable that KSU would rip off a long run on the next play, and eventually punch it in and get the two-point conversion to cut the lead to three. The game might have been over if Miller walks that interception into the end zone. Seriously, he could have done cartwheels into the end zone. Maybe he was trying to do just that and that\u2019s why he dropped it. Now it was just a question of how KU would find a way to blow the game. Turns out it was by fumbling a punt at midfield early in the fourth quarter. Such a dumb play. So, so stupid. I don\u2019t want to kill the kid who made the blunder, but he did the exact same thing in the Oklahoma game. JUST CATCH THE DAMN BALL. 31\u201327 Kansas State, final. Which, if KU blocks that guy in the first half and then K-State doesn\u2019t go for two in the third quarter, it\u2019s actually a tie game as KU drove late. And instead of getting picked off in the end zone on fourth down, they kick the short field goal to take the lead in the closing minutes. Who am I kidding? If the game was tied and it came down to a field goal attempt, KU would have missed it. Or K-State would have blocked that one and run it back. Sigh. A game effort from KU when a lot was stacked against them. The offensive coaches had a pretty great plan for limiting what freshman Cole Ballard had to do, and he played a nearly perfect game in the first half. It felt like KU ran out of wrinkles in the second half, though, and Ballard was asked to do more than he is capable of at the moment. He was lucky that a couple bad balls weren\u2019t picked, then luckier when his first interception was negated two plays later by a Mello Dotson pick. I can\u2019t fault Ballard for the interception on KU\u2019s final offensive play. It wasn\u2019t a great throw and as the Fox announcers pointed out, the KU receivers did not run great routes. I was more annoyed that since KU knew it needed a touchdown, that Neal didn\u2019t touch the ball on first or second down. Passing early with an inexperienced quarterback against a good defense seemed like a real reach. Give your stud who grew up in Lawrence hating Kansas State a couple shots at punching it in. Oh well. KU did a lot right Saturday and aside from three mistakes, did more than enough to win the game. Those three mistakes were huge, though, and K-State took advantage of each one. That\u2019s where KU is trying to get, when you are the team that holds steady in the game\u2019s biggest moments. The Jayhawks are closer, so much closer than they have been for years, but they still aren\u2019t there yet. Throw in the fourth quarter collapse in Stillwater and the funkiness last week against Tech, and KU is very close to being 10\u20131. 9\u20132 is much more realistic. 7\u20134 with one to play is nothing to be mad about, especially at KU. But Saturday was a huge missed opportunity. I have to say I got sick of all the KU-KState \u201cbanter\u201d on Twitter. It\u2019s one thing to talk shit with your rival. But a lot of what happens on Twitter is just dumb, lacking in either thought or foundation in facts. I guess that kind of sums up social media, right? I miss the old, third party Twitter apps that allowed you to mute people for specific amounts of time and then automatically bring them back into your feed. Maybe the Tech Toddler will post some more racist\/anti-semitic stuff and he\u2019ll get bought\/forced out and some new ownership will bring back those options. Michigan In other college football news, I\u2019ve never felt strongly about Michigan. Pretty much everyone here in Big 10 country seems to hate the school and their fans. In the time we\u2019ve lived here, Ohio State has generally been the better team, so I\u2019ve learned to hate Buckeyes fans more than Wolverines fans. The only Michigan person I know is pretty cool, plus he\u2019s an Indy native so his Hoosier DNA balances some of that Wolverine douchiness. But the last couple weeks have flipped that. I\u2019m not super fired up about the Michigan sign stealing scandal. Everyone is trying to steal signs. You can\u2019t tell me every program doesn\u2019t have some grad assistant watching tape and trying to match up formations with whatever signs they can pick up on the sidelines, looking for an advantage. And I feel like whatever Michigan was doing was way less egregious than what the Houston Astros did. A baseball hitter knowing whether the next pitch is a fastball or off-speed makes a huge difference in their approach. I don\u2019t think stealing signs in football gives you the same advantage, as it\u2019s an 11-v\u201311 matchup, and if you adjust your defense, the offense can audible to another call. Plus pretty much every coach who has talked about it claims they often rotate their signals, so what you learned in week three may have no relevance in week six. That said\u2026Michigan fans need to shut the fuck up. This whole Michigan Vs. Everybody bullshit is so fucking dumb. You had a booster paying someone to go to games and steal signs. That seems a little dirty, even if 90% of other coaches are smacking their heads because they didn\u2019t think of it first. And it\u2019s pretty telling when the Big 10 presented all their evidence to UM and Jim Harbaugh quickly agreed to serve a three-game suspension. That doesn\u2019t seem like a manufactured witch hunt to me at all. It seems like UM fans should be thankful Harbaugh folded and a more significant punishment wasn\u2019t levied. And I think those UM fans who rushed the field in Maryland after UM won the program\u2019s 1000th game should all be shot. Or at least imprisoned for a lengthy amount of time. And they have the nerve to wonder why people hate them. I might actually root for Ohio State this week\u2026 HS Football Not super relevant to our family but thought I would share that Indiana will have a new 6A football champion for the first time in four years. Center Grove was down 18 in the third quarter, came back to take a lead, then couldn\u2019t cover a Ben Davis fumble in the closing seconds of regulation, allowing the Giants to kick a tying field goal that sent the game to overtime. CG could only manage a field goal while Ben Davis scored a touchdown to advance to the state title game. Quite a run for the Giants. They were down 18 to #1 Brownsburg in the sectional finals and came back to win with 24 fourth-quarter points. It took a field goal in the final 90 seconds then an interception to knock off Cathedral in regionals. And now this, the biggest win of all. Props to them. Ben Davis is one of the most successful programs in Indiana history, but they\u2019ve been down a little lately. A lot of people who probably wouldn\u2019t normally pull for them were hoping they could end Center Grove\u2019s streak Friday night. Not only had CG won three-straight state titles, the year before their streak began they lost in the state title game. Hell of a run. I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll still be really good next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[52,67,13,58],"class_list":["post-12335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-college-sports","tag-football","tag-high-school-sports","tag-kansas-jayhawks"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12335"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12338,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12335\/revisions\/12338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dsnotebook.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}