KU (quietly) motivated for K-State: ‘Don’t want to give you bulletin-board material’
The Kansas State football program, in some past seasons, has set up a countdown clock in the training room to display the days and hours left before its next game against rival Kansas.
And while first-year coach Les Miles isn’t using that exact ploy, he has at least done something this week to get his players fired up for Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. home contest against the Wildcats.
“Coach Miles has his own iteration. Don’t want to give you bulletin-board material, though,” KU offensive lineman Hakeem Adeniji said. “I’ll keep that to myself.”
Safe to say something different has happened this week, though?
“Yeah, but I mean, that’s known. It’s K-State,” Adeniji said. “It’s a rivalry, and that’s how it is, and that’s how it’s going to be.”
KU safety and team captain Bryce Torneden continued with the company line when asked about KU’s secret motivational ploy mentioned by Adeniji — “Yeah, I got nothing,” Torneden said with a grin — while also agreeing with a general team consensus:
This will be significant contest for the Jayhawks ... and not just because it’s against the Wildcats.
Following Saturday’s 37-34 victory over Texas Tech, KU improved to 3-5 while also increasing its chances of becoming bowl eligible.
“We know the importance of this game. There will be no shortage of energy or excitement for this one,” KU quarterback Carter Stanley said. “We know how important it is for us to obtain our goals, and I think our guys are really fired up.”
Something else that adds to the intrigue: On paper, this is the closest the two programs have been in years.
As of Monday, K-State was a 5 1/2-point betting favorite against KU. That low of a number is rare; the last time the Jayhawks were not at least a double-digit underdog against the Wildcats, according to Odds Sharks’ database, was back in 2010 during Turner Gill’s first year in Lawrence.
“They’re doing good things over there,” Adeniji said, “and we’re starting to do some good things over here too.”
For someone like Torneden, this potentially could mean quite a bit. The senior chose to come to KU four years ago when the program was at the start of a rebuild, and each season, he’s seen KU make progress against its most-hated foe.
“We haven’t beat them since I’ve been here,” Torneden said. “We’ve came close, but to finally get over that hump, I think that’d be a very apparent milestone for me and some of the seniors and older guys on this team.”
The Jayhawks haven’t been a pushover the last two years. K-State won, 30-20, in 2017 before rallying in the fourth quarter for a 21-17 triumph last season in Manhattan.
“It’s a big game for us — probably the biggest game of the year for us,” KU receiver Stephon Robinson said, “and we want to go out there and just turn up for the community, the university.”
K-State, which is 22nd in this week’s AP poll, also is expected to have many of its fans at Booth Memorial Stadium this weekend.
Adeniji — in his four-year KU career — says those purple-clad supporters haven’t left the best impression on him.
“Not my favorite. I’ll leave it at that,” Adeniji said with a laugh. “Not my favorite, but I’m excited for this weekend for sure, and we’ll welcome all fans: blue, purple, whatever.
“Because at the end of the day, we hope to come out victorious.”
