Damn. The Kansas Jayhawks football team is now 10-0. They have not had a record this good since 1899. That's more than a hundred years ago.
I've been reluctant to talk much about these games (nary a word about the thrashing of Nebraska last weekend, aren't you proud?) because I am, at heart, a superstitious man. Do you hear me, Mom, don't you dare watch any of these games!
Okay, so, we started listening to the game on the radio (you can't beat local radio guys, man) while we were putting the boys to bed. Then we turned the TV on, and watched Brent Musburger and his partner talk about all kinds of things except the game. Several series went by while they chatted about Ohio State's loss to Illinois, the Big Ten, the big Oklahoma State donor they were going to have on later... so we stopped listening to them. We got a radio from the bedroom and plugged it in to listen to a couple of guys who were actually bothering to watch the game in front of them.
The game was exciting, no doubt, especially when Oklahoma State scored a couple of times on quick long passes, but they came through in the end. A little luck, a key injury on the other side (you hate to see that) and some excellent plays, and we're 10-0.
Wow. It is safe to say, even if we crash and burn against Iowa State next weekend, that I have never had a college football season like this one. It's fun.
A couple of notes:
- KU leads the nation in kickoff returns. One of the radio guys asked, after our returner brought one back past the 50-yard line, "Why would anyone kick to him?"
- Brent Musburger is making a smooth transition into grumpy-old-man, with a comment to Adarius Bowman on the sidelines grimacing at the camera shadowing his injury walk, "You play on Sunday, you better get used to the cameras, young man." Next for Musburger, a shotgun and a rocking chair.
- Doug Flutie has got to be tired of getting every small quarterback who runs for his life out of the pocket compared to him. He does speak with authority when talking about final-second victories, though.
- Mark Mangino (KU's coach) has never seen a two point conversion that he didn't like. The feeling does not appear to be mutual.
- The mid-third-quarter lecture on fluid dynamics was interesting. Not.
- Wireless radio communications do not prevent Mangino from having a cable boy. Instead of making sure the coach doesn't trip on the long cable allowing him to talk to the coaches up in the booth, this cable boy gets to hold the radio box... because Mangino just doesn't want to hang it on his belt? That job has got to suck.