Colorado seems to want to drag its game with Arizona State long into the Sabbath, and I'm way too tired to wait up for it. Thus, I will be postponing my Big 12 Roundup until tomorrow. I'm also going to hold off on my recap of the SJSU game, as I'm on my fourth Shiner Bock and am awaiting game reports from those at the game. Internet radio just isn't the same.
Enough introduction. In this section, I'm going to look at K-State's upcoming opponent and its previous opponent(s) by how they've fared. Comparing games in football is an inexact and dangerous science, but the comparisons do offer some evidence of what we can expect.
Missouri State
Record: 2-0 (Defeated Missouri-Rolla 62-17, defeated Tennessee-Martin 51-44)
Obviously, the Bears are putting up some points. Also obvious is the weakness of their opponents. Missouri-Rolla is 0-2, with its other loss coming against Truman State. Tennessee-Martin is also 0-2, with its other loss coming to Southern Mississippi, 35-13. My preview of this game can be seen at this link. I have a feeling K-State's defense will be a little bit better than those exhibited by Missouri-Rolla and Tennessee-Martin.
Auburn
As I typed that review of Missouri State, Auburn lost (26-23) in overtime to South Florida (coached by former K-State assistant Jim Leavitt). That clearly takes some of the shine off our strong showing in Jordan-Hare last week, but there are some positives we can take from Auburn's performance.
First of all, I think USF is going to turn some heads before the end of the season. As for the game itself, Auburn turned the ball over five times, and yet I think USF scored only three points off turnovers. Once again, Auburn's defense is ridonkulous, holding USF and its talented quarterback, Matt Grothe, to 299 yards total offense.
For those of you who said Alesana sucks last week, I offer further proof that you are morons. Quentin Groves this week recorded three tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries. He's kind of a big deal.
This loss does us absolutely no good. Coupled with our pedestrian performance tonight (more on that tomorrow while I watch the Texans-Chiefs game), my relative enthusiasm after last week has been tempered somewhat. Still, I don't think anyone else in the North has shown they are clearly any better than anyone else, but more on that tomorrow during the roundup.
Next week I would really like to see a blowout. We need to prove we can come out and really play a complete game against an opponent that is physically overmatched. We need to see Josh Freeman throw for more touchdowns than interceptions. We need to rush for 200+ yards, which will require a commitment to the running game as much as improved offensive line play. We have to bring it every week and prove we belong.