KU vs. Texas Tech: David Beaty’s last stand

Texas Tech smoked Kansas on Saturday. The defense gave the offense every opportunity to capitalize, but the Jayhawks struggled to execute.

David Beaty’s Jayhawks entered Saturday with a new offensive gameplan. They left Lubbock with the same result. Peyton Bender was 18/41 passing with two touchdowns (one in garbage time) and a red zone interception. If there was any question about which quarterback Beaty favored before Saturday, there isn’t any doubt now. Bender played the whole game and looked out of sorts from start to finish. Beaty will reevaluate the quarterback position this week, but reality is this offense won’t win in the Big 12.

Positives

KU forced turnovers. The defense, led by Hasan Defense, created two great red zone opportunities for the Jayhawks. Mike Lee was bringing the thunder with some great early hits to set the tone. Unfortunately, he was ejected for a questionable targeting call. Corione Harris made a great strip on the ball. The secondary played well. They got out-muscled on some deep balls, but for the most part held their ground while staying on the field for most of the game.

Pooka Williams continues to flash for the putrid Kansas offense. His patience and quick twitch athleticism makes him lethal in the open field. Steven Sims snagged a terrific touchdown catch. That’s really all I can say positively about the offense.

Negatives

David Beaty fired Doug Meacham last week for not producing an effective enough offense. David Beaty took over as play caller and produced similarly poor results. Peyton Bender was out of sorts with his receivers. Twice he got the ball on the opposing 3 yard line and didn’t produce a touchdown.  Bender struggles to recognize pressure in the pocket. He stares down receivers and lofts balls into windows that not even Patrick Mahomes could fit a ball into. It’s just a recipe for disaster.

Takeaways

This is a short column because there isn’t a lot to glean from Saturday’s performance. Beaty abandoned the running game early relying on Bender to get the job done. That just doesn’t work against teams that can score 45 on anybody. Beaty’s tenure in Lawrence will end soon. Until then, tune into support the players. Or don’t. Nobody should have to sit through what is looking like another year without a win in Big 12 play.