FRIDAY SMACK TALK: Kansas Sux

Original, no?

Well, Kansas ain't good, however you phrase it. Bill Connelly points out that they're not all bad:

The Jayhawks can't throw and can't stop the run (two slight problems), but they can run the ball, and they shut things down on passing downs -- they rank fifth in the country in passing downs defense. Despite all of their problems (and they have many), the Jayhawks could challenge TCU in at least a couple of ways in the Horned Frogs' Big 12 debut.

So we don't expect perfection in the passing game again. And TCU's defensive line will give a little more on the ground. Isn't the worst team in the mighty Big 12 supposed to be a tougher test than that?

TCU Horned Frogs | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Game Page | Rock Chalk Talk

But KU remains the easiest introduction to the conference that the Big 12 could serve up. Thanks, guys.

Really, though-- the best smack talk comes when a team's own partisans beg the fans to come for other reasons than the game itself. Frogs O' War can do no better than Tom Keegan already did:

Is it really such an ordeal to show up for a tailgate, eat great food, consume your favorite spirits, share the company of friends... Is it really a chore to sit outside for three hours with friends, watching Tony Pierson ... and Taylor Cox average 100 rushing yards [per game]? ... Is the view of the hill really such a bad backdrop for three hours in the sun on a day in which the extended forecast calls for a high of 81 degrees and a zero-percent chance of rain...?

No, Tom, it's not. But watching your team get dismembered like it will be tomorrow is... an ordeal, any way you slice it. TCU's defense, if back in any substantial way to its accustomed form, makes for a frustrating, suffocating, ultimately disappointing days for its opponents.

Add a roaring purple-clad offense, and folks in Lawrence will have to get used to losing twice a year to purple people eaters.

Welcome to the new Big 12, Jayhawks.