Five Reasons Kansas Could Lose

A quick link for you. I won't fault him too badly, because even he doesn't seem to really believe this logic. But to even suggest the possibility that this Wildcat team could win the north deserves a very hearty laugh. They've currently faced one legitimate team and in their own stadium, they lost that game by 30 points. They've also still got OU and a trip to Columbia on tap. Even if they don't want to admit that there are other losses on the docket, they'd have to concede those two meaning that by virtue of a tie-breaker; Methzou would have to go 4-4 in the league for the Wildcats to represent the north in Arrowhead.

Speaking of the Tigers, their butt chinned quarterback is hoping that Colt throws for 500 yards and 5 TDs in a tie game this week. Interesting, to say the least.

Now, hard as it may be to find five reasons the Jayhawks can lose this game, we're going to try. We told you we'd adhere to this routine and hell if we're going to lie to our beloved reader(s). Our word is our bond.

1. Sam Bradford: Question the OU defense, special teams or running game all you want. But don’t question Sam Bradford. Facing the high pressure front seven from Texas, Bradford threw for 387 yards (72%) and 5 TDs. There were a couple picks in there as well, though one was one the last play of the game.
Will it hurt us? Yep. There’s no sense expecting anything but his best. He’s yet to have a bad game in Norman and Kansas’ secondary is pretty susceptible to a good passing attack. The lack of a running game killed them against a team with pass rushing athletes like Texas; that won’t be the case this week.

2. Location: The Sooners currently possess the nation’s longest home winning streak at 20 games, dating all the way back to opening weekend 2005 when they were shocked by TCU. Long story short, they don’t lose a lot in Norman.
Will it hurt us? Of course. This doesn’t mean KU can’t win this game, but it certainly doesn’t help their chances. Nearly every team in college football is better in front of their fans (aside from UGA) and Oklahoma is by no means an exception. There’s something about 85,000 overall clad land thieves that gets Bob Stoops’ team going, and with their talent that usually leads to a W.

3. Pass rush: Currently, OU sits in a tie for 3rd nationally with 3.5 sacks per game. Among other things, one of the biggest reasons OU was able to dominate Methzou last year was the pressure they put on Chase with their front seven. The linebackers may have taken a step down (especially with Reynolds out), but their front four are still up to snuff.
Will it hurt us? We’ll see. OU, MU and Tech will always deny that their offenses scoring quickly have adverse affects on their defenses. I, for one, disagree. And from everything I’ve heard from the Texas game, this played a big part late in the game. If KU is able to sustain some drives and keep it close, this could neutralize their pass rush late in the game. Whether that will be enough to win, as it was for UT on Saturday, remains to be seen.

4. Saturday’s loss: Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only time I remember OU losing two straight games is when they were mysteriously hammered by KSU and followed that up by wrongly being placed in the MNC, only to lose to Nick Saban’s LSU Tigers. That was over 4.5 years ago.
Will it hurt us? Well since they don’t lose a whole lot, we’re not working with a very big sample size here. But since their league and national title hopes were just derailed for the time being by their most hated rival, it’s reasonable to assume they’ll come out focused and pissed. Then again, especially with the way Texas came back, at least no one on Kansas will make the mistake of thinking they’re invincible.

5. They’re just better: Simple as it is, I’ve used it on Kansas’ end both games and each time it has proved to be the most relevant reason cited. KU does a lot of things well. Actually, pass rush aside, they do about everything as well as Oklahoma. But optimistically, they have maybe 6-8 NFL caliber players on their whole team. Oklahoma sends at least that many every year.
Will it hurt us? Most definitely. Like we say every time in this space, the better players or even the better team don’t always win. But they can certainly overcome a whole lot more mistakes. You could reasonably argue that Oklahoma has a better player at every position on the field. In order for Kansas to win this game, they will have to overcome that; no easy task.