This has gotta be a piece he threw out there to be different and to get people talking, right? Those final standings alone are a joke
Stewart Mandel’s (LOSER) Big 12 predictions: Is it K-State’s year in a conference of change?
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Pretty sure that was fake although him putting brands/blue bloods high on a list no matter their recent past would be par for the course.
Thought his K-State at #1 take was stupid, then I got down to the KU finishing ahead of two teams portion and that just takes the cake.
LMAO offense was never the problem for Nebby performing so poorly... Even with the TO's They could have won a lot of games if they had a defense with a pulse.
Fact: Martinez will face tougher defenses in the Big 12 than he's seen the majority of his career. The K-State lovers also ignore that the 3-4 scheme that so many teams are running makes it a lot easier to account for the QB as a run threat. Chris Kleiman and Collin Klein are vastly overrated and that gimmick offense isn't going to get it done for K-State. Outside of a couple players, K-State's 2 deep depth is not good.
That's 100% being driven by imbalanced schedules. Nebby has the easiest cross over year they've had since they joined the conference. I wouldn't be shocked to see the bug eaters win 8 games.
Mandel’s list reads like he might be slightly overweighting the coaches (Kleiman, Leipold and Sarkisian stand out). Personally, I don’t think it is terrible, just not terribly likely to occur.
Reading the comments here I’m struck by the thought there are self-described Cyclone fans that will read the following earnest statement and get angry:
If Coach Campbell and Coach Leipold remain at ISU and KU, respectively, then the Jayhawks will likely beat the Cyclones in a football game within 5 years.
Somebody is going to “dumb” this post. That the mechanism doesn’t acknowledge that the act of “dumbing” is itself often the dumbest **** here demonstrates its inherent flaws.
Reading the comments here I’m struck by the thought there are self-described Cyclone fans that will read the following earnest statement and get angry:
If Coach Campbell and Coach Leipold remain at ISU and KU, respectively, then the Jayhawks will likely beat the Cyclones in a football game within 5 years.
Somebody is going to “dumb” this post. That the mechanism doesn’t acknowledge that the act of “dumbing” is itself often the dumbest **** here demonstrates its inherent flaws.
Kleiman is vastly over sold. He did a good job of keeping NDSU on the tracks after the rails had already been laid but that's it... I don't get why everyone is so sold on him, he has shown nothing so far other than beating an absolutely gutted LSU team in a meaningless bowl game.
I think KState fans have this “we’ve been to the top of the mountain, why shouldn’t we be able to make it back?” thing going on. They think because Bill “Lightning in a bottle” Snyder brought them out of the ashes 30 years ago that it can be replicated in kind.
Snyder developed a lot of JUCO kids and recruitment passovers into a well disciplined machine. It’s a different era now, especially competition for JUCO guys. The recipe doesn’t have the same ingredients.
There's a reason why they fell off both times he retired.... He certainly had a system that worked but you just aren't duplicating that without better recruiting.
Not to mention that Martinez has had a long list of injuries since his breakout freshman year. Heck he just now is seeing the field in practice after not even practicing during the spring. He is going to run and get hit, injured again, and then out for 2-3 games at a time. Even odds that the backup(s) see the field more this season than Martinez.
Yeah, I tend to agree. I think Sarkisian is very slightly shortchanged here too.
Personally I think putting KU where he did is just right for Leipold. I don’t necessarily think KU gets out of the cellar this year, but if he stays they will in short order.
Mostly I think that Mandel’s list is a defensible ranking of the coaches with a cursory nod to the realities of this year’s rosters. You and I probably agree on Kleiman, but I get why someone would be so high on him.
It comes down to coaches. Jimbo won a natty at FSU, Miami & losing their bagman network may be another reason for their decline but that’s why everyone is so high on our future cuz we found a coach, it’s what u need to ascend to whatever ceiling. Not to mention those programs come with added pressure where Campbell is on the hot seat for 7 wins so now guys like him Gundy or Whittingham, refuse to leave gigs where they relatively make the same money without the bs. Herman & Pelini would still be coaching at Texas & Nebraska if they weren’t psychos off the field
This. They think running him more Colin Klein style will cut down on his turnovers. That's a great concept, until he has to have his limbs reattached in mid-October.
Beyond that, I think you are just turning interceptions into fumbles. He is a truly dual threat QB.
Sklyar Thompson looks like he might make the Dolphins roster. Good QBs elevate their team. Martinez may have tools but Nebraska's failures are at least partly on his shoulders.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...okie-qb-skylar-thompson-continues-to-impress/
I disagree. I like Klieman. I understand he inherited some inertia, but he won four national titles in five years and started at K-State during a pretty rough time with Covid hitting at the end of his first season. He also has more wins over Iowa than CMC. (Obviously I'm not saying he's a better coach than CMC, just think it's an interesting fact.)
