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The Jayhawks brought the hammer again this week and sent the Blue Devils home with a loss. Now 4-0 on the season, KU is still looking for the respect they deserve from pollsters. Each time KU wins it is “wait until next week, we will really learn something from their next game”. Somehow the voters never see fit to give them credit for beating the team they just plated, the pollsters always need another question answered before giving upstart Kansas credit for their accomplishments. Compare schedules and records with ranked teams and you will find KU rates with many of those teams. What holds the Jayhawks back is their preseason reputation. Well, next week is Iowa State. A win against the Cyclones (err Hawkeyes?) should give KU their due and put them in the top 25 instead of being left on the outside looking in. But before we get caught up in what is to come, let’s bask in what was this past weekend, the good, the bad, and the meh.
Stock up:
Daniel Hishaw
Of the running backs, this week it was all about Hishaw. He had 134 total yards. I love watching this run after a catch that set social media on fire, and this sideline angle is fun.
VIDEO: #kufball Daniel Hishaw refuses to go down, taking the swing pass 73-yards for the score. Kansas leads Duke headed into halftime @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/FQ3Ey36qXj
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladd0) September 24, 2022
KU Football Social Media
The social media group was having such a good day it even gained notice from ESPN. Below is a sampling.
— Kansas Jayhawks (@KUAthletics) September 24, 2022
Fan Attendance
Cannot let this week go without giving the fans their due. The game was not only sold out, but the fans brought enthusiasm.
allllll together now pic.twitter.com/4uVof37IVz
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 25, 2022
This angle of the @lukegrimm25 touchdown oh my goodness wave that wheat pic.twitter.com/g1mCQmPWdX
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 25, 2022
Jalon Daniels
Did you think I would leave him off the list? It is good to be Jalon right now. Manning Star of the Week for the third week in a row, and on the Davey O’Brien Great 8 List for the third week in a row.
You all know what to do...
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 26, 2022
It's time to vote @JalonDaniels6 as THE Manning Award Quarterback of the Week
VOTE → https://t.co/vsXmiXSRMu pic.twitter.com/lbZFNFHgHX
Davey O’Brien Great 8 List again for JD6 pic.twitter.com/t1dINomOJj
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 27, 2022
10 TD’s in his last 2 games pic.twitter.com/KyWsUKSJio
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 26, 2022
And at least one bettor believes in the Heisman hype
A bettor @BetMGM put $25K on Kansas QB Jalon Daniels to win the Heisman (+3300)
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) September 26, 2022
Potential win: $825K pic.twitter.com/2GefItgq7X
Caught in the crossfire
You may suspect this, but know for sure OU fans are still not over USC hiring away Lincoln Riley, and what they believe to be the ultimate betrail of OU by Riley. Suffice it to say, Lincoln Riley lives rent-free in the collective brain cell of OU fans. This past week KU got caught in the crossfire of an OU fan’s poor aim when trying to take down USC and Lincoln Riley a few pegs. It started on Friday morning when RJ Young of Fox Sports and noted OU supporter, sent out what I am sure he thought was a clever shot at USC.
Kansas sold out a football game in 2022 before USC did.
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) September 23, 2022
Good day, ladies and gentlemen.
What he said is a fact. Others though noted the flaw in RJ’s jab. Most notable, known Maryland fan and USC reporter for USCFootball.com Chris Trevino replied.
I mean yes it’s a fact, but also feels like a bad fact lol
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) September 23, 2022
A Kansas sellout is less than 48,000 https://t.co/ouFtapQECk
The icing on the cake came early Sunday morning when Chris followed up his replay with additional facts.
Oklahoma lost a football game in 2022 before USC did.
— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) September 25, 2022
Good night, ladies and gentlemen. https://t.co/ouFtapz3dK
For KU to be playing well enough and gaining enough national attention to be used as cannon fodder in OU’s peasant uprising against USC is terrific. And to be honest I love to revel in any moment in which OU fans so clearly expose their inferiority complex.
Stock down:
FBS Coaching Carousel
With the addition of another team to the coaching carousel, another round of speculation on potential future coaching hires began. This time OC Andy Kotelnicki made it into the speculation when Dennis Dodd mentioned him.
KU Basketball Interest
Isn’t it nice to be able to think about Jayhawk football during football season? Basketball season will be fun when it gets here, but it is nice to not turn our eyes to basketball while it is still September. Basketball practice has started, Bill Self has a broken leg, and the full schedule has been released and none of that news has made a ripple in the KU sports news because we have a quality football team to cheer for.
Stock Neutral
Defense
Last week I had the defense in the stock-up section because their performance seemed to be on the rise. This week through three quarters I was ready to put them in stock up again. On Saturday after three quarters, they had only given up 13 points to a team that put 52 on them last season, but the last quarter has me pumping the breaks.
The bad: They gave up 14 points in the last quarter and looked like they were going to give up another touchdown when Duke’s last drive began. I do not want to put the entire scary ending on the defense though. Before that last drive, the offense was held to a three and out and burned no more than 30 seconds off the clock. Just one first down by the offense would have made the defense’s job a lot easier.
The good: Despite giving up two fourth-quarter touchdowns the defense “only” gave up 27 points this week, which most weeks should be good enough for the Jayhawks to win. Last season the defense gave up almost twice as many points, 52, to this same team, when the offense scored almost the same number of points (32 last season, 25 this season). Additionally, the defense continues to make incremental progress in the SP+ rankings. They moved from 99 last week to 89 after week 4. Ranking 89 in defensive SP+ does not put you in great company, but they are slowly pulling themselves up and out of the dregs of the rankings.
As a result, I am feeling ‘meh’ about their performance.
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