Thursday Walkthrough: Oklahoma State Week
There's one month of games left for the Kansas Jayhawks to earn at least one more win, a particular win that seemed like a pipe dream to most KU squads over the past 13 years. That would be a sixth win in a single season, AKA a win that secures bowl eligibility. Kansas doesn't have any gimmes on the rest of its schedule, which includes Saturday's matchup with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, but there's still potent optimism in the air for Lance Leipold's Jayhawks.
Quarterback questions abound for both teams this weekend, with potentially great news for KU and potentially devastating news for OSU both (perhaps equally) possible. A legendary victory is certainly possible for the Jayhawks, especially if things break just right this weekend, but it will also take a massive reversal of fortune in a series that's been utterly dominated by the Cowboys since the advent of the Big 12.
LISTENING IN ON LANCE
"He's practicing, he's doing some things...He was out there yesterday, and we'll see. And that probably goes for Cobee and others."
Let's jump right into the most important storyline this week, the health and availability of quarterback Jalon Daniels. He's still practicing, which is obviously a good sign, but Leipold was reluctant to reveal much more than that. He did, however, slip in that cornerback Cobee Bryant is also practicing after he suffered an ankle injury against Oklahoma. It's would be invaluable for the Jayhawks to get back arguably their most important player on each side of the ball, to say the least.
"I was pleased, especially with the younger players , players that haven't played a lot were able to get some extra work...They're anxious to get back at it."
It's fair to say the Jayhawks needed a bye this past weekend to get right both physically and mentally, getting crucial recovery time for several key players and also getting a chance to regroup after suffering three consecutive losses. Leipold admitted that there are some challenges that come with weeks off, but said that overall he felt like it was a productive week for the program.
"If you spend too much time in comparative scoring or things like that, sometimes things just get away from you. I think they're banged up like a lot of people are. I don't want to take away at all from the performance of Kansas State and the way they're playing right now, but it was a pretty convincing win."
Leipold noted that this is the third game in a row in which KU is facing a team that's coming off some type of adversity in their prior game. Really, that's an understatement when it comes to Oklahoma State, which was walloped by K-State last weekend 48-0. The head Jayhawk added that there's a challenge in facing teams in that situation, as he believes the Cowboys will get things corrected from last Saturday and will be ready to play in Lawrence this week.
"One of our assistants talked to one of the opposing coaches of one of the three sellout games we had, and they talked about the fact that they did not prepare for crowd noise and it was a factor in the game. So to think that our fans can make a difference, 100%, absolutely, we need them there."
Week after week this season, there's been a full-court press, so to speak, from the KU program to push for fan attendance and involvement at home games. That's a challenge, truthfully, given evident fan apathy during the dark times for this program. But Leipold appealed to the importance of a large, loud crowd this week as Kansas is once again imploring its fans to "Pack The Booth."
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
When: Saturday, Nov. 5 at 2:30 p.m.
Where: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas
Spread: Kansas +2
The line has moved significantly for this matchup, with some sportsbooks posting early lines favoring Oklahoma State by as many as six points, but that's down to around two points at most major books.
One reason for that could be the health of both regular starting quarterbacks, Daniels for KU and Spencer Sanders for Oklahoma State. Sanders has been banged up for multiple weeks, and while he played for most of the Cowboys' loss last week he was replaced late by Gunnar Gundy. It goes without saying that OSU's offensive potency will take a severe hit if Sanders can't go on Saturday.
From an advanced stats perspective, different models view the discrepancy between the Jayhawks and Cowboys with varying severity. Oklahoma State is currently 19th in the country in Bill Connelly's SP+ metric versus No. 52 for Kansas. However, Stats Perform's TRACR model has OSU just 15 spots ahead of KU, No. 32 versus No. 47.
JAYHAWK TO WATCH
We're copping out with multiple players for our pick this week even though this section has a singular title, but in a game that will either feature a rarely used backup quarterback or an injured starter, the Kansas secondary has a major opportunity to make game-changing plays this weekend.
Whether it be an interception (one of which Gundy threw last week) or just well-timed pass breakups, the defensive backfield could be the Jayhawks' unit that swings the momentum of the game. Key, sound tackles would be a boon, too, since the Cowboys will likely try to emphasize the ground game more to alleviate some of the pressure on their passers. Whether it's cornerbacks, safeties or the entire unit, this is a major opportunity for the KU defensive backs to have a statement performance.
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