It’s homecoming weekend at Kansas University, and unlike many schools that schedule favorable match-ups for their football programs during the reunion weekend, KU is welcoming 14th-ranked Oklahoma to town for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
Given the current state of Kansas football and the nasty nature of the conference it plays in, there really are no easy homecoming weeks for the Jayhawks, who enter today’s game 0-7 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12. But, according to first-year coach David Beaty, KU’s tough match-up and rough record do not take away from the excitement of welcoming former players and alums back to campus to celebrate KU.
With that in mind, Beaty and his players have their sights set on one this weekend.
“Your job is to win the game for homecoming,” Beaty said. “That’s what your job is. We’re going to stay focused, and our goal is to go win the football game for our fans, and for our (former players) and all the people that love KU. So our focus is making sure we take care of our job. We’re the entertainment for them, and we have to give them what they need, which is to go win the game.”
Preparing for an Oklahoma team that ranks at or near the top of the Big 12 in several defensive categories and fields an offense that features a pair of dangerous running backs and blazing fast wide receivers certainly was enough to keep KU busy this week. So, other than mentioning the importance of homecoming to his team a couple of times, Beaty said nothing changed in terms of the way KU went about its business.
“‘Hey, listen,” began Beaty, rattling off what he told his team. “People are counting on us. This is homecoming, man. It’s a big deal for our fans. Make it about more than you.'”
Happy Halloween
Beaty, who has two daughters himself, said he was glad today’s Halloween kickoff was scheduled for the afternoon and not the evening.
“It’s a holiday that you really can’t control when it falls,” Beaty said of everybody’s favorite dress-up day. “But, you know, it should be a really great night. Hopefully we can make it to where we can get the football game in and everybody can still go do their trick-or-treating. The good news is the game is at 2:30, and it’s not at night at 6 o’clock. I think there will still be a lot of folks here, because it’s important to them.”
Interesting note: KU and OU have played twice before on Halloween, both times in Lawrence. The Jayhawks and Sooners played to a 16-16 tie in 1914, and OU routed KU, 71-10, in 1987.
Series history
Since 1903, OU and KU have played 105 football games, which marks the second most meetings with a single opponent in Kansas history. K-State leads with 112. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 72-27-6, and have won the last 10 match-ups dating back to 2000. OU has outscored KU 398-133 during those 10 games.
Oklahoma owns a 33-14-3 edge in games played in Lawrence.
The last time Kansas beat Oklahoma was in 1997, when KU pulled out a 20-17 victory in Lawrence.
