We're going to do things a little differently this week on the postgame reaction. I was at a work function all day yesterday and didn't see any of the action, so I won't be able to comment intelligently -- not that that has ever stopped me before -- on any of the action. So I'm going to give some general thoughts on the game and then open the floor to those of you who either listened on the radio or watched on ESPN 360.
First of all, we probably need to reassess our outlook on this season after this game. That's not intended to take anything away from Louisiana, but if we can't beat a Sun Belt Conference team, we have some serious issues. At least in my case, I think we undersold how important Josh Freeman was to this team. I know fans from other schools ran him down as all hype and no results, but we're seeing right now that he truly was about the only reason this program wasn't 2-10 the last two years.
I also think Carson Coffman and Grant Gregory are victims of the standard Freeman set. For all the knocks on Freeman, he had a cannon for an arm and was pretty accurate generally. Coffman and Gregory are being asked to learn an incredibly complicated offensive system on the fly. They also don't have a lot of experience; in Coffman's case, that's because he's been second-string to a first-round NFL pick for two years, and in Gregory's case it's because he was behind Matt Groethe at USF.
It's time for K-State fans to face some cold, hard truths. We are probably going to go 4-8, at best, this year. No matter how much we clamor for the "next QB," there's a reason that guy is behind other players on the depth chart. Bill Snyder has forgotten more about football than I'll ever know, and we're just going to have to face the fact that Coffman is our best option at quarterback. I don't mean that as a knock on Coffman, because he shows flashes of being a solid game-managing quarterback. He'll get more consistent with time.
Hit the jump for our opponent watch and some general reaction to other Big 12 games this week. I was busy all day Saturday, and about the only action I caught was the end of the Oklahoma State-Houston game.
Opponent Watch
UMass got back on track with a 44-7 win over Albany on Saturday. Albany is a notable opponent because, in the limited amount of time I was willing to devote to research on the Great Danes, I am unable to discern whether they are an FCS, Division II or Division III program. All I really know is they play in the America East Conference, and UMass smacked them upside the head last night.
In more somber news, upcoming opponent UCLA beat Tennessee on the road this weekend, 19-15. That moves the Bruins to 2-0 on the season. This game between UCLA and Tennessee is more noteworthy because it did nearly as much to set back offensive play as Auburn's 3-2 "victory" over Mississippi State last season. The Bruins won despite picking up only 12 first down and fewer than 200 yards of total offense. I want Bill C. at Rock M Nation to run a BTBS analysis on this game to determine how truly awful these teams were yesterday.
And yes, I say all that knowing that UCLA is likely to kick our asses next weekend in Pasadena.
Toledo 54, Colorado 38: The Dan Hawkins era in Boulder is winding to a slow, painful close. I actually did catch quite a bit of this game during social hour on Friday night, and the Buffs were painfully awful in just about every phase of the game. Giving up 624 yards is pretty unforgiveable, Cody Hawkins is among the worst third-year starters I've ever seen, and Darrell Scott doesn't get nearly enough touches. Still. Check out our game thread for BracketCat's hilarious recap of an entertaining Friday night at The Ralphie Report.
For More: The Ralphie Report
Next Opponent: Wyoming (Boulder, Colo.)
Iowa 35, Iowa 3: All the good feelings from last week's win over NDSU came to a crashing end when the Cyclones laid an egg at home against their in-state rival. Austen Arnaud had one of the worst games in Cyclone history, which is saying a lot, by going 10 of 22 with four interceptions.
For More: Clone Chronicles
Next Opponent: Kent State (Kent, Ohio)
Nebraska 38, Arkansas State 9: Ho-hum, an easy win for Nebraska against another overmatched opponent. Zac Lee had another solid start, throwing for 340 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Nebraska's running game was a little weak, gaining only 136 yards, but it didn't make much difference.
For more: Corn Nation
Next Opponent: Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.)
Texas 41, Wyoming 10: A very slow start saw the Longhorns leading only 13-10 at halftime, but the second half was all Texas. Statistically, UT dominated pretty much everything, although Colt McCoy completed a horrendous (wink) 63.8 percent of his passes and once again threw one to the wrong team. Texas gets the conference slate rolling next week as Texas Tech pays a visit to Austin.
For more: Burnt Orange Nation
Next opponent: Texas Tech (Austin, Texas)
Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35: Although I wish the Cowboys would have won, I have to toot my own horn for noting in the Big 12 Roundtable this week that OSU had better not sleep on UH. It looks more like the Georgia offense was the cause of Okie State's allegedly resurgent defense, because the Coogs torched the Pokes for 512 yards. Of course, in true Houston fashion, they also gave up 434 and 35 points, but doubt no more the playmaking ability of Case Keenum and Bryce Beall.
Next opponent: Rice (Stillwater, Okla.)
Texas Tech 55, Rice 10: A much better performance this week for the scurvy Pirates of Lubbock, and against better competition, too! Taylor Potts played like, well, a Texas Tech quarterback by throwing for 456 yards and seven (not a typo) touchdowns. However, through two games, the Red Raiders have still failed to crack the 100-yard rushing mark (total), picking up only 52 yards on the ground this week. My guess is that Mike Leach, he of the superior intellect and lacking a brain-to-mouth filter, isn't too worried about practicing that boring, simple handoff stuff.
For more: Double T Nation
Next opponent: Texas (Austin, Texas)
Missouri 27, Bowling Green 20: I had a lot of Mizzou fans around me on Saturday night, and they were sweating this one. It didn't take long to realize that, yes, Blaine Gabbert is human after all, although he's still a surpassingly good human quarterback. I wouldn't get too worked up about this being a close win, you survive games like this and move on.
For more: Rock M Nation
Next opponent: Furman (Columbia, Mo.)
Oklahoma 64, Idaho State 0: I can't really take anything from this one other than it really sucks to be the team that has to play Oklahoma the week after they lose its opening game of the season and its Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback is injured.
For more: Crimson and Cream Machine
Next opponent: Tulsa (Norman, Okla.)
KU 34, UTEP 7: Once again, an easy win for KU without an especially explosive score. For picking up 576 yards, the 'beaks really didn't score a whole lot of points. On the bright side -- for KU fans -- the beaker defense was outstanding, allowing only 208 yards against a UTEP team that Phil Steele picked to win the wild-and-wooly Conference USA West Division. That included only four yards rushing (again, not a typo). Now granted, UTEP lost its starting running back from last year and lost at home to Buffalo last week, but that's still a stout effort.
For more: Rock Chalk Talk
Next opponent: Duke