Week One: Kansas vs. Indiana St. Preview and Analysis

Fall is in the air, temperatures are dropping back to normal, students are invading Lawrence once again, and classes are beginning. It is also nearing the end of August which can only mean one thing: it’s the start of the 2019-20 college football season and Kansas football.

A lot has happened for Jayhawk fans in that time as the coaching carousel just keeps on revolving for Kansas as four-year coach David Beaty (posting a 6-42 record in his time with the team) was informed last November that he would be fired at season’s end after eventually ending with a 3-9 record and 1-8 in the conference. This last season had some bright spots though as star freshman Pooka Williams provided some life for Kansas football, helping them to three wins which is something that had not happened the three years before that.

So now that brings us to the 2019 season and besides most notably the hire of the “Mad Hatter” Les Miles, the Jayhawks did lose 25 players to graduation; 12 players on the offensive side of the ball and 13 players on the defensive side most notably players like Joe Dineen who was fourth in all of college football in total tackles at 12.3 tackles per game his senior last year. He was also named to the AP All-America Second Team by Sports Illustrated. He also had 142 tackles on the team with 109 of those being unassisted, with the next player down Bryce Torneden who is one of this year’s captains, only getting 88 tackles with 61 of those being unassisted. They also lost fellow seniors Jeremiah Booker, Kerr Johnson Jr and Steven Sims Jr on the offensive side who were the top three receivers on the team in catches at 53, 30, and 31 respectively, so that is a big hole that fellow juniors Evan Fairs and Stephon Robinson will have to pick up for this year.

As far as the quarterback situation goes, it is a big mystery, as two-year Kansas starter and Washington State transfer Peyton Bender was also lost to graduation.  Last season, Bender completed 57% of his passes totaling 1,894 with 13 touchdowns to only just three interceptions. That’s good for a 118.1 passer rating, but only getting 5.3 yards per play in an air raid offense that David Beaty wanted to employ is something that Les and company will look to improve upon this season. As it stands, Thomas MacVittie, Carter Stanley, and Les Miles son Manny Miles are in a three-man race for the job. it is unclear who will get the nod from Miles.

"“We’re going to take our competition through the back end of the week,” Miles said. “Obviously we’ll know exactly who’s going to start. But it’s going to be late. It’s good news, because both quarterbacks are talented. And we’re looking for the best.”"

Last season for Mesa Community College, MacVittie threw for just over 1600 yards and 16 touchdowns, categories he was third and sixth in overall playing in six games. Stanley had to wait his turn behind Bender for Beaty to give him his shot to be the starter moving forward. He played sparingly in a total of four games, but really made the most of his opportunity in the game against Oklahoma State where he completed 24 of his 32 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns, but that was not enough for Beaty to hand over the job to him in the next game against West Virginia.  Finally, for Miles, he has the least experience of the three battling for the job, as last season he only appeared in one game completing two of four passes for 50 yards backing up fellow quarterbacks Jace Ruder, Cade Fortin, and starter Nathan Elliott who threw for 2,169 yards and five touchdowns.

Miles, however, joked at a media day that just because his son joined the team that he would be considered as one of the frontrunners for the job.

“We made it very clear, very quickly” Les Miles said with a smile and laugh. “There will be no chance if you weren’t (6-foot-2) or above, or if your last name or any name was Miles, you would have a better chance than if you didn’t have a Miles associated to your name,”

You can view the rest of the Kansas football depth chart here

Now for Indiana State, they are tougher than they may appear on paper. In the last coaches preseason poll, they were voted as the 16th best team in the FCS. Last season, the Sycamores finished with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-3 conference record in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores were led by redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Boyle, who threw for 1627 and 12 touchdowns in 10 games. Their senior running back Ja’Quan Keys who provided a lot of the offense for them last season racking up 948 yards and 13 touchdowns in just seven games is gone due to graduation. With Keys gone, all eyes will be on redshirt sophomore Dante Hendrix to see if he can capitalize on his 681 yard, four touchdown, 11 game season from a year ago.

Kickoff is slated for 11 AM Saturday morning at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence. Get out to #TheBooth and support the Jayhawks!

Prediction: Kansas 24 – Indiana State 14