Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - SHOWDOWN: Kansas Jayhawks vs Missouri Tigers—Key Injury UPDATES on Cam Pickett, Bam Crouch & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 We got updates on Cam Pickett and Bam Crouch ahead of a big week. KU taking on Missouri heard from the coaches. We're going to further break down that game and get into why this is the most underrated rivalry in college sports. You are locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's up, Derek Johnson? This is Locked on Jayhawks. And on today's episode of the show, we are going to break down some. the latest news. We'll get into why this is, in my opinion, the most underrated rivalry in

Starting point is 00:00:42 college sports. And we'll start right here with some of the latest updates from Lance Leipold, Andy Codilnicki, and D.K. McDonald's from the KU coaching brass. Today's episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use code locked on to get $20 off your first purchase. So the big ones here are the updates to the injury guys and the two notable injured starters for KU. Cam Pickett, who did not start and did not play in week one. because of the injury. And then Bam Crouch, who was playing really well through four snaps and then got injured and ended up missing the rest of the game, was on the sideline with a sling on his shoulder. Well, we're not going to get an injury report this week.

Starting point is 00:01:22 That's only for the big 12 games. I would imagine both guys would be listed as questionable. I mean, honestly, based on how it was described with Bam Crouch, I wouldn't be shocked if that were listed as doubtful. But interestingly enough, if you look at the update, so to speak on the 2Dep. There weren't really many updates. Like Bam Crouch is still listed as the starter. Now you could look at the Cam Pickett one and say, like, okay, I guess point being,

Starting point is 00:01:48 I'm viewing all of this as mental warfare. Let's just start right there. Okay. Because like the only change on the KU2 Deep was basically Cam Pickett is now Keaton Quebec is behind him and is listed as an or with Quebec to basically say, hey, if Pickett doesn't start, it'll be Cox, Quebec, and McMillan as the three starting receivers for KU. Whereas, and it feels like, again, Pickett, to me,

Starting point is 00:02:15 feels like he has a better chance to play this week. And the reason I would say that is because this is basically what Lance Leipold said. He said, Bam did not practice today. Pickett did, but, quote, still has a ways to go. So to me, it sounds like Pickett would have a better chance to playing than Bam Crouch. And it's interesting that Crouch is. still listed as a starter on, you know, without an or, whereas Pickett is listed as an or with Quebec, right? And the reason why, if you go back to the quote as well, still has

Starting point is 00:02:51 ways to go, to me, it seems like KU, the mental warfare side of things, is trying to give off vibes to Missouri that, oh, yeah, Cam Pickett's not going to be able to go. Like, he still has a ways to go. That's why we have them listed as an or with Keaton, Quebec. And so I'm expecting Cam Pickett to go on Friday. Whereas on the flip side, KU, it wouldn't shock me if they know that Bam Crouch is out on Friday, but hey, let's list him on the two deep as the starter. Well, he didn't practice today that he's just not going to go, but they're trying to leave it as a possibility for Missouri to deal with. I think there's a little bit of mental warfare in some of that, right? So we'll see what ends up happening there. Now, there was later mentioned again, going back to the

Starting point is 00:03:39 2-deep, like if Bam Crouch can't start, you would look at the 2-deep and say, oh, it's going to be either, you know, Malachi Curve, which that would certainly be very interesting for the youngster there or Jibril Alameen. But Lance Leopold later mentioned Quincy Davis can play both spots. He's listed as the backup to Trey Lathan, but realistically, he's the backup to both. That just allows them to get more names on the 2-deep, get more credit for people, feel like you're, I don't know, in a better spot. So, Quincy Davis, to me, would be the guy that's going to start in that other position. He was solid in week one.

Starting point is 00:04:10 What do you do here against Missouri? It's interesting, too, because KU had to deal with some linebacker injuries coming in the Missouri game last year, too. Bengali Kamara was able to play through it, but, you know, was he 100 percent? Did he play his best game? I don't know. He missed a couple tackles, so that was kind of a season-long fit for him. Lance Leipold also mentioned that the Missouri defense is long and athletic.

Starting point is 00:04:31 And I found this very interesting because, if you go by it kind of gets weird when you're like previewing a season where you're like, how many starters does this team have back? Because it's like, do you just count anybody who started any games?

Starting point is 00:04:47 Because if you count players who started any games, Missouri does have, you know, some players back on defense with starting experience. But, you know, like some preseason magazines listed, Missouri is having zero starters back

Starting point is 00:04:59 as losing all 11 starters. If you go by, again, the magazine. Some go by, you know, who started the most games, who started X amount of games, whatever it is. And it's interesting because you look at last year and Missouri had a really good defense. Now, it's funny because the matchup KU played with Missouri a season ago, you would more so think as Missouri as being this really good offense with the defense not as good based on how that matchup went. But actually wound up over the course of the season, Missouri had a pretty elite

Starting point is 00:05:26 defense. The running game was elite offensively for them, but the passing game was not very good and inconsistent, which again, in the Kansas game, you would be like, man, this passing game was really good. So the fact that the Missouri defense long and athletic, they are not very experienced, but they are very, at least playing in a Missouri uniform, but they are very talented, right? And that's going to be a good thing to know. And so it's kind of a good thing here that Kansas is playing them earlier in the season, because the fact that it is not a ton of returning players for Missouri, but they are very talented,

Starting point is 00:05:59 you'd rather get that team earlier on in the season when maybe they haven't had as much time to kind of morph together. Leipold also mentioned that DeAndre Harper is the most improved player on the team, and we mentioned that he played well in the first week. He started the second half at right tackle. He got a lot of reps in there, and I continue to believe that, you know, it would not shock me if at some point this season Harper ends up usurping Nick Morrow

Starting point is 00:06:24 as the starting right tackle. Right. Moro had that one play where he gave up the pressure and the holding call. Sometimes he can struggle with speed rushers. I think Harper gives you, Morrow gives you a little bit more of known commodity playing at the power four level, but I think Harper might actually have the higher ceiling for what he can be. So to be interesting to see how that works out this week and the rest of the season. Then we also got to hear from Andy Kodelnicki and, you know, mentioned that the rivalry is different, which we're going to get into more on that coming up in the second segment. But one of the things that I thought he was funny, he was kind of mentioning like,

Starting point is 00:06:58 you know the students coming out to the game he mentioned that he said partake in the sacrament um the sacrament of coming to the football game i just thought that was kind of funny from any coldly like you talking about the students and the fans coming out to the game but uh coldly like you liked isaiah marshall's ability to look through reads and not just hey look at the first guy then take off i thought that was good to hear from him as a coach to know that yeah everything was turned in the right way through the process of things um but he also mentioned yeah at times like you know we want him to look at that guy and take off and he was able to kind of find that balance in the first game. He's certainly going to need that in this game against Missouri. I think both coaches, both coordinators, Kodolnicki and McDonald, were pretty pleased with their start overall, as you would imagine. Kodlnicki mentioned he was encouraged that the standard of excellence didn't change regardless of who was in there, regardless of what players were rotating into the game. He made mention that they never punted in the game. And that was kind of matched by what D.K. McDonald said about the defense saying that,

Starting point is 00:07:58 You know, we played up to the standard. It was a good start. We flew around. We had good gang tackling. He loved the effort in the poise from the team. He did mention he wants to see some improvement from the passing game defensively. That's going to be a huge key this week against Missouri. They've got some quick receivers on the outside.

Starting point is 00:08:15 They've got a quarterback who slings it around, especially when watching him in the first game. But, you know, keys for both coaches in this game for Codolnicki, he mentioned taking care of the football, which that's pretty obvious there. Generate explosives. KU was actually able to do that very well last year against Missouri, but can you do that again against a talented defense? And then be resilient in blocking and physically,

Starting point is 00:08:39 right? And that's kind of, I think, something that KU did not do good enough last year. KU's past blocking was actually good against Missouri, but the run blocking was not. KU was not getting any surge against Missouri. And interestingly enough, there weren't a ton of like negative plays for KU. There just weren't a ton of running the football gains of three, four, five yards.

Starting point is 00:08:59 It was mostly, hey, run at zero or one yard. You know, it was not successful for KU. Can you find a way to get a better push this year? Because KU is going to need to establish the run. Now, from the D.K. McDonald perspective, he mentioned that, you know, Missouri is a team built by their O line. They do a really good job. They obviously have a really excellent running game there.

Starting point is 00:09:20 And even though they have receivers that can really run and a quarterback who wants to throw it around, you know, stopping the run is going to be really important. And he, going back to the injury to Bam Crouch, kind of discussed the importance of the offseason spend for KU. He kind of mentioned that like, you know, that's why we spent a lot of money on getting linebacker depth this year, right? Because it's a long season and you need that depth. And so let's see if that money spend. Let's see if that plan for KU and the off season pays off because this would be a prime example of doing just that. if you can find a way to steal this win with a without Bam Crouch in there in the lineup.

Starting point is 00:09:57 And some of these guys you brought over like Debril Alameen, like Quincy Davis, kind of playing a bigger role now with the opportunity given to them. All right, let's continue on. Why is this rivalry maybe the most underrated rivalry in college sports, a little history behind it, both in terms of the football game and the history side of things. We'll get to that next. This is locked on Jayhawks. Our episode of the show today is brought to you by Game Time.

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Starting point is 00:12:57 And I think you get secluded away from it a little bit if you're not in this area. And then having been here and lived it a little bit more, it almost gives you a different perspective. Like I think the people who are from here and have lived here in these areas know that this is a great rivalry and know everything about it. And it was almost surprising to me to learn. Like, you know, it's surprising to me to learn the history of somebody not from the state or something and never took, you know, Kansas or Missouri state history growing up or something like that. And so after you learn about like the history to it and why this rivalry matters and you see the hatred on both sides and you see, you know, that, okay, maybe it's not like Ohio State Michigan where I think part of the reason that's become such a big rivalry in college football, at least specifically, is. is just from the national perspective that usually whoever wins that game is going to be in the running to win a national title. Same thing with college basketball with North Carolina and Duke.

Starting point is 00:14:00 Part of the reason that's such a big rivalry beyond the proximity of the schools and everything and having great players and teams is that whoever wins the game in theory is setting themselves up for a better shot at winning a national title. But at the end of the day, what runs college sports is the regional, the local rivalries. it is, did we beat the team near us? Did we beat the rival? Did we bash their brain in that we can, you know, talk crap for 365 days? That is what college sports was built on. I know it's kind of going away with the way money is working and private equities joining and conferences are realigning.

Starting point is 00:14:37 Like some of that stuff of the true heart and soul here is going away. And that is certainly unfortunate. But this is what college sports is about. And so basically, right, there's. going to be people who have a way better understanding of this because like I said, this isn't something that I was an expert on growing up. But basically to, you know, if you're a Jayhawk or Missouri fan or you're a neutral fan or something that maybe isn't aware of all this, I don't know. But so basically this is all dates back to me to how it's

Starting point is 00:15:08 been described to me, I guess bleeding Kansas, right? The period of time in the, I guess like 1850s where there was the national debate of whether Kansas would be a, slave state or whether Kansas would be a free state and not just Kansas, but whether slavery would be allowed to kind of expand westward, obviously Kansas being west of Missouri, right? And so you have the Kansas Nebraska Act of 19 or 1854, excuse me, which created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and introduced popular sovereignty, which allowed settlers to vote on whether slavery would be legal. So basically it was up to the states. It was up to the people in the states, right? And And that basically overturned the Missouri compromise, which was a restriction on slavery north of a certain, you know, mark.

Starting point is 00:15:58 And so basically you wound up with a bunch of pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups rushing into Kansas trying to, I guess, control elections and trying to rig things in their way. It would be kind of the best way of putting it, right? And violence was certainly a key part of that, right? And so there was obviously a political struggle. There was a physical struggle, I guess you could say as part of it. There were the border ruffians, which were the people on the border of Missouri who would cross over and show violence. There were the free state settlers, the Kansas side of things where they would kind of do the same thing, right? And then in May of 1856, pro-slavery forces attacked and looted the anti-slavery stronghold of Lawrence Kansas.

Starting point is 00:16:48 right um that was known as the sack of lawrence right um which i believe that was led by william quontrell and so you know they basically burned down lawrence right a lot of families killed a lot of so like they're legitimately like generations upon generations of people who have been in lawrence been in kansas who you know maybe their great great great grandfather or whatever was was part of this maybe they were even like murdered or something as part of this from people coming over so there's like real real stuff in the blood here i i i guess, so to speak, between these two sides, right? And so in response, John Brown, the famous abolitionist, which is funny because if you talk to a Missouri person, John Brown is a terrorist. If you talk to a Kansas person,

Starting point is 00:17:30 John Brown is this, you know, abolitionist who almost has like a, you know, like the anti-hero thing and like like you get comics and you get anti-hero. The hero who who doesn't always follow by the rules, but at the end of the day is doing hero stuff. Like that's kind of the view of him from the Kansas side, right and so he retaliates with his group and kills pro-slavery settlers near pottawatomie creek right and so it just kind of goes back and forth there's the guerrilla warfare there's the raids there's the murders there's the intimidation going on to try to influence different voting across both sides obviously this continues on into the american civil war and things just kind of stay awkward and violent between the two of them right um and so basically it's one of those things where it's

Starting point is 00:18:17 Like, realistically, both sides are, like, both sides are murdering each other's side. So like, it is what it is. Now, I would rather be on the side, the Kansas side, where they were doing it in response and trying to get, you know, freedom from slavery. That's just me. But yes, we do have to acknowledge that both sides were, you know, killing people and probably a lot of innocent people on both sides. Certainly there.

Starting point is 00:18:40 Now, it's interesting, too, because the history kind of delves into some of the team name stuff, right? Like, during the Civil War, the term. Jayhawker became associated with the Kansan unionist guerrilla and soldier people who would come in and raid Missouri, right? And, you know, to many Missourians, like the Jayhawker, as much as from the Kansas side or from the, I guess, the union side, you'd view it as the anti-slavery cause and that, you know, they're, I guess, kind of like I said, anti-heroes in this. The Missouri side viewed them, as villains, right? That they were raiders, they were thieves, they were outlaws, they were thugs, because they would come in and they would, you know, rob and whatever, destroy towns and stuff, right?

Starting point is 00:19:30 And then in 1864, Colombia organized a local militia group known as the Columbia Tigers, which was the idea there to protect the town from Confederate guerrillas, right? And so that's where you get some of the team names coming from this, the historical side of things. The Jayhawkers coming over and retaliating to some of the stuff that Missourians did and coming over. And then the flip side, the Tigers making a group to try to defend their city, right?

Starting point is 00:19:59 And so for a while, this was nicknamed the Border War, which this is an incredibly long series. I mean, so back when the series ended when Missouri left for the SEC in 2011, at that point in time, It's obviously been passed now, but at that point in time, it was the second most played rivalry in Division 1 FBS football. There were 120 games played, right?

Starting point is 00:20:22 And it was the border war for a while, which makes sense because you literally have the war between these two schools. They changed that in 2004. Lou Perkins mentioned he said, we feel that the aftermath of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing events around the world, it is inappropriate to use the term war to describe intercollegiate athletic events. but here's the thing. To me, this is the border war. I am sorry, but like, like, I get it. I get the sensitivity around that with 9-11 and stuff, and that's totally fair.

Starting point is 00:20:52 The thing is, this was a real war. This wasn't just like, this is describing the history leading to animosity between these two that was a war that happened, you know, 150, 160, 170 years ago. You know, so to me, it is the border war. I'm sorry. It absolutely is the border war. That is the best way to describe these two. So what is the series between these two?

Starting point is 00:21:17 Well, that's an interesting story rooted in the rivalry as well. We'll get to that as well as some of the latest news. Next, this is Locked on Jayhawks. Today's episode is brought to you by Supply House. You wouldn't show up on game day without a plan, and you wouldn't show up to a job without the right parts. That's why putting Supply House in your starting lineup is always the right call. Here's the stats. You know I'm a big stats guy, right?

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Starting point is 00:22:47 We'll see if things get delayed at least a little bit there. But we will get one out to you very shortly after. That's for sure. Okay, so I was mentioning some of the history there between Kansas and Missouri and why it is, I think, such an underrated rivalry. And I think what further illustrates that is the series lead, because that is even contested, which is the most Missouri, Kansas rivalry fact of all time, right? So if you look at the Kansas side of things, Kansas leads the all-time series 57 to 55.

Starting point is 00:23:17 with nine ties in there. If you look at the Missouri record books, it would say that Missouri leads the all-time series 58 to 54 with nine ties. So what is the discrepancy between the one game? Well, it's funny you ask because Missouri actually just made news recently, I don't know, a couple weeks ago or something like this, where they claimed a national championship, which the irony in it all is that Missouri has not been.

Starting point is 00:23:47 a national championship team. And so this recognizes their 1960 national championship, or their 1960 season as a national championship season, even though Kansas beat them in that season, right? And so they're not the first team to retroactively claim a title and all this. And honestly, this further echoes what I've been saying, where I'm saying, Kansas should claim a national title for like the 1908 season or whatever it was that they went, you know, undefeated. And there's, there's another one or two in there where Kansas should claim a title, right. They honestly should. They really should. But anyway, Missouri goes nine and one that season. And Kansas trounces them 23 to 7. At the time, Missouri was the number one team in the country. Kansas beats them up. They win 23 to 7. Great. Okay. So why is Missouri claiming the title? Well, and what's the deal with this game and this record? Well, the thing is, Kansas played a player who was later deemed ineligible in the game. And so Missouri got, they count the game as a win, even though Kansas beat their brains in. So, you know, it's the same thing of like, oh, well, the 2018, Kansas didn't actually make the 2018 final four.

Starting point is 00:24:53 Okay, well, yes, they did. They did make the 2018 final four. And guess what? If the NCAA is saying they're not, I want the money back. I spent on the tickets to go see Kansas get slapped by Villanova. Oh, the NCAA's not going to pay me my money back. Okay, yeah, 2018 final four happened. And, yeah, Kansas beat Missouri in 1960.

Starting point is 00:25:10 And Missouri was not your 1960 champions. That's the truth to what the history is there, right? But Missouri claims it their way, and that's why the series is the other way. Now, Missouri has won the last four in the series, including last year when they won that game 42 to 31. Kansas could not get off the field defensively against Missouri. KU got up to the big league early, could not hold it. And then some mistakes here and there. Jayland Daniels actually played a really good game for KU.

Starting point is 00:25:38 They could not run the football, but they were able to get a lot done in the air. You obviously had a big defensive touchdown. Austin Alexander had the scoop and score. It was exciting in the early going for KU, but again, Missouri ends up winning the game. The last win for Kansas in the series, you go back to 2008. That was the crazy game in Arrowhead where it was snowing and you get the awesome highlight from Bob Davis on the call with Kerry Meyer, catching the touchdown on fourth down from Todd Reesing, and you go on to win that game after Missouri misses a long field goal at the end. Kansas actually won the last two games in Lawrence, though.

Starting point is 00:26:10 The most recent game played in Lawrence was in 2005. That was a 13 to 3 win in favor of Kansas in a defensive showdown. And then the 2003 matchup, the time before in Lawrence, Kansas also won 35 to 14. So they'll be looking to extend their winning streak in Lawrence, but snapping a losing streak overall to the Tigers. Okay, some latest news switching gears a little bit here before we call it a day. Real quick update on KU soccer and volleyball. We'll start with soccer, who next up will play on Saturday at St. Louis.

Starting point is 00:26:42 sitting a five and two on the season. And then their big 12 opener will be Friday, September 18th against Cincinnati. And then KU volleyball, they were upended in five sets to Florida State. So not a great start for the KU volleyball team. They are a young team, but sitting at two wins and three losses. If you're listening to this on Tuesday, they play Wichita State tonight. That'll be a big one for KU to get back to 500. And then they host the Kansas Invitational upcoming this weekend.

Starting point is 00:27:08 All right, that'll move for this episode of Lockdown, Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. And we'll be back at you on Wednesday to get to a little KU Missouri preview right here on LJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - SHOWDOWN: Kansas Jayhawks vs Missouri Tigers—Key Injury UPDATES on Cam Pickett, Bam Crouch & More

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