‘I still think it’s ridiculous’: Why morning kick could hurt Stanford against K-State
Stanford football coach David Shaw didn’t hide his frustration when Fox Sports 1 selected Saturday’s game between the Cardinal and Kansas State for an 11 a.m. Central time kickoff earlier this summer.
“This is either complete disregard, or lack of understanding how difficult it is to be a West Coast team, that travels east and gets forced to play an early kickoff game,” Shaw told The Athletic in June.
Several months later, he is still annoyed.
“I’m still not a fan of it,” Shaw said earlier this week. “I still think it’s ridiculous.”
It’s easy to understand why. Shaw’s team will have to wake up before dawn and play a game against the Wildcats at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas that will feel like it’s starting at 9 a.m. for Stanford players.
Stanford lost a morning game at Northwestern it was heavily favored to win six years ago, and the term “body clocks” was famously used to help explain why the Cardinal played as if they were sleep-walking through the defeat.
Will they once again struggle to handle an early start on Saturday?
K-State and its players are used to playing at 11 a.m. Can the Wildcats use that to their advantage?
The subject hasn’t come up much within K-State circles. But it was a major talking point this week at Stanford, where Shaw scheduled nightly walk-throughs followed by morning practices in an attempt to help his players adjust their “body clocks” to what they will experience this weekend.
“We’re counting on our guys to get as much rest as they can,” Shaw said. “They aren’t in school right now, so it’s all about practicing, having our meetings and taking care of their bodies. We feel good about what we are doing. We will be ready to get up and go.”
K-State football coach Chris Klieman also mixed up his team’s schedule last week to help the Wildcats prepare for the season-opener. They held a mock game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium last Saturday. Kickoff time was 11 a.m., with players arriving well ahead of time to mimic game-day meetings and other rituals.
Nothing will seem out of the ordinary when they arrive in Texas on Friday.
Stanford players will face a bigger transition. But they don’t seem concerned about flying two time zones away for a morning game, despite some heated comments from their coach.
“This is the only time we have practiced this early, but I liked it, honestly,” Stanford defensive end Thomas Booker said. “Part of it is waking up a little bit, but once you get to that ... you are just locked in. I liked it. If anything, we will be even more ready for what comes on Saturday.”