Last year, third ranked Oklahoma started the 2016 season against Houston in the Advocare Texas Kickoff. The Tom Herman led Cougars really took it to the Sooners and handed Oklahoma their first loss of the season. The following week, Oklahoma played a sub-par Louisiana-Monroe team and Oklahoma handled them accordingly. Baker Mayfield threw three touchdowns while Joe Mixon ran for 125 yards and OU won handily 59-17. Oklahoma went on to win the Big 12 and make their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
On the other hand, 12th ranked Michigan State who also have lofty expectations heading into the season, found themselves taking their first loss early in the season as well to a respectable Wisconsin team. The very next week MSU played at lowly Indiana. A team they had beaten seven straight times and figured would easily bounce back and get their season back on track. Spoiler Alert: they didn’t. The Spartans had another dogfight on their hands that they would find a way to lose in overtime. Michigan State’s season would continue in despair as they finished the season 3-9.
After a loss, Oklahoma went out and took car of business against a bad team while Michigan State struggled to do the same. Oklahoma proved to be a good team at the time and had a successful season, while Michigan State struggled to do the same. That’s what good teams do: beat bad teams swiftly and easily.
This Saturday, Tech has an 11 am game at Kansas University, no seriously they do. And even though this feels like a bye week to many fans and media, the team cannot approach it the same way. Tech has beaten Kansas 10 straight times, and the last game Tech played in Lawrence was a slim 10-point victory. Kansas coach David Beaty will be sure to remind his players of this drought and be sure to have them motivated. With a big West Virginia game coming up soon, it’s easy to overlook a team like Kansas, but they’ve proven they can defeat a team overlooking them (ask the Longhorns). Kansas is a team hungry for success and it’s important for Tech not to fall victim to the Jayhawks’ appetite.
Good teams rebound after losses and put their season back on track, bad teams continue to struggle. This week will show whether Tech can rebound like a good team would, or struggle like a bad team.