Kansas vs. Boston College: A long time coming

Friday night, I stood in Section P at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill surrounded by a sea of blue. Smiles and high fives were plentiful, and for a brief moment, Jayhawk fans saw a glimpse of what their future hopefully holds. Kansas didn’t just beat Boston College – they dominated them. After falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, the Jayhawks outscored Boston College 48-14. Kansas changed a losing game from a week ago and responded to adversity. For far too long, KU fans have expected a fold. Friday night those fans got a fight – a refreshing change after a decade of incompetence.

Positives

There is tons of love to go around, but you have to start with quarterback Carter Stanley. A week after one of the worst performances of his career, Stanley responded with an absolute monster of a game. I think he looked more comfortable in a spread out offense and it showed on Friday night. Khalil Herbert decimated the BC defense and proved to be a load to bring down in the open field. 

On defense, Kansas gang tackled well and routinely had 8 or 9 white helmets on the football at any given time. From a special teams perspective, Kyle Thompson was spectacular. His 46-yard punting average on Friday routinely pinned the Eagles in negative field position. 

In total, the biggest positive from this game was the way the team adjusted and responded after a gut-wrenching loss. They got their butts beat a week ago. We’ve seen KU teams not respond to that in the past. Kansas opened up their playbook and got hats on the ball which were my two keys to this game.

Negatives

I don’t have a lot to put here. They could’ve done a better job on outside contain on both defending the run and on kick returns. They also struggled covering the seam. Yeah, that’s about all I have here.

Takeaways

Les Miles, who has long held a reputation for stubbornness, abandoned his pounding offense for a modern spread attack. That in and of itself is a major positive sign for Kansas. It is what maligned Miles’ tenure in Baton Rouge, and is his biggest red flag over the course of his career. If you haven’t yet read up on Brent Dearmon, I highly recommend you do so. I think his addition has been extremely valuable for the Kansas staff. If the Jayhawks continue to adapt and improve this could be a special season in Lawrence. They will certainly lose again (and maybe in demoralizing fashion), but for right now the momentum is positive. Time to go 3-1.