The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off a bye week, and they certainly needed the time to lick their wounds. Kansas was mauled by the Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech, 66-24 two weeks ago. The Jayhawks yielded 604 rushing yards, which set an NCAA Division I-A record. They’ll look to get back on track this Saturday when they host the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Red Raiders opened as 9 ½ point road favorites, but that was quickly pulled down to 6 or 6 ½ points early in the week. Since then, the line has held pretty steady. The public has been all over Texas Tech, preferring them at a rate of 85/15. That means the sharps have been killing Kansas. To pull the line 3 or 3 ½ points off the opening number despite a strong public favorite means the wiseguys think they’ve found something in this matchup.
It’s hard to sugarcoat Kansas’ performance in Atlanta two weeks ago, but I’m going to try. Kansas wasn’t altogether terrible. Let’s be fair – the game was 24-17 at halftime in favor of Georgia Tech. In other words, Kansas played a decent half of football; they just got murdered in the second half, but credit KU for hanging around on the road, albeit for just a half (GT scored just 21 seconds into the second half).
Offensively, the Jayhawks weren’t bad – 24 points is respectable. They put up over 350 yards, 200 through the air and 150 on the ground, which is good balance. They only had 1 penalty for 5 yards and 0 turnovers. The problem is that they got their butts kicked by a unique triple option system that they won’t see for the rest of the season.
This week, KU gets to play on its home field. The week before the defensive disaster in Atlanta, the Jayhawks protected their home against a respectable Northern Illinois team, playing as an underdog of comparable points. KU showed resilience in that game. They often found themselves trailing but kept coming back, finally putting away the Huskies with 9 seconds left on a Jordan Webb pass to D.J. Beshears.
Also this week, KU will play against a dramatically different offensive style. In fact, it would be hard to imagine a greater contrast from Georgia Tech to Texas Tech! The good news is that Kansas has had an extra week to prepare for Red Raiders’ passing attack, which after the GT game is a blessing. But there’s still cause for concern. The Jayhawks’ defense is not good. There’s simply no way around that. Against Northern Illinois, experienced Huskies quarterback Chandler Harnish was 27 for 33 for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, the Huskies are much more balanced that Texas Tech, which makes defending the pass at least somewhat tougher.
On the flip side, though, the Red Raiders don’t have a good defense, either. They played bad enough to lose against an average Nevada team last week. The Wolf Pack led for most of the game, only to get beat on a late Seth Doege to Eric Ward td pass with 36 seconds left. Tech won, 35-34. But Nevada racked up a staggering 312 rushing yards and 250 passing yards without turning the ball over. If the Red Raiders’ defense plays like that at home against a rebuilding Nevada team, they could be in for a rough Saturday in Lawrence. Additionally, they haven’t had an extra week to prepare like Kansas.
It’s easy to understand why the public is betting Tech so heavily. Kansas was pounded by Georgia Tech and the lasting memory of offensive production by the Red Raiders, along with the gaudy numbers they’ve put up against weak competition, makes them an attractive play. But the wiseguys have played Kansas very strong in this matchup, so consider joining the professionals and backing a slight home underdog with something to prove. Good luck!
