The last coach responsible for game-planning against Kansas University’s brainy defensive line was so defeated by the experience by the end of the night, he allegedly urinated on the bar of a Waco establishment called Scruffy Murphy’s.

Eric Schnupp, offensive line/tight end coach for Baylor University, was cited at 2:20 a.m. Sunday for misdemeanor disorderly conduct-reckless exposure. Scruffy Murphy’s bartender Danny Severe told the Waco Tribune that Schnupp had downed several shots of hard liquor. We’ll never know if the Kansas defense drove him to allegedly drink so much to drown his sorrows, but it’s not a bad guess.

Battling either brains or brawn is one thing, taking on both quite another.

“We’ve got some smart guys at defensive end, man,” said standout defensive tackle James McClinton, who benefits from a quick mind, quick feet and boundless energy. “I’m serious, man.”

John Larson majors in economics and has his sights set on medical school. His 3.7 grade-point average should help him gain admission, even though it’s lower than the GPA of fellow end Russell Brorsen. Together, they don’t weigh 500 pounds. It hasn’t kept them from succeeding so far, though the schedule gets a lot thicker from here. They share time with Jeff Wheeler and Max Onyegbule. Todd Haselhorst and Caleb Blakesley share time at one tackle, and McClinton stays on the field for most plays.

Even those fans who don’t take pride in the academic achievements of their school’s players perk up when they realize bright brains can make for a better football player.

Defensive coordinator Bill Young, a brainy sort himself and considered by peers to be one of the best in the business, has coached in 13 bowl games for Arizona State, Ohio State, USC and Kansas. An understated man, Young is not given to hyperbole.

“This is the most intelligent football team I’ve ever been associated with, as far as on defense,” Young said. “We just have some young guys who, off the field, are intelligent, and they bring that to the field.”

When the minds aren’t as sharp, Young said, “You struggle. That’s what happened to us last year. We had some areas there where we weren’t very experienced at some positions, and we continued to make the same mistakes. … The good thing about this year is we’ve got some guys, you tell them one time and it’s there. They’ve done it, and they’re going to repeat it. If they make one mistake, they won’t make it again.”

It enables a coach to put more on his players.

“You don’t pull your hair out as much,” Young said of the benefit of coaching brainy athletes. “You have a limited amount of time. We’re getting ready to play a team that’s really complicated in the University of Colorado, and they’re going to do a lot of different things. We don’t have a lot of time to show each group the same reps. They’ll sit back there and take mental reps, and they’ll learn from it. They’ll study the film, and they’ll learn from it. The chances of them being in the right place at the right time is about 100 percent better than it would have been if they weren’t guys as intelligent as they are.”

Trying to outfox these guys can leave the opposition with quite the hangover.