I am sorry, Kansas.
Last week, I derided your football team for its string of a wondrously hopeless Big 12 losses. Thirty-eight points to Baylor. Fifty-two to Iowa State. Twenty-seven to a Texas Tech team that fired its head coach less than two weeks later.
But behind the tempest of turnovers and empty stands was the man I vowed never to doubt when he made the leap from Division III to the FBS in one fell swoop and coaxed a 10-win season out of the University at Buffalo — Buffalo! — three years later. Lance Leipold, WIAC dynasty builder, briefly pulled the Jayhawks from the basement they have lovingly furnished with rusty futons pulled from curbs across the midwest to stun the world. They were Chuck Wepner, brought in solely to bleed, but suddenly staring down at Muhammad Ali on the canvas. They led No. 3 Oklahoma 10-0 at halftime.
You don’t get points for “almost” in college football, but you do get to steal the spotlight on a desolate early slate on the gridiron. For roughly two hours, Kansas football had an upset bid and the world’s attention. Penn State and Illinois stole that back — in a bad way — later in the afternoon, but for one brief afternoon, Leipold’s team was the center of the universe.
Let’s not act like I was the only one to be stunned by this. Kansas was so happy with the result it stopped checking tickets at the door of that game. And not just in a “hey we got the cool usher, let’s sneak into this section” way. The doors were officially and slightly desperately open at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium last Saturday.
The gates are open on the east and west sides of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, no ticket required.
Show up. Be loud. Rock Chalk.
— Kansas Jayhawks (@KUAthletics) October 23, 2021
(Honestly? That rules. It feels like some early 1970s, wild west of football accounting and fanbase building and I love it. More fan engagement midway through potential upsets, please)
Jayhawks, you’ve earned my respect. For one week, at least. I was deeply and impressively wrong about your ability to cover a 38.5-point spread. This Saturday you’ve only gotta cover a 30.5-point cushion against the other Oklahoma school. Don’t let all your newfound, got into the stadium for free, fans down.
How can Week 9 live up to Week 8’s “garbage dump built on a fault line and doused with gasoline” pedigree? Let’s talk about it. All lines are provided by Tipico Sportsbook.
