Suggestions for Enjoying the KU Football Bye Week

It’s a bye week, which means Kansas fans woke up not having to see a minus sign and large number next to the Jayhawks’ opponent’s name. It also means 3+ hours of your day has freed up (if you typically make it through an entire game).

Unsure how to utilize that extra time? Here are a few ideas of how to capitalize on a Saturday without the Jayhawks on the field.

Embrace the fall stereotypes

The leaves are changing and the weather is cooling so go find a pumpkin patch or apple orchard and enjoy some family time. It’ll be good for the fam to see you in a setting other than in front of the TV asking questions like “how did it get this bad?” and “why do we make tackling look so hard?”

Maybe even pick an apple and tell your kid to go long as you try to prove your previous statements of “even I could have made that throw.”

Watch a winning Jayhawk team

If you are unaware, the Kansas volleyball team is 11-4 on the year (3-1 in conference) and is hosting undefeated and No. 1 Texas on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s match is at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+ and the Jayhawks are 7-1 at home this year. Could an upset be brewing?

And while it won’t happen on Saturday, the Kansas women’s soccer team will host West Virginia on Sunday after knocking off No. 23 Baylor 2-1 on Thursday. There’s still hope in the fall.

Try your hand at the other football

If American football is causing you too much pain, World Cup qualifying is happening this weekend, with a packed lineup of UEFA matches taking place on Saturday. And if you need a decent-to-bad KU comp, maybe check out Lithuania, who plays Bulgaria at 1:45 p.m. It’s a country in a major region (conference), but it has fewer resources and smaller talent pool compared to the bigger teams. And while it doesn’t have a storied history, it did have a recent strong run with its highest FIFA ranking coming in…October 2008.

Hate-watch Oklahoma against Texas

The two teams abandoning the Big 12 are facing off in the Red River Shootout. And while the most favorable result for fans of the remaining Big 12 teams would be for them to somehow both lose or become disqualified, you can still sit on the couch hoping for an ugly game and firing off jokes on Twitter.

Go to bed with the right perspective

No matter what happens, your team didn’t lose today. Bask in that. And you may even have a volleyball upset to make it even better.