BonnerSprings.com

I waited several weeks for the football game between Oklahoma and Texas Tech thinking it would be a real good game.

Well, it was a real good game — if you’re an Oklahoma fan. The Sooners ran the Red Raiders out of the building on Saturday night. If you want the definition of “dismantling,” that game was it. Texas Tech and its wide-open offense didn’t have a chance. As a Kansas fan, it makes me give a sigh of relief to remember that the Jayhawks are in the North Division and not the South, where Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas and Oklahoma State reside.

Of course, while the South Division is still trying to sort out the three-way race for the division title, the action in the North is taking place at Kansas State, where the Wildcats have a new/old coach.

On Monday K-State reintroduced legendary coach Bill Snyder as the new leader of the Wildcats. He coached the program for 17 years before retiring. Ron Prince replaced him, and Prince was fired with three games left in the season when it was clear the Wildcats weren’t going to go to a bowl game for the second straight season.

I can’t say I have been a strong K-State supporter, but I feel they dropped the ball in firing Prince before the season was over. It didn’t strike me as a necessary move, especially if the plan was to bring back Snyder anyway.

Snyder certainly has a big task in front of him to bring the Wildcats back to the level when he coached them in his prime. Snyder probably has a lot of spots to fill and he will be handicapped in recruiting players for next year. Snyder had some banner years at K-State with most of his success coming before the Big 12 South had evolved into such a powerful force. Those wins he got in the past against the South schools won’t come easy for him now. Snyder is going to find the Big 12 is a lot stronger than it was during his first go-round.

Heck, even the North Division is a lot tougher now than it was when Snyder was at K-State previously. Back then it was a two-team race between K-State and Nebraska, and Iowa State had some pretty decent teams. Now Missouri is the powerhouse, and Kansas is strong too. Nebraska’s also getting better.

Speaking of Kansas and Missouri, they play on Saturday morning at Arrowhead Stadium. That brings up another complaint by me. I realize it’s nice to play the game at Arrowhead for the money that Kansas and Missouri will receive. My beef is that I believe colleges should play all their home games in their respective stadiums. We build these colleges and universities to provide better education for our youth, and by playing at Arrowhead it’s really not fair to the merchants in Columbia, Mo., and Lawrence. I realize the dollars received by both universities can be well-spent, but I still feel students should remain in their respective stadiums and should not have to go to Kansas City, Mo., for a game.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t complain. Maybe I should just be glad the Jayhawks don’t have to play at Oklahoma on Saturday.

Comments