Here we are, one Saturday away from being midway through the Big 12 Conference football season, and the two biggest unanswered questions are:
Baylor stunned the two-time defending North Division champion Buffs, 42-20, Saturday in Waco, Texas, for its third straight win after suffering back-to-back losses to — good grief — Alabama-Birmingham and North Texas.
On the flip side, Colorado has lost three straight since posting impressive, albeit close, victories over Colorado State in Denver and UCLA in Boulder, Colo.
Coincidentally, Kansas’ next two opponents are Colorado (2-3 overall, 0-1 league) and Baylor (3-2, 1-0). The Jayhawks (4-1, 1-0) will play Saturday in Boulder, then entertain the Bears the following Saturday for homecoming.
Without a doubt, Colorado is in the tank. The Buffaloes have surrendered more than 40 points in those three defeats. In fact, the Buffs are residing in triple-digit NCAA defensive territory — a familiar area for Kansas, until this year. Of the 117 NCAA Division I-A football schools, Colorado ranks 112th in scoring defense and 114th in pass defense.
Moreover, Colorado ranks 109th in turnover margin. The Buffs have been guilty of 14 giveaways — 10 lost fumbles and four interceptions — while notching only six takeaways.
Yes, the Buffs’ stats have been dreadful. And you know what? They’re favored by a touchdown over the Jayhawks. Yeah, that’s right. Seven points. Can you believe that?
Talk about skewed perception. Kansas has won four of five games and still can’t get any respect from the bookies. Yes, I know Colorado has a history of performing at a higher level high above sea level than on the plains and that starting quarterback Joel Klatt is ailing, but what’s going on?
Maybe it’s because Kansas hasn’t been favored all season. The Jayhawks would have been against Jacksonville State, but games involving NCAA Div. I-AA teams don’t make the board. Putting it another way, Kansas has won four straight, Colorado has lost three in a row, and KU is the underdog.
I’m not saying Kansas can’t lose Saturday at Folsom Field. In sports, anything can happen. No doubt the Buffs will be circling their wagons — even the one that hauls massive mascot Ralphie — when Kansas comes to town, and the Jayhawks could run into a firestorm.
Colorado could very well bounce back from the Baylor abyss — heck, there are still seven games remaining — but the future appears problematic for Gary Barnett’s program, in large part because of the transgressions of predecessor Rick Neuheisel, one of college football’s contemporary pariahs.
Colorado will begin the second year of its NCAA probation Wednesday. Under terms of the probation, Colorado has lost five scholarships and has had its expenses-paid recruiting visits cut back. Those restrictions may not sound like much, yet it’s the onus of probation that gores like a buffalo horn. All is fair in love, war and recruiting, and, believe me, the probation factor has been and will be used against Colorado.
Barnett may seem like the innocent victim in all this, but critics have been pointing fingers at him, too. Neill Woelk of the Boulder Camera has chastised Barnett for his failure to retain former CU players Eric Bieniemy and Jon Embree on his staff.
“He didn’t like the attention they received,” Woelk penned about Barnett after the Baylor loss. “He wanted HIS coaches. He wanted yes-men. Now he has them — and now we’re seeing the results.”
When you lose, everybody shoulders the blame because losing magnifies your problems. When you win — as KU has been — your weaknesses are minimized. Kansas, for instance, still has to prove its defense is really as good as it was against Missouri and that its offense can rekindle the killer instinct it displayed against the Tigers.
Baylor and Kansas haven’t convinced anybody yet. Here’s proof: The Big 12’s networks have targeted five of the six Big 12 games Oct. 18 as TV possibilities. Only one game has been ruled out. You guessed it — Baylor at Kansas.
