Inside the Wave: Tulane vs Kansas State Preview

hello and welcome back to fear the wave collectives inside the wave show I'm here with my co-host John and a special guest in Scott McFarland Scott runs the bosos boys podcast he now up to 860 episodes which is very impressive hopefully Fear The Wave is up to that someday soon Scott how you doing I'm doing well I I I thank you guys for having me on you know it's uh just if folks are looking at me like what is this fat dude you know he's K State right why is he you know red well I'm looking forward to uh the back-to-back Super Bowl champions kicking off the NFL season here uh in a few hours here in the Kansas City metro so uh I'm looking forward to it it's the best time of the year I mean you know college football uh Baseball Playoff races the n kicking off it's just a it's a great time to be alive of course the US Open tennis going on as well not cultured enough to really uh like tennis as much as the next guy but I love watching the championship matches so uh just just great greatest sporting part of the year I think September and October are the two best months uh because football's getting going and Bas H just love it how are you guys doing I ramble way too much it's an interesting take I I might have to agree with you as I was fortunate to just be working at the US Open the last five days um but I'm excited for some real football games we played an FCS opponent last week and we're excited to face a real tough opponent in a ranked Kansas State team yeah I wish I could say I'm looking forward to it I'm not you know I I I think I think uh I'm I definitely have a little bit of PTSD from a couple years ago but uh the one thing I'm telling myself is lost that game and still went on to win the Big 12 uh so if that's a trade-off that I'm forced to take then okay uh show me the magic Genie and I'll I'll make that uh tradeoff but sadly in in the world of football I I don't think you can make those tradeoffs so I'm a little nervous at least a little bit more nervous than I'd ever want to be for a week two game we'll get into the fair sorry excuse me I say that's definitely fair is that kind of what most Kansas State fans think are thinking about heading into the matchup right now or is that just a personal sort of pcsd I I I think most K State fans I think there's like a cautious optimism I don't think you're going to find too many Kate fans who are going to uh be making predictions on the record saying yeah you know K's gonna win by 24 um there might be some folks are like saying hey you know maybe a late touchdown gets it to 17 um there's plenty of folks that are like okay it's going to be a one- score game all the way there's a few folks who are like saying no we're going to lose this game um so I think it's I think it's a a spectrum from hey we're gonna lose again uh because it's on the road second game of the season kind of thinking back to 2022 and then uh you know everywhere ranging from there to okay you know it might be tight but a late touchdown makes it feel a little bit more more comfortable than it actually was so I think that's the Gambit of where kstate fans are right now I think most two lane fans are usually pretty optimis and think that they're going to win every single game especially in the American Conference is that a little bit rare for Kansas State fans to think that they might lose this game so I I think uh I think for kstate fans at least in the Chris kimman era uh after he got things rolling I think in the off season fans are usually like all right you know uh let's try to find the loss all this type of stuff and especially this year there's there uh before the season kicked off and I'm not saying that it's not still like this but you know a lot of folks are saying all right you know we're going to be the Vagas favorite in all 12 games um you know it it will be an upset if we lose any regular season games a lot of the advanced analytics and predictive metrics had Kate you know as the team that should win all 12 games well you know you don't play football on spreadsheets he play between the grid iron uh but once the season kicks off and and I think probably every game from here until uh we play Houston um because even Arizona State you know shown a little bit of a pulse we'll see what what Cincinnati looks like but I think most games you're GNA find handful of K State fans are like saying oh man I I think we're gonna drop this one um so there there's there's an element of that in the fan base um so I I think I think you get a wide range of emotions with Kate fans once the season actually kicks off yeah it's definitely going to be an exciting game uh what what do you think from a Kansas State perspective is the formula that has to happen on Saturday in order for Kansas State to beat twoa and if Kansas State comes out with a win what do you think that looks like well I I I think the first thing really comes down to winning the turnover battle uh something they didn't do versus UT Martin last week they were 0 for two in the turnovers uh and when you're going to and I I use this and please please uh don't take this as disrespect for the American because the American's better than the ACC this year but if you're if you're going on the road to a school that isn't in that power for classification there's going to be an extra chip on the shoulder for the players there's going to be an extra Edge amongst the crowd so if you are turning the ball over if you're giving into that hope if you're get giving into that hype it turns into a hornet's nest and then all of a sudden in a game where you might think all right you know you should come away with the win uh maybe get that late score to make it feel a little uh better than what it really felt like for three quarters all of a sudden you turn the ball over uh twice and you can't get it back from them all of a sudden there the momentum's on with the home team the momentum is with these guys are saying hey look they thought that they could you know steamroll us NOP try again this is two lane football uh so if if you don't win that turnover battle um you have to do so much more to turn that momentum and in games like this momentum can be an equalizer or you know again I I'd imagine two lane fans are probably thinking to themselves hey we beat these Jokers a few years ago they're the ones who need the momentum to beat us so again if if that's you know the stance of you know the the blue and green then hey you need to win that turnover battle so you can start feeling good about yourself if you're a K State fan so I think that's going to be the number one thing because uh I feel good enough about K State's defense that if if we can win that turnover battle I I feel confident in the game but if you're giving extra possessions away I mean buckle up I mean it it could be it could be a four quarter or four quarter Plus game we'll have to see what happens can you can you give us a little bit more background on Kansas State's first game um against UT Martin and if it was close or really did feel like a 41 to6 blowout despite some turnovers so it the first half was not a lot of fun so uh you you went three and out to the very first drive um you score a touchdown on your second you turn it over as you're driving on the third and then you know you get a field goal so that's that's what you did on offense there was a punt block for a touchdown so it was 17 to3 you felt good about the defense but at halftime I'm talking with my buddies in the Stadium I'm like uh you know I I don't feel great about that and then you open up the the second half with a fumble on the kickoff luckily again the defense had a you know a good backbone and uh they were able to hold them to three and then from there was touchdown touchdown touchdown and then uh you know in in garbage time you got another touchdown with the backups so it probably you know it probably feels like uh it was closer than the final score but then again uh so it's stats of War on Twitter his name's Parker Fleming he has a net success rate and Kate ended up like being one of the you know top five or six teams in net success rate last week uh his original graphic didn't have FBS versus FCS but when he included that Cas it was amongst the top five so when I saw that and you dive into a little bit more you're like okay well the defense was dominant and yeah the offense didn't feel great but I think we only had 45 snaps or something super small on offense so it's like how much could they really show how much could they really get into it um so after the rewatch and looking at at some of that stuff I felt a lot better from that game uh but again you know UT Martin when you're talking FCS I mean they're they've had a piece of four straight ovc's um so they're not you know lyndenwood or anything like that so um I I the the more I get away from the initial emotions of the game I feel a lot better how it went yeah that makes sense a lot of times you know it's it's never as good or as bad as you think it is uh is the is the old saying there is is there a particular matchup that you like for Kansas State or one that you're worried about in this game I mean look I I I think I think where where it's going to come down to and this is like you know 1940s football guy I mean I I think at least the last I looked it looked like there might be some rain in in the forecast I think both teams probably would like to be able to run the ball um and you know who knows may maybe two Lane's now gonna throw it all over the park for 500 yards um but but I think it's gonna come down to kind of the the front seven for both defenses so can Kate's defensive line which I thought had a good game versus UTM um can they have another good game versus two lanes offensive line which allows your linebackers uh to go make tackles uh because it's a numbers game if you can eat a double team in the middle and if you can you know keep you know guards from climbing up to that second level uh you gotta hope that your linebackers can make those tackles and no big plays on the flip side of it again I I wasn't super high on the passing game from Kate uh it sounds like there was a conceited effort to not show a lot especially in the passing game especially in the quarterback run game but DJ gon is I think the most underrated player in college football right now um and if he can get past that first line it it takes a talented linebacker to take him down with one hit uh so if he can get to that second level those can be big plays so it's really for me gonna come down to trenches versus trenches I agree with you is I I thought that's how the game went last time two lane struggled in the passing game including two interceptions for Michael Pratt you all won the turnover battle two to zero in that game and that's rare for tan tan again also in the American Conference they don't have to play in a power four conference at the moment but they've won 20 of their last 23 games when they force a turnover and they force a turnover almost every single game so if they can win the turnover battle it's looking pretty good for them and last time they struggled in the turnover battle but especially in the passing game didn't neither team fumbled and then they threw two interceptions and didn't reach 200 passing yards the running game was strong for not only Taj Spears but also aderson Celestine Michael Pratt almost had a 100 yards rushing himself which is one of the most rushing yards in a game in his career and I think that we could see the same thing this um this game it all the talk in the offseason was about Makai Hughes how he got faster stronger was one of the best rushers in the entire nation last year not just the group of five but it's been a group effort so far in the season opener we'll see this week but I think it's going to be a group effort again I think that tane has five guys that can all Rush strong in the back field I think we'll see a lot of shoty Clayton Johnson who uses the gaps well and bounces off makes plays D to Barnes Jamari mccl and Trey Cornus as well then if you go back to that uh 2022 game I I think K State had a handful of failed fourth down conversions I think tane had a couple that they did get and ultimately in in what was a game that came down to the wire one possession the entire way that's another thing I'm hoping you know it doesn't come down to that because again you never want to be the road team depending on being the better third and fourth down team uh but if it comes down to that again uh if you want to talk about PTSD and of course I'm using that in a sarcastic manner not to minimize you know that for anyone else but uh if it comes down to that if I'm looking at a fourth and two in a tie game in the fourth quarter I'm going to be pacing in my basement my dogs going to be looking at me like I've gone off to the deep end so yeah it was actually Four fourth down stops for tane including a big one at the very end not the very end of the game but almost the end of the game with Lance Robinson getting the stop yeah and of course Lance Robinson former K State Wildcat of course getting that stop so yeah yeah not only uh not only did tan stop Candace on fourth down but it was actually ended tan if I if I remember correctly went for on fourth one into Lane's own territory in a one score game to to to finish off the wild cats hopefully history repeats itself this year I know you're not going to agree with that but I was gonna say speak for yourself and hopefully Jan keeps riding the analytics so so I did you guys have any fourth Downs last week like do you have an inkling of you know if if this new regime is going to be going forward on fourth down a lot more more uh you know do you have have a Vibe with that yet oh did that come through yeah I think we'll see there you go John um not a lot of need to go for it on fourth down last week obviously tulan also played nfcs School won 52 to zero so that game was over um you know by the third quarter uh the new regime I would say he's going to trust the analytics more based on just my time around them um but if there's a situation where it's kind of 5050 uh or close to it I I would expect them to go for it it seems like a pretty uh aggressive staff but not um not stupidly aggressive they they will go by the Numbers first but if if a decision is within reason they'll I would expect to go for it um you actually you talked a little bit or or we talked a little bit about the last time tane W one of the differences in this game is uh not a lot of experience at the quarterback um not just for tane and Darien Mah who made his first career start last week but um Avery Johnson also hasn't had a lot of playing time he's now the starter what's the fan base's perception around him so everyone loves Avery Johnson and uh I would argue that last year they very easily could have gone to him earlier uh over will Howard who is now at Ohio State um I I think that uh the only the only takeaway I was frustrated with last week and it's been pounded into my head from folks with Kate um that they're not going to run him like crazy early in the season because it's a long season but that's his most electric weapon he is uh I think he can be a capable passer I think he'll be a good passer he was in the Elite 11 competition in uh as a recruit and that has nothing to do with your leg you don't get bonus points for running a 4340 in the Elite 11 it's all how you throw um but his most electric weapon is his legs um we didn't we saw one designed run um and two scrambles last week and Chris kimman said in his press availability that hey there there was some read option in there and UT Martin was just taking taken away uh the the quarter quarterback keep Reed he said hey you read all of them correctly um but Kay fans are still over the moon with it again I I was a little critical of them and like I said folks from K State and other K State fans were like dude you need to chill out and uh I think he's going to be electric I I said at the beginning of the season in my predictions episode that he will not be a Heisman finalist but he will be in the top 10 in votes um I don't know if that's gonna happen uh but he has that sort of talent so um will it come through on Saturday that high level that ceiling probably not but I'm hoping that by the end of the season especially um folks are talking about him as one of the most electric quarterbacks in the country well we'll have to see I have one last question for you Scott there's a bit of a two-parter I want to know how significant this game is for Manhattan fans as I think this is the most anticipated game on two-lane schedule this year um and then I also want to know why more fans aren't aren't coming to Uptown in New Orleans for this game so I I think Kate fans if they were trying to rank excitement um it it's probably not in the top half um so if all things go k States way um the following Friday we're hosting Arizona and which what would be a top 20 matchup um then you know again knocking on wood in a best case scenario a couple weeks later you could be having a top 15 match up at home with Oklahoma State um the instate rival KU are coming to town uh we play faragon to end the year hopefully there's not a snow you know blizzard U but again that's a game that's been played every single year for going on a 120 years so you have those four games right there that are absolutely massive for the fan base then I think there's a lot of excitement for to play some of the new teams so there's a lot of kstate fans who are going up to the BYU game up in Utah I would say that's one of the more anticipated games and then you know they they have a a great relationship with Fort Riley which is uh one of the uh army bases it's just up the road in Fort Riley day versus Arizona State um again you know I'm not saying that's going to be a fun game but that's always a very exciting game for the fan base as well I I would say the two lane games probably somewhere around there again especially in this new world of college football uh everything went with conference games it just accelerated so much I'm not a playoff guy I don't really uh care for that you know if I had it my way we'd go back to the BCS but with so much emphasis on winning your conference and what that means for the rest of the postseason um I I think that we're in an era where uh non-conference games they're fun and everyone you know you can have a lot of fun with them but the importance of all the conference games means so much and then why there's not going to be more Kate fans going down um I think it's like three three different things I think the first thing is uh we were just down in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl uh 18 months ago um you know I you know I I I stopped watching when K State went up you know 14 to3 or whatever the score was early so I think it was 10 nothing I turned it off I don't know what happened vers Alabama after that one um but so they were just down in New Orleans again I think that there are some other away games at k fans have circled a little bit more and then uh it it's you know economics of it you know it's not very close it's a very long drive from Kansas if you're flying out of Kansas City even you know a Southwest flight you know is running 350 400 bucks if you want to use any of like the non-budget airlines you're looking at 700 bucks just to fly down to New Orleans so uh it just a lot of things are uh you know kind of preventing it from being a lot more cas State fans which is too bad because I mean it's a it's a super cool stadium and any game I've watched there it seems like the atmosphere is very good so I wish I was going um but I'm not going to and sadly it doesn't seem like a lot of Kate fans are either I agree it's a great Stadium celebrating its 10th anniversary Scott before you sign off do you have a score prediction yeah so on my show I said kstate 27 to Lane 17 which was like right on the number it was at uh 10 I think it opened up at seven and a half got up to 10 now it's been floating back and forth around nine uh I'm thinking how it's going to go I think it's going to be tight early um I think both teams are going to try to run the ball I think it will come down to some turnovers and big plays um I'm I'm not even for seeing you know a 10-point I I I do think it'll be a touchdown late to move it to two possessions for K State uh and it'll be a game where it's like you better make sure you have your baby aspirin or your uh you know anti acid next to you because it's going to be a stressful game but I do have Kate uh getting the Revenge game but I'm I'm hoping that uh you know Tain then wins rest of the games and hopefully we get a rematch in the college football playoff in in the quarterfinal you guys beat whoever the five seed is and then we'll meet you guys out in Tempe Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl so that's what I'm rooting for so I'm I'm hoping this isn't our our only matchup this year that would be fun I think it'll also be a close game Scott how can how can our listeners and viewers find your show and what should they know about you yeah so uh you can find the show at Bosco boys um on Twitter it's on every single app uh we go five episodes a week starting in July through the end of uh the year so through December and then we go to two to three through all the basketball season and then at least one episode all through the off season have not missed a week for over six years at this point at least one episode every single week uh for going on however many weeks that is it's named after the original dog uh dog mascot at kstate there was a black lab named BOS that was the original uh mascot at K State uh at Scott Wildcat if you guys want to bully me if tane wins that's my personal Twitter account so you guys can bully me if it doesn't go my way I I will accept any of that and what to know about me I just love I love college football I love uh this time of the year I I love sports I like how it brings everyone together um I think too much of college fandom is turning into how much does my athletic department make and oh hey I'm going to this conference and I'm we're going to finish eighth but by God we're in this conference uh I hate that I I want folks you know know to push back against some of that Embrace playing your Rivals and embrace competing for conference championships and uh just just remember what college sports is supposed to be about it's supposed to be if you're a student cheering on your fellow students it's about like hey these guys could you know be walking to class at the same time as me I might be in the same class I had class with tons of athletes when I when I was going to K State when you're alumni it's about cheering for that school that helped mold you during formative years of your life and getting together with your buddies who you went to school with and sharing that connection like for me I'm a third generation kstate graduate my father his two brothers his grandfather and then my younger brother and our cousin um you know that that's what college sports is supposed to be about it's not supposed to be about what's in you know your athletic Department's bank account just enjoy cheering on your fellow students or folks who are representing your school so I'll get off my soap box and I'll thank Isaac and John for letting me come on on and anyone who's listening I I hope you guys uh I hope you have a little bit of fun on Saturday not too much fun uh but regardless hey college football is is is the best sport in the world and I hope everyone has a good one absolutely agree Scott thank you so much anytime boys