Kansas football gets annihilated on the road against TCU 51-14 to fall to 2-3 on the season.
Game Summary
Heading into this week, there was no question that Kansas football was going to struggle against TCU. Just look at the matchup on the stat sheet: Kansas is a run-heavy team, TCU is best in the Big 12 against the run. TCU has the 15th best running game in the country, Kansas is last in the Big 12 against the run.
To make matters worse, it was announced before the game that linebacker Dru Prox and running back Khalil Herbert would not play.
Kansas — who were already major underdogs to begin with — was now forced to face TCU without their leading rusher and tackler. It’s safe to say that all signs pointed to an inevitable Kansas loss.
Nevertheless, still feeling a slight high following the road victory against Boston College, many Jayhawk fans — including myself — still held out hope that KU would somehow pull out a win this week. We were wrong. Very, very, wrong.
TCU went on to absolutely dismantle Kansas.
The opening possessions for each team basically described the entire game:
- Kansas’ first possession- Run, run, pass, punt for 9 total yards.
- TCU’s first possession- 5 plays, 59 yards, Touchdown in 1 minute and 53 seconds.
Once TCU got their first score early in the first quarter, it felt like the game was pretty much over from there.
The Horned Frogs would go on to score 31 uncontested points to end the first half up 38-0.
Here are some telling halftime stats:
- Kansas had 49 yards of total offense compared to 351 for TCU
- TCU was 10-10 on third downs
- TCU scored 5 total touchdowns, Kansas gained 3 total first downs
As you probably gathered from the above stats, Kansas couldn’t get anything going on either side of the ball in the first half.
It was clear from the start that Kansas wanted to get Pooka Williams going. But that goal was wildly unsuccessful as the TCU run defense was relentless.
When the running game failed, quarterback Carter Stanley was forced to step up as Kansas had no choice but to start throwing the ball — that failed epically as well.
As far as the defense goes, well, refer back to TCU’s third-down efficiency stat.
If it wasn’t for TCU letting off the gas in the second half, this could have been an all-time bad loss in Kansas football history.
The Jayhawks were able to find the endzone twice in the fourth quarter. But of course, it didn’t make a difference in the end.
Final score- TCU 51, Kansas 14.
Reaction
To put it lightly, this game serves as another disheartening reminder that this program has an eternity to go.
There’s nothing wrong with losing a tough conference road game. But it’s pretty embarrassing that Kansas looked like a high school team compared to TCU.
From the offensive line, all the way to the punt return unit, it was glaringly obvious that TCU was too well-coached, athletic, and experienced for Kansas.
I understand that Les Miles needs time to develop many of these players, but regardless, the talent discrepancy seemed monstrous.
This loss would be easier to swallow if there were a specific area to point the blame towards. Unfortunately, the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching staff made a coordinated effort in this loss.
One area that has to improve in a hurry is the offense.
Kansas has legitimate offensive playmakers for the first time in a long time — Andrew Parchment and Daylon Charlot are big, fast, and have great hands; and we all know what Pooka can do. But their skills are irrelevant if they can’t get the ball.
The major issue on offense rests with Stanley’s inconsistencies throwing the ball. Teams are stacking the box to stop Pooka because they know Stanley’s arm can’t beat them downfield.
But the coaches haven’t helped as the Jayhawk offense has been painfully predictable through five weeks. How does that change? It starts with creativity in the playcalling.
Whether it’s playing more spread formations, motioning around Parchment, or putting Pooka in as a receiver, Miles and his staff will need to find a way to open up the playbook while keeping Stanley’s throws quick and short.
But if Miles continues to be stubborn with his offense going forward, today’s lopsided score will pale in comparison to next week’s game versus Oklahoma.
Unfortunately for Kansas fans, Miles’ history would indicate nothing will change.
Prepare yourselves, folks, next week’s game is gonna be ugly.