Unfortunately, the game didn't turn out quite the way we'd hoped--our 40 year losing streak in Lincoln continues. We really needed this win, since it's very highly unlikely that we'll actually win our last two games against Texas and Missouri. We'll probably end up being 6-6 now at the end of the season, which means that we might not even make it to a bowl game!
Our offense today wasn't terrible, but our freakin' defense was ridiculously bad. How could we let a team like Nebraska, who isn't even that great anymore, put 45 points on the board against us?? Our defense was like a sieve. I'd kind of been thinking that our defense was so much worse this year because we'd lost so many players from last year, but our friend Mike pointed out that we have 9 of the 11 defensive starters back from last year. Mike's take is that since clearly these guys didn't forget how to tackle in the last year, the difference must be the loss of one of the defensive coordinators. Mike played football at Baker University and was a graduate assistant coach at Washburn, so he kind of knows what he's talking about, and play after play he points out defensive coaching mistakes. I hadn't previously realized that the coaching staff had changed and so few of the players actually had, so I think maybe Mike has a point!
There was one play of the game that was definitely worth watching again, which Chad thinks we'll probably see on SportsCenter for years to come. In case you missed it, an awesome KU fan has already put it on YouTube!
Sparky is one tough dude!!
7 comments:
Why is NE so hard to beat on their own turf? And why isn't KU a conference leader like last year?
Our D is woeful. On the bright side, we COULD win one of our last two. And on the brighter side, we have a chance at 8-9 wins next year.
I think Lincoln is a really difficult place to play...that place holds 85,000 people! For comparison, our stadium holds about 45K. Jake and Amber can probably tell us what gives the Huskers such amazing home field advantage!!
As much as I want to believe in the mojo of Memorial Stadium (ours, not yours) I think it just comes down to team quality. I’m pretty sure the ’07 Jayhawks could have won against the ’07 Cornhuskers, even if the game would have been in Lincoln. This year we Huskers have more going for us and KU is just a little soft in the middle.
There was a LOT of blue in the visitors section yesterday though, the ‘hawks traveled well despite the cold!
I guess maybe you're right, Amy. I'd kind of forgotten that you all took Texas Tech to overtime in Lubbock! That's very impressive! Oh, and to say that our team is a LITTLE soft in the middle is an understatement!! :)
Kim, you're definitely right in saying that coaching matters. See the Bill Callahan and Kevin Cosgrove era at Nebraska as Exhibit A. Losing Bill Young definitely hurts, as does having a brutal schedule shift from '07 to '08. But don't despair too much, losing in Lincoln isn't like losing in Ames or Waco. My hope is that when KU finally does beat NU in Lincoln (ok, my true hope is that they don't ever, but that's a bit unrealistic) that KU is a top 10 program knocking off another top 10 program. Hey, a boy can dream! Go out and beat up on Mizzou in a couple of weeks and everybody will be happy anyway!
Beth, I thought you were a Nebraska fan? Though, as I recall during the '06 Nebraska game you were making seamless transitions between using the pronoun "we" for both teams. Sometimes even during the same play! :)
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