Against The Line - College Football Picks

Kansas Jayhawks at Kansas State Wildcats
By Steve Kosmider

The Guy Next Door
Oct 5, 2007 - 8:22:07 AM

There's no more of a slippery slope in college football than these interstate rivalries. Just think about that Iowa vs. Iowa State Rubik's Cube every year, they're just impossible to figure out. Kansas is 4-0, they have the number one ranked scoring defense in the nation (5.8 pts per) but haven't played anyone with a pulse. Kansas State just embarrassed Texas down in Austin and lead at Auburn for 58 minutes in week one. Now the Wildcats return home to Manhattan and our friend the odds maker says K-State is only three points better than their undefeated foes from Lawrence. What if K-State (a 14 point dog last week) lost in Texas seven days ago? What would the number be then? Would KU be a favorite? This is a strange line. Does Lefty Rosenthal think K-State's win last week was a fluke? Is Texas really that down this year? Or do the Maloof brothers, sitting around the Ghost Bar at the Palms, have a crush on the Jayhawks this year? Whatever the case, one of these teams is about to be exposed.

As my sixth grade Social Studies teacher Mrs. Higgins used to say "Those who don't learn from past history are doomed to repeat it." KU Head Coach Mark Mangino was an assistant at Kansas State under Bill Syder. Since taking the head gig in Jayhawk country, he has not won in Manhattan. In fact, KU hasn't won there since 1989. That was 220lbs ago for Mangino. Overall Kansas is just 2-11 both SU and ATS their last 13 against their headache 85 miles to the west. And about that 4-0 record they'll tow into town Saturday? It is a smoke-n-mirrors charade out of a David Copperfield show.

Second year Head Coach Ron Prince has something special brewing at K-State. He walked into a nose-diving program that Snyder let get stale and turned them into a bowl team last year. He's brash, dry and not the outgoing personality that the big time media like to flock to these days, but neither was Snyder, and they named the stadium after him. Prince is under the radar crafty and he's proven on several occasions that he can prepare his team for big games, and he's always got a trick up his sleeve. Like Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech he's all about fundamentals, dedicating full practices to special teams, which is why the two kick returns for touchdowns last week vs. Texas was no surprise. There'll be no letdown for the Wildcats this week.

Folks, let's simplify this. Kansas State is 7-1 ATS as a home favorite over the last two years and 4-0 in that role under Prince. The suddenly getting respect Jayhawks are a shivering 6-28 SU on the road in this decade and only 9-13 as an ATS dog on the road under Mangino. Kansas has played Central Michigan, S.E. Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International so far this year, ALL AT HOME in their comfy confines. This week they dress in a visiting locker room and play a team that is better than they are. This one's easy my friends. Kansas State minus three, as this new jack Ron Prince and his purple cats keep climbing up that Big 12 ladder.

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