Is this Beaty's defining season?
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JayhawkerRedLegs said:
Why not 4-5 wins? Like Lee last year, some of these Tx and La 3-4stars are good enough to play right away. We’ll see, of course.
The last class was pretty JUCO heavy. So maybe HCDB is hoping for more wins this season.
It’s going to be hard though. I don’t think 5 is possible. Next class is big. However when you start kicking players off the team you’d definitely better win.
Looking at the schedule I see
Should win: SEMO
Coin flip: CMU, Ohio
It’d take a miracle: WVU, ISU, TTU
No chance: the other games
Anything other than last in the B12 would be stunning.
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So I popped around looking for projections and it’s not pretty. Mostly 3 wins (max) and quite possibly regressing from last year.
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@Crimsonorblue22 Not going anywhere.
Not if he secures the funds for the stadium renovation.
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@Crimsonorblue22 I think Zenger is safe. Raises money really well, and that is almost as important as anything. As long as Bill Self is happy with Zenger’s job, I think Zenger is safe.
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@BShark All I want to see is that we COULD have won a game or two. Because the next year a couple of those turn into wins. And then the next season a couple of more. And so on and so forth.
Just being a tough Road game is all we really want isn’t it?
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@JayhawkerRedLegs Got kicked off the team. I haven’t heard why though.
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I don’t think this season should define Beaty. I came into Beaty’s tenure expecting him to need four years to right this ship. I’d like to see 3-4 wins this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see inexperience cost this team a game or two. Given that there’s not a ton of margin for error, one or two squandered opportunities could mean we’re looking at a 2 win season this year simply because this team may not have the talent to be in more than 6 or 7 games anyway.
Next year is the defining year to me.
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@JayhawkerRedLegs 4-5 wins means winning at least 1 conference game and winning the first 3 games.
I’m just tempering expectations I suppose. I’d rather not expect too much as it is unfair to Beaty and the program. The hole that he had to dig out of is/was so deep. To be patient like he has been is a testament to him trying to do all of the things that it takes to build a program correctly. The last two coaches felt that they could outscheme and outrecruit other programs without putting in the work. Beaty is doing the opposite of that, and so it will take time to build up depth and maximize our talent.
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@justanotherfan So what would your expectations be next year.
I find this to be the year, because he has been able to sell kids on a rebuild, PT and excitement. Not sure that excitement stays with the program if they don’t tack on at least one more win this year than the last.
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My expectation next year would be six and a bowl game. His guys would be RS juniors, RS sophomores, etc. That is when they should produce (if they are going to produce). If they aren’t, that becomes clear next year and you have to question if he can get talent. If they blow games, you have to question if he has the coaching chops.
I can accept bumbling away games this year because they haven’t been in enough close games to get those reps so far. But next year, they have to be able to make those plays situationally.
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I think KU football is going to surprise a lot people this year. KU football was quite competitive last year despite a dismal record.
I’m believing that HC Beaty is the real deal. His recruiting classes have been solid, and the play on the field seems to be moving in the right direction. I mean the players actually look like they know how to play the game.
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Four wins is what I would expect; three wins would be tolerable but would show only minor improvement. At least one conference win is needed to show progress; no conference wins and it is the same ol’ same ol’…
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5 wins is absolutely possible this year. Bottom of the Big 12 will be garbage and the conference is just going to continue to get weaker and weaker overall until Texas gets their together again and starts closing the borders to the SEC teams not located in Texas or Louisiana (A&M and LSU have always done vetter in Houston than UT has).
Even with the youth in the secondary, I fully expect the defense to be better because KU has one if the two or three best DLines in the Big 12, if not the best.
KU has depth and talent at WR even with Quiv kicked off the team. As little as we heard about him in the spring, I don’t even know if he would’ve started this year or not. The OLine will be better because they’re more experienced now and have mostly played together for 2-3 years now. Adeneji (sp?) at LT is a future NFL linemen.
Bender is the right fit for this system, Stanley is the ideal back up, and Starks is the ideal developmental QB for this system.
All 3 non conference games are winnable, ISU, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, Texas, KSU, and WVU are all games KU can win on the right day.
I get the sentiment of everyone picking KU to finish last because it’s the same logic used to pick basketball to win the league every year, but this KU team will win 4-5 games this year and maybe even sneak into a bowl game if Bender is better than expected and KU has a little good luck this year.
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@JayHawkFanToo Agreed. 4 wins. 3 wins and all close games at home would be almost as good.
2 wins and Beaty needs to be on the hot seat going into next season.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 You completely lost me when you said KSU and Texas were winnable. Texas has a real coach now. Not sure they are as good as some people think, but they won’t be losing to KU again this year. I would also say Baylor and TCU are pretty big reaches. I know Baylor is in turmoil, but their defense is going to be pretty good.
@DoubleDD We need to see some on field results. We still don’t know if he can actually win games. You are what your record says you are and Beatty is 2-22. That has to get better this year.
@Kcmatt7 Agree. 3 wins minimum, don’t show regression.
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If KU football finds 5 wins this year, I’d be really damned impressed with Beatty.
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My fear of Beatty is that he can build a program. Yet can’t break the mold.
With all the investments in the Football program will the decision makers be happy with finishing in the middle of the pack year after year?
I really think and believe the money that is going to flow into the Football program has and end game in mind. Is it leaving the Big 12? Is it just claiming a spot in the power teams of the College realm?
Something is going on? Hope Beatty can do it.
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I think if KU is going to a bowl game most years and filling seats, that’s a fine ceiling.
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@BShark I actually find KU’s schedule favorable.
KSU is a home game. Yes, KSU should be very good this season. But they don’t have as big of a talent gap as other teams do over us. As long as we play disciplined football, we should be able to stay in that game until the end. They shouldn’t be able to overwhelm us with talent and speed like other teams will.
Baylor is also a home game. It really depends on how their season starts. If Baylor starts of poorly, they might just go ahead and quit.
Texas has talent. I don’t see us winning that game, but we have played them tough recently. And almost everyone thought Charlie Strong was a great coach until Texas overwhelmed him. We won’t really know if this is a winnable game until we see if UT is actually UT.
Other than that, KU should be pretty well matched against TTU at home. Should also have a chance to end the road streak against ISU if we don’t do it vs. Ohio.
My predictions:
- SEMO - W 55-14
- UCM - W 33-24
- Ohio - W 27-20
- WVU - L 35-21
- TTU - L 42-28
- ISU - L 28-21
- TCU - L 32-28
- KSU - L 24-16
- BU - L 28-14
- UT - L 55-30
- OU - L 60-17
- OSU - L 55-20
To me, anything within two scores is a competitive game. If we can be within 1 score for 3 and 1/2 quarters in most of our conference games, I’ll be more than happy with the season. I’m projecting all losses only because I don’t know which game will be the one that they squeak out. And I do think they will squeak at least one out.
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@BShark KU has always played TCU close since TCU joined the league (14 is TCU’s biggeest win), Texas may have a new coach, but they still have mostly the same players as last year, it’ll be another couple of years before they’re really good at least. Snyder has major health issues now. Baylor is going to rapidly decline.
KU may not win all those games, but they’ll be more competitive than you think they’ll be.
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I’d love to see it.
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The Central Michigan game on Sept. 9 is going to definitively show how much progress Coach Beaty and staff are making. A win against the Chippewas will propel this team to a good season. A loss isn’t the end of a successful season, but will demonstrate that Coach Beaty has much more work to do and that other posters’ predictions of a longer rebuilding process are correct. 40,000 fans in the stands for the Central Michigan would sure help our players. They certainly deserve our support. RCJHF
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I think 3 wins is the minimum to keep the seat from getting a little heat that Beaty is on. I personally will be disappointed with less than 4 wins, one of which is a road win. I honestly think we have a chance to go bowling. I know, I’m crazy but why couldn’t we win 5 of our first 6 games? SEMO shouldn’t be a contest, CMU or Ohio won’t be easy but we have more returnees and better athletes, no excuses to lose those games IMO. West Virginia will be tough to win at home but Tech should be a 50-50 game if not a 60-40 game at home with us having an actual D1 offense. Tech’s defense has been among the worst in FBS the past few years, they ranked last of 128 schools in multiple categories and not better than 116th in any. On the road to ISU next, where we were the better team for 3 and a half quarters last year before the defense ran outta gas and some silly turnovers cost us but they return very few bodies up front on both sides this year, once again no reason not to compete. That’s our first 6 games, now I’m only predicting a 4 win season but see no reason why we couldn’t get 5 of these first 6. The final 6 it gets a lot tougher to find wins but we got a TCU team that sleeps on us on the road and a wildcat team that returns less than we do after a 2 touchdown loss in Manhattan last year calling the same 6 plays over and over.
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I really wish that what you wrote comes though but based on past experience we know it will likely not happen…at least not quite yet. At this time, I would be happy with 4 wins and anything over that is gravy.
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I expect 3-4 wins this year. We’ll finally have an offense with Meacham’s scheme and a QB who’s game ready. I like Stanley, but Beaty really had to pare back what we did for him last year. No knock on Carter, he was just a RS freshman without game reps.
I’m really looking at the Ohio game. If we can go win there, 4-5 wins may be possible. Tech at home could be a win if our defense is passable. If we lose at home to CMU, it could be a long year. I’d lean more optimistic just because I love the fit with Meacham and Bender, plus the really good D-line will mask some deficiencies in the secondary.
