Kansas football: Jayhawks come back to reality after loss to Kansas State

Kansas football suffered an embarrassing loss today to in-state rival Kansas State in the Sunflower Showdown. The 38-10 loss especially stung considering all of the excitement around the Jayhawks.

Kansas sold out its first game in a decade, just so Jayhawk fans could watch the same old Kansas football. Just when the Jayhawks seemed to be back on track, reality sets in, and everyone realizes that maybe Kansas just isn’t as good as we thought they were.

Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh. For one, Kansas State is a lot better than Kansas fans want to give them credit for. The Wildcats dominated every facet of the game, and they do it week in and week out. They’re ranked number 22 in the nation for the reason, and they might crack the top 20 this week.

Ultimately, Kansas football just didn’t do what needed to happen. Kansas State’s gameplan isn’t exactly a mystery, but it’s still hard to stop. Just ask Oklahoma.

The Wildcats dominated the time of possession and ran the ball right at the Kansas defense, who couldn’t find an answer for the Kansas State ground game. The Wildcats had a whopping 60 (sixty), rushing attempts during the game, picking up 342 yards for an average of 5.2 yards per rush.

The Kansas front seven had to show up for the Jayhawks to win, and that obviously didn’t happen. Similar to the week before, Kansas State scored every single one of their touchdowns on a rushing attempt. Kansas football has to get more out of its defense, but there’s more to it than just a poor defensive performance.

Many Kansas football fans took it as a given that the Jayhawks offense would show up and do what it’s been doing, but that was far from what actually transpired. Offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon is going to have to go back to the drawing board during the bye week to try and get Kansas back on track for the end of the season.

Probably one of the worst parts of the game was quarterback Carter Stanley, who threw two brutal interceptions. Stanley came into this game playing out of his mind, throwing 10 touchdowns in the Jayhawks’ last three games.

Look, Stanley didn’t play good against Kansas State, and that’s indisputable. Here’s the thing though: Carter Stanley is without a doubt, the best quarterback Kansas football has had in the past 10 years. He’s led the Jayhawks to great highs and some deep lows, but at the end of the day, Stanley is the man for the job.

Kansas football fans: the sky is not falling. The Jayhawks lost a game to a good team, and now they have the bye week to get things back on track. There’s still time to get a fourth win, which would be a huge success in Les Miles’ first season as the head coach of the Jayhawks.