Next Play: Chiefs’ season begins Sunday, Big 12 thinks bigger and Royals hit the road
Pardon us for dropping the ol’ “Are you ready for some football” line here, but the looming start of the NFL season has us pretty excited.
After falling short of a repeat Super Bowl victory seven months ago, the Chiefs next Sunday return to Arrowhead Stadium for their regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns.
Get ready to paint the town red as Baker Mayfield drops by for another showdown with his old friend Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Hey, is that BBQ we smell?
For the first time since the 2019 season and playoffs, Arrowhead will be packed and the Chiefs will take center stage for a regular-season football game at the unofficial tailgating capital of America.
Mahomes and the Chiefs have said the quiet part out loud a few times this offseason, verbalizing their goal of going unbeaten through the Super Bowl. We wouldn’t put it past them. So Sunday’s game at Arrowhead — whose official name now, thanks to the Chiefs’ first naming-rights deal, is GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — will be loaded with storylines.
Our favorite is also probably the most obvious: It’s another matchup of two QBs who know each other well, dating to their days as star signal-callers at Texas Tech (Mahomes) and Oklahoma (Mayfield). Who will come out on top this time? Columnist Sam Mellinger writes that the Browns are probably going to be the Chiefs’ stiffest challenge in the AFC this fall.
College football in full swing
Kansas, after beating South Dakota 17-14 in Lawrence last Friday, travels to Coastal Carolina for another Friday night kickoff. The Jayhawks’ first Saturday game is scheduled for Sept. 18 at home against Baylor.
Mizzou hits the road to play Kentucky after opening the season at home against Central Michigan, and K-State can look forward to two home games in Manhattan after looking good against Stanford on Saturday in Texas: this coming Saturday against Southern Illinois and the following Saturday vs. Nevada.
Back to Children’s Mercy for SKC
Sporting KC swallowed a bitter pill Friday night, losing badly at LAFC, 4-0. But Peter Vermes’ charges have a week off to get right.
Sporting’s next game is Saturday against the Chicago Fire at Children’s Mercy Park. The home club will be looking to stomp the brakes on a winless streak that’s reached four games.
Like Sporting, KC NWSL gets about a week’s worth of rest after playing host to the NC Courage Sunday at Legends Field in Kansas City, Kan. But their next one is on the road, not at home, against the Washington Spirit.
And back on the road for Royals
Time is growing short for the Royals this season. Not for contending — that went out the window months ago — but simply in terms playing games and evaluating prospects in 2021.
The Royals begin a seven-game road trip on Monday in Baltimore, where they’ll play four games against the Orioles before shifting to Minneapolis for a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins.
Counting those seven games, the Royals have 26 remaining before we turn the page to 2022.
Could Big 12 become 12 again?
Late this past week the big story in the Big 12 was expansion. Four target schools had been identified, with reports suggesting BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida could soon be receiving formal invitations to join the conference.
With the looming departure of Texas and OU to the SEC, that would bring the Big 12 back to 12 teams. We can debate the merits of those four newcomers in a conference that once included UT, OU, Mizzou and Nebraska, but those seeking signs of life from the Big 12 have found it.
BYU has seemed somewhat indifferent in recent years about jumping conferences. Houston, meanwhile (and we suspect Cincinnati and UCF, too), has long sought admission. It would sure be an interesting mix.
The Big 12 is still crossing t’s and dotting i’s, but it looks like this thing might actually happen. What that means in a landscape ruled by the SEC, no one can be sure. But credit the Big 12 for playing a little offense for a change.