Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football vs TCU Horned Frogs Crossover: Keys to a Backs Against the Wall Game

Episode Date: September 26, 2024

Previewing Kansas Jayhawks football vs TCU Horned Frogs in a crossover episode between Stephen Simcox and Derek Johnson. KU vs TCU, Lance Leipold vs Sonny Dykes, importance of the game with backs agai...nst the wall, information on both teams: why has Josh Hoover been so good, what is wrong with Jalon Daniels and the TCU defense, keys to the game, predictions and more.For your next listen, check out the Locked On College Football podcast! From NIL deals to never ending conference realignment rumors, Spencer McLaughlin gets you ready for an exciting season on the gridiron! Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!ROYDownload Roy for iOS or Android and enter referral code LOCKED ON and you’ll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000 cash. Visit JoinRoy.com for additional details. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. Get off the sidelines and into the NIL game with Roy.RobinhoodRobinhood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for only $5/month. The new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold.Sign up at robinhood.com/goldTerms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE and get $50 instantly when you play $5! You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONCOLLEGEGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.5-Hour ENERGYGo to 5hourENERGY.com and use promo code LOCKEDONCFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourENERGY.com today!eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed !Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

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Starting point is 00:00:01 This Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium, we have two teams that kind of feel like they're on the brink, teetering on their season. We'll talk about that next here on Locked on Horned Frogs and Locked on Jayhawks. It's your team every day. You are Locked on Horned Frogs, your daily podcast on the TCU Horned Frogs. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. That's right, your team every day. Got a special edition of the show today. In the box next to me, if you're watching on YouTube,
Starting point is 00:00:36 is Derek Johnson at DJohnsonRadio on Twitter. And he does Locked On Jayhawks, which is the daily Kansas pod. And Derek, I thought we would start here. TCU is falling below expectations right now. The season hasn't started like fans wanted it to. I know Kansas is in a similar spot, but Kansas really had, I mean, there was some like dark horse Big 12 championship talk, possible playoff appearance type thing.
Starting point is 00:01:02 They're one in three, but they've been really close games. And I saw you pointing out after that West Virginia game, like this team feels like they could be four or no. So I guess what's the vibe right now about who this group is and, you know, can they salvage this moving forward? It's really hard to say because if they continue to be on the same path they've been on you would think they're gonna get a couple you know fortunate bounces their way i guess maybe literally when you you see how that unlv game ended with that fumble that happened there um
Starting point is 00:01:36 to where you know they like you said could easily be four no you're not gonna win every close one score game and unless you have that special type of season so maybe you'd be three and one even but that gives you hope that they are better than the record indicates the scare here though is that by being one and three the confidence drops up you start getting down the dumps a little bit the fan support's not there as much and then all of a sudden instead of even being in the close games where you have the chance of winning that even drops off before it so this is a really pivotal moment for Kansas. I mean, obviously, like you said, it's kind of desperation for both teams at this point in time.
Starting point is 00:02:10 And for KU playing at home, you're going to Arizona State after this, all of a sudden looks like a good opponent. You know, you lose this game, you could be staring at one in five very easily. So this is back against the wall for KU. So Jalen Daniels, I know there's a ton of excitement around him getting back and being healthy. And he stayed healthy so far. Turnovers have been an issue. Is it just inconsistency that's been the big problem?
Starting point is 00:02:36 Are you still seeing those special moments from him? It's just about putting together a full game. You know, there were a couple throws in the West Virginia game where it felt like vintage Jalen. There's one in the first half where he kind of, he's forced to turn around and scramble one way, go back the other way, and then throw, I don't know, 15 yards down the field to the sideline. It was a beautiful throw, but we haven't seen that really consistently.
Starting point is 00:02:56 The explosive plays have just kind of gone away for Kansas so far this season. The big plays have kind of gone away for Kansas so far this season. I don't know how much of that is Jalen Daniels struggling. I don't know how much of that is losing Andy Kotelnicki, who has gone to Penn State and just had like 700 yards last week and has done good things so far. Probably a little bit of both. I don't know that I've ever seen something like this happen at the collegiate level. You see it at the professional level, guys get old or a barrage of injuries happen over the course of their career. They just fall off or whatever. They get past their prime, whatever it is. And I guess you could say Jalen's had different injuries
Starting point is 00:03:32 that deal with, but like, I don't know, like at the collegiate level, we see guys running backs tear their ACL and then the next year they're back and they're running for a thousand yards. And so he had the injury. I think the bigger deal was the rust he's wearing off because it's not just that he missed basically all of last season after the back injury. It's that he didn't really play in spring ball. It was very limited. He didn't really do much in summer ball.
Starting point is 00:03:52 It was very limited. Even the fall practice was maybe a little bit limited at the very start to where he looks like somebody who is still trying to get in rhythm with everybody. But the biggest thing has been the interceptions. He's been throwing costly interceptions. I mean, he already has seven interceptions. He's been throwing costly interceptions. I mean, he already has seven interceptions so far this season. That's two more than anybody else in the conference.
Starting point is 00:04:11 And they've been costly interceptions. The Illinois one at the end of the first half on a bubble screen that gets returned for a touchdown. You know, you lose that game by less than a touchdown. That could have been a big swing. The UNLV game, you throw an interception when you're up with a chance to add more to the lead before the end of the half. They go down, they get a touchdown right before half.
Starting point is 00:04:30 Again, you lose that game by less than a touchdown. So the interceptions have been very costly, and they've just kind of been really bad interceptions. It just hasn't looked at all like the same guy. So you did it beautifully there. I always butcher his name, but Andy Kolonecki, he leaves for Penn State in the offseason. And I feel like that was kind of an underreported thing.
Starting point is 00:04:53 I'm sure it wasn't around your neck of the woods because people following the team closely understand who he is and what type of play caller he is. But I remember a lot of people giving Kansas a ton of hype, and I would agree with it, but I did have this question of like, okay, new play caller. What does this offense look like as an outsider? I feel like Jeff Grimes is getting a lot of heat right now. Do you feel like he is being unfairly maligned? And I guess going with that, what are some of the big differences between what he's trying to do and what they were doing in the previous
Starting point is 00:05:24 offensive system? So I definitely thought Andy Kotelicki was going to be a huge loss and was going to do well at Penn State, but I kind of undersold it personally, and I kind of bought into the hype. I kind of drank the Kool-Aid a little bit of the idea that, okay, well, he wasn't the coordinator for the bowl game. They have their quarterbacks coach step up. They still put up 49 points against UNLV.
Starting point is 00:05:44 They have Jason Bean throw for six touchdowns. You have Jeff Grimes who came to the practices for the bowl games, got integrated with the offense. You know, he was part of a Big 12 championship Baylor team, and he was part of the BYU team with Zach Wilson that helped him get drafted in the top five with a balanced attack with Tyler Algier and stuff, to where I bought into the idea that Kansas was still going to be okay. And the idea was that they were going to run a lot of the concepts they were going to be
Starting point is 00:06:08 having. And it was just going to be Jeff Grimes kind of adding a few things, adding his own flavor, but it was going to be the same ice cream at the end of the day. And I think one of the other key losses for KU in addition is Matt Lubick. He was a analyst for the team for the past couple of years. He's actually the analyst who brought in the triple option, spread option concepts that they've been running the last few years. He was the one who brought it into Cole Nicky's offense. He since took over as the offensive coordinator for this year at Nevada. And Nevada, the record doesn't look great,
Starting point is 00:06:35 but I think they're 2-3. Last year they went 2-10, and they've been a lot better. He's made a big impact there. He was somebody who he might have been the offensive coordinator. They might have hired internally. He was going through a cancer battle when they were going through the hire. And so there was too much uncertainty. They ended up going with Grimes. So Grimes has kind of been scapegoated and is kind of public enemy number one for the blame game. When you're looking
Starting point is 00:06:56 at that here locally, I think it's been hard to determine how much of Jalen's struggles have been him, how much has been Jeff Grimes. There was an interesting comment this week from Jeff Grimes at a press conference talking about that he feels like Jalen and the receivers are still trying to get on the same page and find that rhythm, which that would go to the idea of rust. But certainly there's been probably too many bubble screens. I mean, there was in the UNLV game probably six or seven bubble screens, and it starts to get repetitive. One of them was on a critical second down and two.
Starting point is 00:07:24 When a touchdown would have put Kansas up two scores they end up getting the field goal UNLV gets touchdown and uh the rest is history as they win that game you throw the interception on the bubble screen against Illinois and kind of a well I think it was a second straight bubble screen on a play there's been too many of that um there hasn't felt like as much tight end usage with Andy Kotelnicki there's been more jet sweeps and reverses. Those plays have actually worked pretty well for KU to this point in time, but more just straight deep passes, whereas with the Kotelnicki offense, it felt like the big plays were manufactured organically. It would be a 15-yard pass that then you had 20 yards of room to run after it.
Starting point is 00:07:58 With this offense, it feels like they're trying to, okay, hey, we need a big play. Let's throw it 30 yards down the field. So it's been a little bit different. I don't think it's been the smoothest transition, but it's also very tough to tell, you know, if Jalen Daniels were playing like classic Jalen Daniels, would the offense be humming just fine? I don't know. Man, it's too bad you guys couldn't get UNLV before those NIL checks. What a wild story today, but yeah, that was a really good, it is a good team. Things will change now, but tough stretch of the schedule here for the Jayhawks for sure.
Starting point is 00:08:34 Defensively, I mean, from a numbers perspective, it looks pretty solid, Derek. Has it been as promising as it looks on paper and what are they doing well as a unit so far? Yeah, they've been good outside of like the key moments of the game. So I think they've given up, I forget what it is, like 42 points or something like that in quarters one through three this season combined. And then in the fourth quarter, it's like 35. It's right around there. So I mean, they've struggled in the fourth quarter and that's been unfortunate. If the offense would have scored more points, they would have had a bigger buffer, but like the Illinois game, they were great all game.
Starting point is 00:09:06 And then the last two drives, they give up a touchdown and they can't get off the field without giving up a field goal and too much time icing away. The UNLV game, they're great all game. And then UNLV has a big drive. They almost have the fumble. They convert a couple fourth downs and boom, UNLV scores and takes the lead.
Starting point is 00:09:21 And then the West Virginia game, it just completely fell apart. They give up two touchdowns in the last three or four minutes of the game. So they've been good overall, but those closing minutes of the game, they have to figure something out. The run defense has been very good so far for KU, outside of stopping running quarterbacks. That's been a problem against Green and Sluka. Fortunately, I don't think that's as big of an issue
Starting point is 00:09:42 for this week's game against Hoover. But they've also given up a lot of big passes, and I think that could be problematic against TCU. And a big reason why, I do think they have good cover corners. Maybe they've gotten sucked up a little bit trying to get big interceptions or something, but I think beyond that is that they're not getting a ton of production from their pass-rushing defensive end spot right now. And so teams just have a little bit longer to throw than they did last year when they had Austin Booker. But for the most part, the defense has been better than it was a season ago.
Starting point is 00:10:11 And I think it's here to stay, but I think this is going to be a really interesting matchup because KU hasn't played a team that's going to chuck it around like this. Can TCU get up off the mat after an embarrassing performance against SMU last week? We'll get into that and more next year on Locked on Horned Frogs and Locked on Jayhawks, your team every day. So our friends at FanDuel, they've got Kansas as one-and-a-half point favorites
Starting point is 00:10:37 right now, almost a pick-em game there. That over-under for this ballgame, 58-and-a-half, is a great time to join FanDuel, as it always is. FanDuel.com or to join FanDuel, as it always is. FanDuel.com or download the FanDuel app. One $5 bet gets you $200 in bonus bets. That's a great deal. One $5 bet, you just put that down, $200 in bonus bets.
Starting point is 00:10:59 College football, NFL, Major League Baseball playoffs coming up, whatever it is that you're interested in, FanDuel has it, and it's available for you. FanDuel.com or the FanDuel app. FanDuel is where the game starts. We appreciate their sponsorship here on the Lockdown Network. Alright, Derek, go ahead and let's fire away with some
Starting point is 00:11:19 TCU questions here. I've had a very hit or miss watching experience with TCU this year I watched the first game against Stanford and I was I was pretty impressed with the defense outside of the a billion penalties that that they tried to get in that game right um I've been impressed with the receivers I watched a lot of the UCF game and then I stopped watching they blow the lead late you know last week against SMU I didn't catch the game at first and then I look at the scoreboard and I'm like what's going on then I look at the box score and I'm like okay they just had five turnovers actually I yarded them by 100 yards so
Starting point is 00:11:48 what do you think is the real TCU I know that's kind of an open-ended question but like it feels like you know you could make an argument the TCU is is better than the record after after Stanford you know goes out and beat Syracuse last week all that sort of stuff um I think there's a lot of talent on the team but like what, but what is kind of the local expectations and thoughts about where this program is right now? Well, it would be fascinating to see what happens if they could hold on against UCF. I know that butterfly effect could be true for all teams across the country,
Starting point is 00:12:18 but they were really cruising going into halftime in that ballgame, and the defense was okay. They forced a couple field goal attempts, were able to get some blocks to keep UC off of the scoreboard. And really, Derek, I mean, the second half, Gus Malzahn just went to running the football. And, I mean, KJ Jefferson, Harvey, the running back, they were just coming downhill.
Starting point is 00:12:40 And TCU has not had an answer for the run game over the last six quarters. Sonny Dykes said this week he thinks Kansas might run the ball like 70% of the time just because they haven't been able to stop it. But I think a lot of the confidence and intensity you saw from the team against Stanford on that side of the ball has kind of waned as they've had some struggles in year one under Andy Avalos. And offensively, they're sort of one-dimensional. I mean, they're really throwing the ball a lot.
Starting point is 00:13:09 They've had issues running the football. Their O-line has done pretty good in pass protection. They haven't been able to get much of a push so far. And, I mean, even against Long Island, the FCS opponent, like they struggled to run in obvious rushing situations. So that's been an issue as well. I think this team is talented. They have some pretty obvious flaws that they're going to have to work around.
Starting point is 00:13:30 I feel like the biggest red flag, though, is the undisciplined nature of this group. It's starting to feel like a trend with Sonny Dykes. You know, year one was so great and everything fell into place. But since then, five and seven, and then the way this year started, there's just been too much careless football all the way around. And, you know, I mean, SMU, like that's a game they circle. They had a bye week before playing TCU.
Starting point is 00:13:58 But you're coming off a big loss. It's a rivalry game. Like to immediately get punched in the mouth and fall behind 17 nothing doesn't set a great precedent so I'm really curious to see how they come out like just the intensity and effort level against Kansas because I think that alone would help but then you also have to execute and eliminate some of those dumb penalties and turnovers if you're gonna be able to stay in these games I think there's a path to them winning six or seven ballgames and finding a way to get this back on track.
Starting point is 00:14:31 But I think they're going to have to outscore a lot of people, Derek. I feel like they've got some personnel issues with this defense that they're not going to be able to overcome. And it's really more about can you improve somewhat in that area and can the offense kind of keep humming? I still have nightmares from the game two years ago when they couldn't stop Quentin Johnston. And I've really liked this receiving core. I don't know where it ranks among some of these good ones that TCU has had,
Starting point is 00:14:56 but I feel like there's a lot of good options out there. How are they getting it done in the passing game specifically? Because it feels like the stats are there. It feels like they're putting up a lot of big numbers. But I'm curious, is it short passes? Is it intermediates? Is it long stuff? Like what are they doing that's been so successful there?
Starting point is 00:15:13 A little bit of everything. I mean, I think the short passing game, they've accentuated a lot because it's sort of supplemented the run game. So Kendall Briles has been pretty creative in the screen game, you know, getting those quick outs, the RPO stuff, that is high percentage passes for Josh Hoover. They've got a lot of different dudes who can go catch the ball. Jack Besh has been a really surprising name.
Starting point is 00:15:37 Like he came in, he was a freshman All-American at LSU. He was injured a lot last year, but going into the season, it felt like he was going to be a slot guy, like kind of an H-back, dude you move around the formation. He's actually made the move to outside wide receiver, and he's done a really great job. He had 200 yards against UCF, had another big game against SMU. Savion Williams is a big physical guy. Eric McAllister is a transfer from Boise State that they really like. And then J.P. Richardson has been very solid for another season in the slot. So it's another year where they've got skill guys really everywhere that they feel good about, especially in that receiver room.
Starting point is 00:16:17 And if they can block it up, Josh has been more confident and I would say better than I thought. He's coming off a bad performance against SMU. But overall this year, he looks very decisive. He really hasn't put the ball in harm's way a lot. And he's just making the right decisions. And so, yeah, even without the threat of much of a run game, they've been able to stay in rhythm and make a lot of plays through the air this year. Has there been anything for Josh Hoover specifically since, I don't know, I guess if you did go back to last year plays through the air this year. Has there been anything for Josh Hoover specifically since, I don't know, I guess if you did go back to last year too, an inclusion of this
Starting point is 00:16:49 year where it's been like that has been a common denominator when he has struggled or has maybe thrown more interceptions, like it's felt like that's been the difference. I think pressure is a big deal. And so I'm interested to see how they do this week because I know Kansas is more willing than the teams they've played so far to sort of dial up some exotic pressures and bring some heat. So that's one thing. Now, I mean, they get the ball out quick a lot, so they sort of limit that. But, yeah, I would say when he makes mistakes, it's pressure.
Starting point is 00:17:19 And then it's also if he has to go score for score with somebody or he gets behind, you start seeing him force some throws. Like he definitely forced some throws against SMU when they got behind last week. In the season finale against Oklahoma last year, it was pretty obvious from the jump, like, okay, this is going to be a game where you might need to score like 50-plus. And he was trying to just force some things that weren't there.
Starting point is 00:17:45 So I think he gets a little ahead of himself at times. But yeah, he's been good. But like most quarterbacks, I think if you get in his face, if you mess up that timing and rhythm, then he becomes a lot more easy to stop for sure. And I guess when you look at the defense side of the ball, like everybody is going to talk about, as you kind of mentioned with Sonny Dykes, talking about the 70% Kansas running the football.
Starting point is 00:18:11 It felt like last week with SMU, I know they had been kind of going through a quarterback battle and Preston Stone, and I forget the name of the kid who started last week, who's more of a runner, feels like that was kind of perfect to go against TCU for last week. Are you more worried about the Kansas running game in terms of the running backs? Are you more worried about the Kansas running game in terms of Jalen Daniels being able to run the football and this kind of being a revitalization game for Jalen Daniels? Or what worries you most about a Kansas offense that so far hasn't been that
Starting point is 00:18:40 great? Man, take your pick. I think really it's, and I know Jeff Grimes isn't necessarily known for this. He's more of a traditional running the football type of guy, but I know he watches film too. And they've just really struggled with, you know, a lot of fly motion, bringing the receiver across the formation, faking that to him, faking the back, the zone read stuff. And honestly, he's kind of coming downhill. So UCF did that. I didn't think SMU could replicate it, but Jennings did a nice job,
Starting point is 00:19:12 and they ran the ball really well. So I think they're going to see that until they stop it. And then in the secondary, JT Broughton is their number one corner. He's kind of got thrown into action after a couple of injuries. He's struggled in man-to-man situations. So it's been kind of that catch-22 of you can't stop the run, and then the passing game over the top starts to work because you're allocating more guys to that area of the field. But I guess I would say if I had to pick, they've struggled with mobile quarterbacks this year.
Starting point is 00:19:47 And I know Daniels is not as big of a physical presence as the last two guys that they played, but he's definitely someone who can get out in space and make things happen. And I think even when he drops back to pass, if you're not able to stay in your rush lanes and contain, then there's a bunch of opportunities for big plays with him scrambling as well. So that would probably be my first concern
Starting point is 00:20:09 with this matchup. So when you're talking about desperation, Sonny Dyches, is there any talk about Hot Seat? Because I think about this game being a back against the wall game for KU, but I don't know, like how much is that the case for TCU because of that? I mean, the fans definitely have them on the Hot seat. When I was doing the post-game show last week, the chat was lighting up with, it's time for this guy to go. I would say it's getting turned up a little bit. He's already fired a coordinator. He let Joe Gillespie, the DC, go after last year. My other thought, though, is
Starting point is 00:20:44 Jeremiah Denati, the AD, like, he's fairly patient, or at least it seems like he is. So, if this thing just completely goes off the rails, his hand might be kind of forced, but I believe if he has his choice, he wants to see Sonny get a third year, or I guess it would be a, you know, fourth year to really kind of establish himself. But it's an issue. I would say if they lose, you know, losing to KU on the road is not like a bad loss. But if you lose the next two games to Kansas and Houston and suddenly you're staring at two and four, then we're having some real deal conversations
Starting point is 00:21:16 because this is a far cry from, you know, what they did in year one. And I think, honestly, Derek, like his early success with that opening season is kind of working against him now because it's like, well, you've shown that you can do this. Was it just that you had, you know, Gary Patterson's players and a very experienced group that you were able to sort of get on the right path and get going? That could be problematic because right now they don't look anything like that team
Starting point is 00:21:46 That he started with And it only seems like it's going You know, further downhill at the moment They've got to turn this thing around Alright, let's finish things up Keys to the game, predictions, all that sort of stuff We'll do it next here on Locked On Horned Frogs And Locked On Jayhawks
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Starting point is 00:23:24 I got a hat right here. Run the dang ball. Run the dang ball. That's what they got to do. Jalen Daniels has to be willing to run the ball. You know, it's felt like really since the start of last year that Kansas has told Jalen Daniels you got to protect yourself, and deservedly so.
Starting point is 00:23:39 He's had the injury bug and all that sort of stuff, so you don't want him taking big hits. At this point, Jalen Daniels is struggling. The season is in dire jeopardy. It's time to let the governor off. You got to let him take the carries. You got to let him take the hits, fight for the yards. Devin Neal, 20 plus carries.
Starting point is 00:23:54 Daniel Highshot, 10 plus carries. You have to run the football, possess the football, keep the defense rested. I think beyond that, on the defensive side of the football, my big worry is that sometimes Brian Borland can play soft coverage back, loose coverage, especially after they gave up a lot of big passes to West Virginia last week. I'm worried that they're going to do that and they're just going to get nickel and dimed down the field. But the counter to that is if you can at least maybe jump a few of them, Mello Dotson and Kobe Bryant have a bunch of interceptions in their career, then that can be
Starting point is 00:24:23 kind of the swing thing. Kansas is one of the bottom 10 teams in the country right now in turnover margin. Got to at least be even in this game, run the football well. What are the keys for you for TCU coming out on top? Well, on the flip side of that, I'd say stop the run. And for the TCU defense, I'm not even asking for punts. Like, can we just force some field goals occasionally? Let's just take some steps in the right direction. Something's got to give here.
Starting point is 00:24:47 This defense has not forced turnovers. I know, Derek, we've talked about Jalen Daniels and his trouble giving up the football. So if you can force some turnovers in this ball game, that would be massive. And then keep it going in the passing game. I don't really see TCU running the ball a lot here, but Josh Hoover and company have been very effective. Derek, I said, you know, I know early in the week, we were both kind of like, man, we're so negative about both these teams. What's your prediction, buddy, for this matchup at Arrowhead on Saturday? My biggest worry is that it's going to be a close game and KU's had the
Starting point is 00:25:20 struggles closing out games and on key downs. So TCU this year on third and fourth down, they are fourth in the country in third and fourth down offensive success rate. Kansas defensively in those key downs, 109th. I think in a close game, that matters. I'm taking TCU in a close one, bit of a high score, I guess. Maybe for TCU, this is low scoring. 34 to 31, I'm going TCU on top. Kansas, I think they're close, but until they can get back on the win column, I got to believe it until I see it.
Starting point is 00:25:54 Man, you throw me for a loop here because I also expected to come into, like, I woke up this morning. I thought I'm going to pick Kansas on this show, But as I've gotten closer to this show and thinking more about it, I think the Frogs pull it out. I don't have a great articulate reason for it other than I feel like they play with good effort. I think this team is better than what they've shown the last two weeks. Give me TCU 44-38 in a barn burner. I think a lot of points will be scored in this one.
Starting point is 00:26:23 Derek, for the people that are watching, where can they find Locked on Jayhawks and all your work? Yep, you can get it anywhere you get your podcast. You can get it on your YouTube page and tweet pretty much everything out. So you can give me a follow at DJohnsonradio. We'll have shows on Friday and we'll have plenty of coverage Saturday as well. Locked On Horned Frogs, Locked On Jayhawks. We're free and available wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:26:45 It's your team every day.

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