Wednesday Walkthrough: Texas Tech Week
You could argue that Kansas has been playing with house money for several weeks now. After all, the Jayhawks' preseason over/under for wins was just 2.5. Now, with bowl eligibility in hand following a dominant win over Oklahoma State, however, that's undeniably the case. KU already knows it'll play in the postseason, achieving the goal only the most ardent and optimistic fans thought was possible this year. All the Jayhawks can do now is add to their historic, memorable campaign.
That said, KU coach Lance Leipold isn't going to suddenly relax and ease off in the final quarter of the season. There are several more trials facing the Jayhawks, including the Texas Tech Red Raiders and a trip to Lubbock, Texas this week. But with Kansas riding a wave of momentum and Texas Tech having lost two games in a row, a seventh KU win is certainly a possibility on Saturday.
LISTENING IN ON LANCE
"We've seen more emotion from him, more vocal, than maybe a year ago ... It's been good to see."
The "him" in this case is quarterback Jason Bean, who put together his best, most important performance as a Jayhawk in last week's win over Oklahoma State. Along with adding that Bean has shown a little more ownership in the program since taking over as the starter due to the injury to Jalon Daniels, Leipold spoke to the way the veteran quarterback has persevered, stuck with KU through personal turmoil and has turned that into a bigger leadership role.
"I thought, holistically, our best performance defensively in conference play for sure. Encouraging to see ... and hopefully that's something we carry into next week."
The 16 points KU allowed to Oklahoma State was its second-lowest total allowed against FBS competition this year, only bested by the 11 points the Jayhawks gave up to Iowa State. Leipold said that the whole week of practice leading up to the OSU game, fresh off a bye week, was more physical for the team and that was parlayed into a strong defensive effort.
"We talked about playing well down the stretch, there's a lot of things that are possible."
Thanks to the Big 12 being so even balanced and competitive this year, Kansas still has an outside shot at a berth in the conference championship game. But as he so often does, Leipold spoke this week about taking care of the business that's immediately in front of the Jayhawks, not what could happen down the road. However, he did add that it feels good to still be in the conversation at this juncture, calling his team's mindset "proud, but not satisfied."
"I think Joey McGuire's done an outstanding job in his first year. They have three quarterbacks that have played and played well for them, all can run, all can throw. I know within our league, they run the most plays per game, they're getting more plays run, probably in the top handful int he country."
We'll get to more on the Texas Tech quarterback situation momentarily, but Leipold was precitably complimentary of the Red Raiders and their coach, Joey McGuire. Even going back to last year, Leipold pointed out how playing against Texas Tech gave him good insight into the overall size and length of teams in the Big 12.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
When: Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, Texas
Spread: Kansas +3.5
Texas Tech has played plenty of close, competitive games throughout the season, but McGuire's group is still near the bottom of the conference standings and looking for answers after losing four of its last five games.
There's been a revolving door at quarterback for the Red Raiders this season, with the triumvirate of Donovan Smith, Tyler Shough and Behren Morton all seeing plenty of playing time this year. However, Morton is out for this weekend's matchup after suffering an injury last week against TCU. Thus, some combination of Smith and Shough will have to step up their play to keep the fast-paced, high-powered Texas Tech offense afloat.
The Red Raiders currently sit at No. 50 in Bill Connelly's SP+ metric at ESPN, six spots behind the Jayhawks, while they're ranked 32nd by Stats Perform's TRACR metric. That's two spots behind KU.
JAYHAWK TO WATCH
We live in an era in which every entertainment product needs a sequel. Every TV show and movie franchise is now all about the expanded universe and waiting to see what comes next.
So, with that in mind, how do you pick against running back Devin Neal this week? Everyone wants to see what the sophomore Lawrence native can do for his encore performance after making history a week ago en route to being named the Big 12 offensive player of the week. Texas Tech has been solidly "OK" against the run this year, but coming off the best game of his career you have to expect that Neal will be a focal point of the offense again this week.
Ky Thomas looked good in limited time versus Oklahoma State, Sevion Morrison is a good change-of-pace weapon and Bean is obviously a threat with his legs. But Neal is a special talent with a chance to turn a legendary week into a legendary late-season streetch.
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