In a few days, Kansas will open its season against Rhode Island in search of its first victory of the David Beaty era. Ahead of Saturday’s contest, we have a Q/A with Rhody Rampage editor Dave Ascoli to provide the perspective from the opposing sidelines.
Q: Rhode Island is coming off a rough 1-10 season and it has struggled about as much as Kansas Football recently with four wins in the last four years. What are fan expectations heading into this season?
A: Rhody football fans can basically be broken into three groups: those who enjoy watching the team – and enjoy football in general – but rarely get their hopes up given the program’s struggles over the past 10 or so years. These fans don’t have any sort of expectations. Then there’s the “This is the year!” folks. Hope springs eternal, and they certainly have some things to be excited about this season, with the Rams pulling in the second-highest rated recruiting class in the conference per 247Sports. Finally, there are the realists. And I think those people are expecting (hoping for?) a steady improvement this year – to the tune of a 3 or 4 win season.
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Q: Rhode Island’s offense really struggled last season. In 10 games, URI only scored 20 or more points twice and averaged just 13.2 points per game. Should we expect more of the same this season, or will the offense be improved?
A: It all hinges on the quarterback. URI hasn’t had any sort of consistency (four opening day QBs in the past four years, counting this year) at the position, and it’s shown on the field. Rhode Island does have one of the best running backs in the conference in Harold Cooper, but if they can’t provide a threat in the passing game, it’s really going to limit the explosive potential on the ground.
Q: Similar to what Ryan Willis did for Kansas last year, Wes McKoy flashed some potential as a freshman quarterback on a bad team. What are the expectations for him this season?
A: They say the biggest jump that a college athlete makes is from their freshman to sophomore year, right? Rhody fans are hoping the cliche holds true. McKoy is a true dual-threat QB, although here’s hoping that his accuracy in the passing game has taken a step forward. He beat out some quality guys in camp for the starting job, so optimism is high right now. If he can limit the turnovers, the sophomore should (finally) provide some stability in the passing game for the Rams.
Q: There’s no doubt that Kansas Football has an awful national reputation right now coming off an 0-12 season and a loss to a FCS school in South Dakota State. Do you get the sense that the Rhode Island fanbase feels confident about this match-up with Kansas?
A: The four wins in the past four years has really eliminated any sort of fanbase confidence. That said, given last season, Kansas is probably one of the better FBS draws for any FCS school. URI got rocked by Syracuse last year and Marshall the year before, so maybe the confidence level is somewhere around, “This year won’t be as bad”. Maybe Rhode Island can hang with KU for a couple of quarters.
Q: Now give me your prediction. Any chance Rhode Island gives Kansas its 16th straight loss?
A:There’s always a chance, but it’s a really, really slim one. The initial prediction at Rhody Rampage was a 38-21 Kansas win, so let’s stick with that. The Rams will be able to put up some points thanks to KU’s still developing defense, but Big 12 talent is going to win out in the end.