seth: Hey guys, I got in around 12:30 last night and I totally forgot to send out the bat signal for the Chit Chat. I don’t know if we can fly that close to the sun and get it done and I still haven’t been able to watch the game. Let’s do this. Feel free to start whenever.

briandc: I’ve got to start out by giving major points to the running backs, with 25 to Nisby & 25 to Stockton. Nisby was the hammer we’ve all been wanting at the goal line, and hopefully scoring from short yardage quickly becomes muscle memory for the offense. Stockton put up 161 yards rushing and had an all-around great day.

Everything else goes to the defense. 20 points to Eli Howard for causing a ruckus with 4 batted balls at the line (one of which was ruled a fumble because it was a backwards pass) I’ll also give an extra 5 to the defensive line for helping stymie a running back that put up 291 on West Virginia. Kolin Hill also deserves praise for his production.

15 points to Justus Parker for his fumble return & INT. And finally I’m going to give 10 points to the stalwart linebacking corps. Dakota Allen continues to impress (he snagged another INT), Jordyn Brooks lead the team in tackles, and the back-ups seem to be benefiting from their leadership.

michael: For me, I would like to hand out 50 points right off the bat to the running game. Ten to the linemen, 15 each to Nisby and Stockton, five to Mason Reed for making some huge blocks, and another five to Kingsbury for sticking with it.

The defense gets 30 points for fourth down stops, forcing punts, scoring a touchdown, tackles behing the line of scrimmage, and of course creating those turnovers. What an outing for that group.

I’ll give 5 to Coutee for playing well despite being banged up. I’m always conflicted when guys who aren’t 100% hit the field. Shorts get 5 as well for coming in as a starter and catching every pass thrown his direction, including a touchdown.

The coaching staff gets the final 10 points for having the guys ready to play on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, we’ll see that a lot more often as the season progresses. Morning kickoffs don’t worry me as much anymore, which is a good thing
since we’re about to see how they do in at least three straight 11am conference games.

spencer: I’m giving 30 points to the offensive line. They opened lanes enough for this team to rush for 300+ yards and 5 TDs. 15 points each for Nisby and Stockton to take those lanes and make things happen.

15 points each for Dakota Allen and Justus Parker. Allen played the KU QB perfectly for another interception in zone coverage and was in just about every tackle it seemed. Parker forced a fumble and returned it for a TD and then caught a tipped pass for an interception.

5 points to Gibbs for continuing to build on and deliver on his promise of turnovers. And 5 points for the coaching staff in general for making sure this team showed up for an 11 am kick in Lawrence (which hasn’t always been the case unfortunately).

seth: I’ve only been able to watch about half of the game and I feel like we all earned an additional 5 points because of the reviews.

I’m going to start off by giving 30 points to the defense for limiting Kansas to 368 total yards, which doesn’t sound great, but they limited Kansas to fewer yards and points than all year and the rush defense only allowed 3.4 yards per rushing attempt. Mych Thomas and Broderick Washington were just absolutely terrific and the linebackers continue to make a ton of plays. Oh, and credit to Gibbs for creating a competitive environment, yet an environment that has quite a bit of comraderie. That’s a tough line to balance.

I’ll give 25 points to the running backs, including Mason Reed at fullback, and offensive line because 300 yards rushing is a special thing. The stretch plays are fun to watch when they work and it appears that the offensive line was better at finding a defender and getting on helmet to helmet creating lanes.

5 points to Keke Coutee for grinding out a game that he probably didn’t have to play. 5 points to Quan Shorts for earning that starting spot and producing. 5 points to Eli Howard for one heck of a game. 5 points to Kolin Hill for one heck of a game. 5 points to Justus Parker for making some big plays.