That shouldn't have had to be said.
When you are ranked #16 in the country, are 5-1 with a perfect 2-0 conference record and possess a Top 20 Offense led by Todd Reesing, it is generally accepted that these teams are at least considered viable possibilities to win whichever game they happen to play, no matter where the game is played or who the opponent.
And yet, we are being treated as, well, a pre-07 Kansas Jayhawk team. You know, where you give the opponent the allowance that, hey, "upsets happen" and "that's why the game isn't played on paper" and all of those joyous cliches. But going in, there is the expectation of, well, a 21-point victory, as is evidenced by the seeming consensus of a twenty-and-a-half point betting line for this weekend's game (you'll have to scroll down).
Of course, we are underdogs in this game. We certainly are the less-talented team, our usual Coaching advantage is likely a draw-at-best and we are having to play in Norman, one of the better homefield advantages in all of college football. I will be content with a good first half and merely a chance to win the game at the end, and am certainly not naiive enough to march into Norman expecting a victory.
But, just to make things clear, we are a better football team than people are giving us credit for. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as our #16 ranking* is arguably an overrank and all Kansas fans know just how obvious and potentially fatal our flaws are. And yet, the MSM has figured out away to underrate this football team; whether it rears itself by them stashing us in the early-morning game week-after-week or by Vegas essentially giving TCU a bigger chance to win in Norman than us (TCU was merely 18-point dogs).
* This is a major aside, consider it kind of a Pozterisk, if you will. The MSM's general view of Kansas, right or wrong, is another major offense of the polls. It is clear that most writers don't consider Kansas to truly be one of the better teams in college football, but in the preseason it made sense for us to be as high as we were, and without a loss most balloters refuse to drop a team, no matter if they deserve it or not. I really, really hate this whole poll system. Honestly, I can't stand the thing. Don't really mind the BCS, just hate the writers' and coaches' opinions being primarlily responsible for the teams that end up there. It should be computers all the way.
And so, returning to reality, we can win this game. I'm not making any promises. I'm not making any guarantees. Just re-read the quote. We CAN beat Oklahoma.
Yes, I understand that no one is saying we are guaranteed to lose. What the point of this post** was to say that is that a Kansas victory on Saturday would not be in the same ballpark as Appalachian State over Michigan. Or even Oregon State over USC, this season. I would liken it to more like a Oklahoma State over a Missouri; a really talented team on the road against a legitimate National Title contender.
That's all I'm asking for, here. The same respect the Pokes were given heading into Columbia. Sure, few predicted an Okie State victory. But few wrote the game off completely, giving the game to Missouri before the teams play. Which, and maybe I'm just a whiner, but it seems as if we are being ignored.
Yes, Oklahoma is awesome. I still think they're the best team in the country (I'm stubborn as hell, sometimes). I understand that they should be 'ready to come out and play' and 'angry' and all of that fun stuff, but we are still a damn good football team.
And if the Boomer Sooners are treating us like the MSM is, get ready for an upset.
But seriously, I still think we're losing.
/Rant Over