Early Discussion: NonConf Schedule
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stoptheflop said:
I assume Pooka will be suspended for the Indiana State game and maybe even the Coastal Carolina game, but I’m excited to get the rebuilding started. If MacVittie is at least steady, I hope to be looking for tickets to a bowl game in 2020.
Nailed it. Pooka out for CC but back for the rest of the year assuming he keeps his nose clean. 7 month suspension, ongoing monitoring (including university probation until he graduates), and fulfilling the terms of his diversion is good enough.
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@FarmerJayhawk Pooka is suspended for Indiana St. and will return against Coastal Carolina.
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Big news
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@Texas-Hawk-10 good catch
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FarmerJayhawk said:
stoptheflop said:
I assume Pooka will be suspended for the Indiana State game and maybe even the Coastal Carolina game, but I’m excited to get the rebuilding started. If MacVittie is at least steady, I hope to be looking for tickets to a bowl game in 2020.
Nailed it. Pooka out for CC but back for the rest of the year assuming he keeps his nose clean. 7 month suspension, ongoing monitoring (including university probation until he graduates), and fulfilling the terms of his diversion is good enough.
I agree , plus 40 hours of community service from the diversion - -on top of that ANOTHER 40 hours of community service through the university - plus his anger management class plus another class being made to take. - -think pretty just. - - ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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I fully understand the situation here with this , and he ha been dealt his penality which needed to be - so don’t take it wrong when I say as a side note - -Huge boost to the football team that he is still part of the team and eligible. - suspended for a game is legit - -do what you need to do young man - -put this behind you and focus on becoming a better individual - - we need you - - nice talent - - -ROCK CHALK ALL DAY LONG BABY
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Watching the hayseeds and national virtue signaling “press” corps spin this as an insult tells me all I need to know about how KU handled it.
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I think it was the right call, it turned into a case of he said, she said. He claimed her pushed her and left, she claimed he beat her. I highly doubt that he beat her or she’d been in pretty bad shape. He needs to surround himself with better people and keep his cool.
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FarmerJayhawk said:
Watching the hayseeds and national virtue signaling “press” corps spin this as an insult tells me all I need to know about how KU handled it.
@FarmerJayhawk I assume this is a good example of what you’re referencing:
https://fansided.com/2019/07/08/les-miles-sends-wrong-message-reinstating-pooka-williams/
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bcjayhawk said:
FarmerJayhawk said:
Watching the hayseeds and national virtue signaling “press” corps spin this as an insult tells me all I need to know about how KU handled it.
@FarmerJayhawk I assume this is a good example of what you’re referencing:
https://fansided.com/2019/07/08/les-miles-sends-wrong-message-reinstating-pooka-williams/
Yessir. Also betrays a lack of understanding about the underlying offense when citing the arrest affidavit instead of the contents of the diversion agreement, which has the set of facts in the case, “When I entered, I confronted (the victim) about cheating on me. I was upset and I grabbed her by the arms during the argument,” the stipulation of facts read. “The other people in the room separated me from (the victim), and I left the room. I later returned to get my keys. I grabbed (the victim) by the wrist to get her to come to the hall with me, but the other people in the room separated me from her. I was able to get (the victim) to come out to the hall with me. While out in the hall we continued to argue and I pushed (her) out of the way and left.” Quote from Newell’s piece.
It’s certainly not good and there’s never a good reason to put your hands on a woman, but it’s not Joe Mixon bad. On the Baylor guy, he got off light. He was serially abusive to his dog and had to surrender it. Calculated cruelty is far worse than a crime of passion in Pooka’s case.
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Interesting how the article said he admitted to punching her in the arm, can find no source for it and it does not list any and really who the hell punches someone in the arm?
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@kjayhawks Pooka punching her in the arm is from text messages Pooka admitted to sending that he acknowledged back when he first got in trouble.
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With the running backs settled and a known strength, this year’s team has two weak or unknown areas that will greatly impact this year’s success: defensive line and QB. The offensive line looks competent and experienced and is more than two deep at each position for the first time in many years. Thanks Coach Beaty. Defensive backs are set and experienced. Wide receivers look good. The defensive line sets up as:
DE 94 Cody Cole, 6’7", 287, Sr. 91 Jelani Arnold, 6’2", 270, So.
NT 90 Jelani Brown, 6’2", 297, Sr. 93 Sam Burt, 6’4", 285, Jr.
DE 97 Darius Morange, 6’7", 265, Sr. 44 Willie McCaleb, 6’2", 240, Sr.This is Benton Smith’s best guess at the two deeps from spring practice. I don’t think the official depth chart gets released until close to the first game. Maybe, there will be a surprise from the new guys coming aboard this summer. At least there looks to be a lot of experience on the defensive line. QB is always a mystery, but MacVittie looked way better than Stanley in the spring game. If QB isn’t a weakness and is at least competent, this will be a very competitive team, even in the Big 12. KU was very competitive with Oklahoma last year and I hope this year’s team builds on that.
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Line play is the hardest thing to build. If you have a bad line (or no depth), it can be tough to get out from under. KU has been short on line play since the Weis years.
The recruits that Beaty brought in to at least get some depth up front on both sides of the ball are a credit to him. I don’t know whether he could have ever gotten things truly turned around, but he at least took KU from laughingstock to just bad.
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The offensive and defensive lines are where the game is settled. Bender was average last season but did throw 13 TDs to 3 INTs while completing 57% of his passes. I really dont think those numbers rise a ton with the Lawrence kid from Clemson. You have to have a line to compete at this level. Clemson, Ohio State, Alabama and Oklahoma all get guys from both sides of the picked in the first 4 rounds of the draft year after year. This year our line has solid size and experience, something we haven’t had in quite sometime. I say this is the best line we’ve had since 2009 or 2010. MM and Bill Snyder were good for getting guys no one wanted to the NFL. It wasnt on talent it, it was experience, execution and coaching. Things that I feel a lot better about with this years group.
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I’m planning to attend both the Indiana State and Coastal Carolina games. I want to show support for the coaching change and our players. Also, because my daughter is a senior and lives just a few blocks from the stadium on Tennessee street. We have the personnel on offense to run the ball, so I hope that’s the focus of our offense. There’s nothing quite like watching a running back break through the line, make a move and then sprint to the end zone. Rock Chalk
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I just saw that the oddsmakers only have KU as a 3 1/2 point favorite over the mighty Indiana State Sycamores. YIKES. KU football sure has a long way to go to claw itself back to respectability. All summer, I’ve thought of the ISU game as a scrimmage for Coach Miles to get a look at a lot of players. I suppose that means we will be underdogs to Coastal Carolina?
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@stoptheflop (This is what l tell myself to feel better) It’s the first game. That’s when the odds makers are at their worst and it’s the easiest to make money if you know a program well. If KU romps look for a more favorable line the next game in an over reactionary type way. As more games are played the closer the line gets. Another consideration of the line is it’s to get betting even so the casinos can make money, not to actually predict the outcome. Ie it’s more representative of the psychology of the game than a predictor of actual score and KUs national perception is poor.
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@dylans Thanks for posting about football. Jeez, our first game is two weeks away and no one is posting about the upcoming season. If we had a starter at QB with the confidence of the coaching staff and the staff was talking positively about the starter, it would improve the impression of our team. Unfortunately, Coach Miles is taking the same approach we’ve seen in the past of not naming a starter. I thought MacVittie looked good enough in the spring game to be named the starter. Then, if someone else steps up and beats him out so be it. But, to still be sitting on the fence or just not be willing to announce the decision that’s been made makes the team and coaching staff look weak.
But I agree with you, Dylans, that much will be known after the first game. I still expect KU to easily handle ISU.
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@stoptheflop All it shows is that KU still doesn’t have the answer at QB. MacVittie doesn’t have a lot of accuracy and Stanley doesn’t have good field awareness.
The running game is the strength of the offense, but neither of the potential starting QB’s has much of a reputation as a passer so teams are going to stack the box against KU a lot.
The advantage MacVittie has is that he is a good runner, but we don’t know how well he can read defenses to execute the zone read which has always been a staple of Les Koenning’s offenses. I’m suspecting MacVittie isn’t great at reading defenses otherwise I think he would have already been named the starter.
I will also say that it’s pretty common to not name a starter, publicly at least, when there isn’t a returning QB in place.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 Are you surprised that KU is barely favored over a FCS opponent?
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@stoptheflop Not really, Indiana State went 7-4 last season so they aren’t some scrub FCS team.
I think the line against Coastal Carolina will be a little bit bigger, probably a 7 point spread or so.
David Beaty did a fantastic job of getting the program pointed in the right direction and made significant progress in upgrading the talent in the roster.
Miles has said the team is further along than he expected which is a positive sign. I think with some positive breaks, this team could go bowling this year. They were only a handful of plays away last year from getting to a bowl game. I would say it’s more likely this team makes a bowl game than regresses this year.
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KU -3.5 seems low to me, even given the condition of the roster. Counted the roster numbers by class. We have 47(!) upperclassmen and 22(!) underclassmen. Ideally those numbers would be flipped. So we’re 16 short of 85 and have half the underclassmen of most programs. We still have FCS-ish type scholarship numbers and won’t be able to add on net until this year’s juniors graduate since Beaty took so many JuCo and grad transfer kids on blueshirts. Phil Steele’s numbers have Beaty’s % of recruits as transfers at 50%. Not ideal.
The talent is better than it’s been in previous years, but still only a handful at max get sniffs in the NFL. Still extremely short on depth, especially in the defensive front 7. I hate that we’re going to have to play Terry at NT instead of redshirting him but there’s really no other option Even if we have 2 we feel ok about, they won’t last all year and Terry will have to take some snaps. In a perfect world, Sam Burt steps up and gives us 2.5 options so we can use Terry in 4 games. Same with Potter at ILB. Crazy stat: Les Miles has signed more HS DT’s than David Beaty at KU.
We absolutely need a QB to step up. I like our OL (though the right side freaks me out some), RB’s, and WR’s. The RB trio is one of the best in the league and Les’s finds at WR have really impressed. Quan Hampton and Evan Fairs, both coming off RS’s, will have an impact as well. It will all be somewhat moot if we don’t find a serviceable QB. Word out of camp is MacVittie just hasn’t been able to pick up the offense as quick as they’d hoped. Stanley is further ahead as far as executing the offense at this point, but he can’t do most of the things MacVittie can, especially running the ball. His accuracy has also been inconsistent. I bet both play week 1, neither looks great, and we win something like 31-20.
Coastal actually could be the easier game. Pooka will be back and they’re going through a coaching transition after a losing record last year. They’re also not up to FBS numbers yet after coming up in 2017. Last year they played one P5 team (S Carolina) and lost by 35. They’re still a young team and really struggle throwing the ball. If our defensive front holds up it could be a blowout.
Honestly, I think we get housed at BC. They feel like a 7-8 win team to me. They can really run the football, so I can’t see us hanging with them for four quarters. The final score likely won’t say how close the game was. I could see something like 34-17.
If we win the games we should in non-con we’ve got a shot at 4 wins. I can see 5 if I REALLY squint. But I like the O/U at 3.5 and I’ll take the over. I think we beat WVU and KSU in the league. WVU is the least experienced team in the league, and we get them as our first league game. KSU is also going through a coaching transition, but is a much more veteran team. They’re not as talented as WVU, but Klieman can coach. They don’t have much depth on defense, so that one could be just who can stay upright longer.
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@FarmerJayhawk I agree with your assessment. Beaty going 50% on Juco’s and transfers was why I was critical of his time. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity. He knew had 3 years minimum, he should’ve took 90% high school players. Then he would’ve at least improved our scholarship numbers. Honestly he did little to improve our program in 4 years. I’m predicting 4 wins myself, the BC game will be interesting. Yes they are most likely a bowl a team but the ACC is super weak outside of Clemson. BC I think was there closest game last year in a 20 point win at BC. I’m not enough of a gambler to predict a true road win vs a power five opponent because we haven’t done it since 2008. Breaking down this team in to position groups it’s easy to think the offensive line, running back corps and secondary will be good. I just can’t think the front 7 will be after losing everyone. I don’t think it would be hard for QB play improve at the same time. Miles has hinted at running the ball and keeping it in our hands at point. I think that is the best strategy for us to win but the defense still has to play well.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 @stoptheflop not a surprise really, we have lost to 2 FCS opponents in the last 4 years. I’d say Indiana State is not quite as good as Nichols was last season but fairly close. I’ll give my score closer to game day.
