Kansas Blog
November 7, 2009
Jayhawks season officially in disaster mode, with loss to K-State
By: Mike Smith
The Kansas Jayhawks went to Manhattan, Kansas to take on in-state rival the Kansas State Wildcats, looking to right the ship after three consecutive losses.Well the Jayhawks continued their offensive woes and came away with their fourth straight loss; losing 17-10 to the Wildcats. Todd Reesing once again struggled, turning over the ball and just looking like he wasn’t relaxed on the field. But he was not the only thing that was not good for the Jayhawks in the game as they had plenty of missed opportunities (two 30-yard field goals missed by Branstetter).
Giving the Kansas State Wildcats some credit they managed the game, forced turnovers / didn’t turn it over and Bill Snyder did a great coaching job. Quarterback Grant Gregory managed the game well and the Wildcat offense ran the ball, which is their bread and butter. The defense stopped the KU rushing attack and didn’t really allow any big plays against themselves.
Overall the game was once again close, with the Jayhawks having the chance to come away with the victory because the defense made plays and kept them in the game. But the offense couldn’t find anything for the third straight week and thus the defense was on the field too much, leading to lapses late allowing Kansas State to capitalize late and come away with the win and put them in a good spot to win the Big 12 North title.
KU offense:
Jayhawks scored 10 points and had 301 yards of total offense (60 rushing yards, 241 passing). The seemingly couldn’t established really anything; there was minimal running game, dropped passes and three turnovers (all by Reesing).
No rhythm once again for the Jayhawk offense, not capitalizing on opportunities. The rushing attack was really no where to be seen as Jake Sharp finished with 35 yards on 11 carries, Toben Opurum had 7 yards on two carries. Reesing had 23 yards rushing; Reesing has great running ability but you don’t want your starting running back to barely have more rushing yards than your quarterback. True freshman Opurum only had two carries both in the first half; it’s tremendously surprising to that Opurum was not even given a chance in the second half.
The passing game was better this week, but still struggled with dropped passes. Reesing had 14 incomplete passes, with a good amount of those being dropped passes. Sure-handed receiver Kerry Meier who had 92 yards on eight receptions, had some key drops in the game as well. Meier was not the only one to drop passes, really all the other receivers missed passes; though Briscoe looked better when it came to corralling passes thrown to him.
This performance wasn’t any better really than the past two offensive performances. The offensive line struggled again only giving up two sacks but not opening anything up for the running game, dropped passes and turnovers. The offense seems to be stuck in a rut and things won’t get any better until Reesing and the rest of those guys relax and let the game come to them and execute.
KU defense:
Defense once again had another solid game, keeping the team in the game with a chance to win. Even though the defense kept the team in the game they did have some lapses and struggles in the game.
The offense once again didn’t provide the defense really anytime to rest, thus late in the game they were tired. But for most of the game they made good plays and made the game close on the scoreboard.
The Jayhawks defense could have done things even better because they really didn’t get to the quarterback at all and the Wildcats ran the ball with good effectiveness. Wildcat runningback Daniel Thomas rushed for 185 yards and the Wildcats ran for 200+yards as a team. If you allow someone to run the ball like that you probably have a good chance of losing the game. The Jayhawks only allowed 66 yards through the air, so the pass defense was good; but you have to remember Kansas State is not a very effective passing team in the first place.
The defense was not able to force any turnovers by the Wildcats, which is something this Jayhawk defense relies on to succeed. All that being said the Jayhawk defense did what it was supposed to do, which is keep them in the game and allow the offense opportunities to score points to come away with a victory.
This game really was all about the continual offensive woes of the Jayhawks and their turnover problems. With three turnovers by the Jayhawks and zero turnovers by the Wildcats that pretty much told you who won the game. This season was supposed to be a historical season; one with a great chance of winning the Big 12 North title, sending this senior class out on a high note. Well the Big 12 North will not happen and it looks a like bowl game is not a guarantee as the Jayhawks could easily loss the last three games of the season. Hopefully the Jayhawks will turn it around and get bowl eligible and be able to go to a bowl for the third straight year. If that is to happen they will need a victory in their last home game of the season next week against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, hopefully Reesing, Sharp, Meier and Darrell Stuckey will get a win in their last home game.
November 6, 2009
KU at Kansas State
By: Mike Smith
It’s time for red alert for the Jayhawks, as they have lost three in a row and look to end that slide against their in-state rivals the Kansas State Wildcats. The Jayhawks can ill afford to lose their fourth straight has this game has big implications for the team. Winning the North is not out of the realm of possibility for the Jayhawks as they can win it with at least victories over Kansas State, Nebraska and Missouri, but one slip-up in those games and that hope for winning the North is gone in a blink.
Kansas State comes into this game at 5-4 overall but 3-2 in the Big 12 and leading the North race. Coach Bill Snyder is back roaming the sidelines in Manhattan and has done one hell of a job getting the most out of his players this season. They haven’t been the prettiest team out there on the field, but have been doing enough to get it done. After a loss down in Lafayette, Louisiana to the Ragin’ Cajuns, followed up by a loss to UCLA in California the Wildcats looked like they could have a year full of struggles. But they turned it around with some personnel changes on the field.
Both teams need victories for various reasons. Kansas State needs a victory to help them win the North, to make them bowl eligible and of course for bragging rights in the Sunflower Showdown. Kansas needs a victory to get out of their losing streak of three games, keep their hopes alive for the North title, make them bowl eligible and for bragging rights as well of course.
Kansas State Wildcats:
Head Coach Bill Snyder in my opinion has to be in the argument for Big 12 coach of the year, for the turnaround the Wildcats have had.
The offense for the Wildcats is nothing fancy ranking 75th overall in the nation averaging 357.33 ypg. The quarterback situation was a big question mark coming into the season and Snyder decided to go with junior Carson Coffman at first, but after his struggles has turned the offense reins over to the South Florida transfer Grant Gregory. Gregory isn’t flashy at all and only averages 82.1 passing ypg, but is good game manager. Gregory does have some weapons in the passing at his disposal like tight end Jeron Masturd and wide receivers Brandon Banks, Attrail Snipes and Lamark Brown. But the best weapon for the Wildcat offense is their rushing attack which averages 182.33 ypg, behind the running abilities of junior Daniel Thomas and senior Keithen Valentine. Thomas averages five yards per carry and is a game changer. The Jayhawks will have to be stout with their rushing defense.
On defense the Wildcats are just has susceptible to giving up points as the Jayhawks are (giving up 23 ppg, compared to the Jayhawks giving up 25 ppg). This Wildcat defense doesn’t really get to the quarterback very well and their pass defense leaves potential holes open for big plays through the air. Though the Wildcat defense isn’t the greatest they have some players who have the potential to make big plays like safeties Tysyn Hartman and Emanuel Lamur, plus linebackers Alex Hrebec and Ulla Pomele. But the main guy I would be worried about if I’m the Jayhawks is defensive end Jeffery Fitzgerald because this guy is really the only guy that can get to the quarterback and he causes turnovers.
The most telling stat about Kansas State is the turnover margin as they are +8. The defense forces turnovers and the offense doesn’t turnover it over that will be a huge key in this game, probably more for the Jayhawks who have turned it over plenty the last few weeks, but its important for both teams.
Kansas Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks go down once again for their third straight loss and controversy started to brew when coach Mark Mangino benched senior quarterback Todd Reesing in the fourth quarter last week.
Offensive woes continued with Reesing and the rest of the offense. The offensive line struggled to block, the receivers dropped passes, the running game sputtered and the Jayhawks turned the ball over. This is by far the worst the Jayhawks offense has played for a streak over the past two years. If they are to turn it around this is the time to do it, as they need a win for many reasons and don’t want to lose the Sunflower Showdown in the senior season of guys like Reesing, Kerry Meier, Darrell Stuckey and Jake Sharp. Establishing a balance will be key for the Jayhawks with a good dose of Toben Opurum and Sharp running the ball and Reesing slinging it around. Meier will have to step up after a uncharacteristic performance by him versus Texas Tech and the rest of the receivers as well. The offensive line will have to set up blocking schemes that give Reesing time and keep him off his back, but most importantly Reesing and the offense need to relax and let the game come to them.
As far as the defense goes, you can’t really be disappointed by their performance over the past weeks. As they kept the Jayhawks in the game, but eventually gave up points because they were on the field so much and got tired as the offense struggled to even move the ball. The defensive line behind Maxwell Onyegbule and Jake Laptad are getting to the quarterback. The linebackers are playing formidable and the secondary is not allowing as many big plays on themselves. Also with the recent influx of younger players into the defense, the defense seems to be playing with more energy and its letting guys be fresher when they are out on the field.
This will sound like a broken record from last week, when I saw this game as of the upmost importance to the Jayhawks; well the reality is that this game is huge. The Jayhawks need this game for many reasons: bowl eligibility, keeping the possibility of winning the North, getting out of their losing streak, to gain confidence and for bragging rights over the Wildcats. Turnovers will be the key to this game, can KU find a way to spark themselves to play a complete game on both sides of the ball?
November 2, 2009
Jayhawks drop third game in a row
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks riding a two-game losing streak made their second trip to Texas this year, this time to Lubbock to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders (who was riding a one-game losing streak).
Both teams came in with question marks for their team and in a game that was expected to be a shootout but the defense was the story through three quarters until the fourth quarter when Texas Tech’s offense exploded and KU’s offense faltered.
The Red Raiders won the game 42-21 behind a 28 point 4th quarter. Texas Tech came into the game starting a red-shirt freshman quarterback, Seth Doege but due to injury junior quarterback Taylor Potts came into the game in the second half and led the Red Raiders to victory. It was all knotted up at 14 points at the half and the Jayhawks took the lead in the 3rd quarter, but the main factor and story of the game was the turnovers. There were seven total turnovers in the game four by the Jayhawks and three by the Red Raiders.
Overall the game was close throughout three quarters with KU’s defense getting pressure on the Red Raider quarterback and stopping them. But in the fourth quarter the defense finally tired out and gave up plenty of points and the Jayhawks offense didn’t help failing to maintain drives and score any points in the besides one scoring drive in the second half.
KU offense:
Jayhawks scored 21 points and had 258 yards of total offense (71 rushing yards, 187 passing). Where do you being with evaluating the offense there were plenty of struggles and problems throughout the entire game.
The Jayhawks seemed way out of rhythm, they seemed to establish sort of a run game on their first drive but from there it went nowhere. As Jake Sharp finished with 50 yards and Toben Opurum only had 11 yards (a 1-yard TD run). Jake Sharp in the second half was hit hard by Texas Tech corner Jamar Wall and came up woozy; never came back into the game. Reesing didn’t have a great day either has he only passed for 181 yards and a touchdown, was sacked six times and fumbled twice. Plus Reesing was benched late in the fourth quarter as Kale Pick came into the game for few drives, but was not able to move the ball either.
Besides the running game that has struggled over the last few games the passing game hasn’t been on point either and once again never really got anything going. Dezmon Briscoe came away on the day with 110 yards and a touchdown but no else really not truly involved in the passing game. The usually reliable Kerry Meier was taken away for the most part in the game, getting his first catch in the third quarter, finishing with 32 yards on three receptions. Also none of the other receiver other than Briscoe really got into the action either.
The worst thing I saw from the offense besides the turnovers which are obviously something that are bad, but the play of the offensive line was horrible. The offensive line seemed to look like they regressed in their progression, giving up 6 sacks.
I said last week was the worst offensive performance I had seen by the Jayhawks well I stand corrected because this one was worst because they failed to move the ball on the mediocre defense of the Texas Tech Raiders, where as last week they played one of the nation’s top defense in the Oklahoma Sooners.
KU defense:
Defense only gave up 358 total yards to the Sooners (105 rushing, 253 passing). The defense is what kept the Jayhawks in the game for the second week in a row; this time all the way into the third quarter.
In the first half the Jayhawks defense once again came up with big stops and kept the team in the game, scoring on a fumble recovery and setting up the offense inside the Red Raider five-yard line for a score just before the half.
This Jayhawk defense played outstanding for three quarters then where to tired in the fourth and fell suspect to the Texas Tech’s offense, but not really to the passing game but to the running game as Baron Batch had three or four long runs in the fourth quarter, finishing with 123 yards and four touchdowns (team finished with less rushing yards due to yards loss on sacks by KU. defense). The thing about this KU defense they will eventually give up points; that’s why it’s so important for the offense to score points to help them out, the Jayhawks need a complete game.
To give the Jayhawk defense their rightful due diligence they did do a lot of good things. They pressure the quarterback early with 5 sacks on Seth Doege, plus they had 10 total tackles for loss. Also they forced three turnovers (2 fumbles and one INT by Texas Tech); Bradley McDougald intercepted Taylor Potts in the second half. The secondary’s coverage was pretty solid only giving up a few big pass plays.The Jayhawks still have a slim chance at winning the Big 12 North title, with three more Big 12 North opponents still left on the schedule. The main focus for this team now should be just to get back on the winning side of a game and get themselves bowl eligible. Next matchup won’t be an easy one has its against in-state rival the Kansas State Wildcats in the Manhattan and their old-new coach Bill Synder has them playing pretty well, even though they lost this past weekend to the Oklahoma Sooners.
October 29, 2009
KU at Texas Tech
By: Mike Smith
Both teams will be coming into the game on a loss (KU with two in a row & Texas Tech to Texas A&M). Jayhawks lost a game that was never really in their hands to the Oklahoma Sooners this past weekend, but have to put that in the back of their minds and focus on the next game at hand. Even with two back-to-back Big 12 losses the Jayhawks still can win the North title and a win over a Texas Tech Red Raider team would do great things for that cause.
Texas Tech is 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12 and have had a crazy year after losing standout quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree from last year. Their offense still hasn’t missed a beat without those two guys, as it’s the number one passing offense and five scoring offense in the nation. Though the offense has been lead by two different quarterbacks junior’s Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield, and might start their third different quarterback in red-shirt freshman Seth Doege against the Jayhawks.
Both teams are looking for a victory after losses, so it will definitely be a tough matchup. Both offenses can score points and both defenses are susceptible to giving up yards and points as well. The Red Raiders hold a 10-1 all-time record versus the Jayhawks, with a 63-21 plastering of the Jayhawks last year in Lawrence (only Jayhawk win in the series was in 2001 in Lubbock).
Texas Tech Red Raiders:
The Red Raiders are playing quarterback carousel has two of their quarterbacks have suffered injuries.
Not having a stable quarterback still really hasn’t caused their offense to sputtered as its still one of the most pass prolific offenses in the country. Junior quarterback Taylor Potts who has started six of the eight games for the Red Raiders, was replaced by red-shirt freshman Seth Doege last week versus Texas A&M and word is Doege will start this week, making him the third quarterback to start for Tech this year. The offense for the Red Raiders relies heavily on the passing game with four/five wide sets throughout the game. Now there is no Michael Crabtree on this team but it’s full of capable receivers as the ball is disturbed all around to many guys. Detron Lewis and Alex Torres are the main go to guys but there plenty of other targets for whatever quarterback plays against the Jayhawks. The running game isn’t the greatest but Baron Batch can get it done, especially if you don’t give him any credit or pay attention to him.
On the defensive side of the ball the Red Raiders have improved but gave up 52 points, 559 total yards, 321 rushing yards to the Texas A&M Aggies last week. Typically the Red Raiders have been a solid defense stepping up and making stops and keying on the running game of their opponents. They will have a though test against the Jayhawks offense, even though it’s struggled the past few weeks. Reesing had three interceptions versus Texas Tech last year and if the Red Raiders want to beat the Jayhawks they will have to continue Reesing recent string of turnovers. The linebacking core of Marlon Williams, Bront Bird and Brian Duncan are the key to this team, as well as the play of cornerbacks Jamar Wall and LaRon Moore. The defensive does a decent job of getting to the quarterback with 24 sacks on the season.
Overall Texas Tech is known for its high octane offense and rightfully so, because ever since Mike Leach has implanted his system Tech as seen success with it. But the defense will have to be prepared for a Jayhawk offense that is out to prove itself after a couple of rough outings.
Kansas Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks have now suffered back-to-back losses and can ill afford to lose another game in the Big 12, as the North title is still up for grabs.
Saturday the defense showed me that they will put forth all the effort they have and give it all, but in saying that this defense will still give up points, thus the offense has to support it to, which didn’t happen versus the Sooners. In the first half the Jayhawk defense kept them in the game holding the Sooners to a single score (as the other Sooners touchdown came on a pick-six of Reesing). They had a near goal line stance and only gave up 337 total yards to Oklahoma. The young guys like safety Lubbock Smith, corner DJ Beshears, defensive tackle John Williams and linebacker Huldon Tharp have stepped up well and have had freshman mistakes. Mangino hasn’t hesitated to play young players in his coaching career, saying we’ll play the best players that will help us win. The defense will have to key on the passing game of the Red Raiders this weekend, as the secondary will have to be ready for many different routes and the defensive line has to get to the quarterback.
The past two games Todd Reesing has had five turnovers and not really looked like the regular Reesing, as he seems to be thinking too much and not letting the game come to him. The offense has had its fair share of problems and it’s not just Reesing fault, as there has been dropped pass, too much pressure on Reesing and a lack of a running game. The Jayhawks will have to establish both facets of the offense the run and pass in order to have success against the Red Raiders. Wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier will have to be the reliable guys Reesing needs in the passing game and Jake Sharp and Toben Opurum will have to be able to run the ball. If Sharp is not fully healthy still the Jayhawks need to rely on Opurum more to carry the load. The offensive line will have to give Reesing time and most importantly Reesing will just have to play the game and let things come to him.
This game is very important for the Jayhawks because they can ill afford to lose ground in North, as that is still their main goal of the season. It won’t be an easy task to defeat the high octane offense of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, especially in Lubbock on Halloween; it will take a complete game from all sides of the ball for the Jayhawks to get the victory.
October 25, 2009
Jayhawks have offensive woes, as Sooners take them down
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks came home to Lawrence to start the second half of the season, after suffering their first loss to Colorado. The second of half of the schedule isn’t going to be easy and it started with the game this past Saturday against the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Sooners came into the game with a record of 3-3 but that is definitely not indicative of how the Oklahoma Sooners look on the field. Without their Heisman quarterback Sam Bradford, tight end Jermaine Gresham and runningback DeMarco Murray the Sooners still had no problem dismantling the Jayhawks.
Sooners won 35-13 and were really in control of the game from the gun. The Jayhawks had three first half turnovers (all interceptions thrown by Reesing) which led to 14 early points for the Sooners. Even with those three turnovers the Jayhawks went into the half down 14-6, behind some great defensive play and two Jacob Branstetter field goals (one at the end of the half was 57 yards a career long). So with everything bad the Jayhawks still had a chance, but the defense finally got winded and the Sooners took advantage for more points in the second half, as well as the Sooners defense continue to stifle the Jayhawks forcing three and outs.
Overall the game was really never in question after Dominique Franks’ pick-six on Todd Reesing in the second quarter. The Sooners defense showed that they are one of the best in nation, stopping a Jayhawk offense that scores over 30 points per game.
KU offense:
Jayhawks scored 13 points and had 305 yards of total offense (81 rushing yards, 224 passing). They never were able to get in any sort of rhythm throughout the game, with Oklahoma getting in the backfield with three sacks, six quarterback hurries and seven tackles for loss. Then you factor in the three early interceptions by Reesing, who made some uncharacteristic plays.
The Jayhawks seemed way out of rhythm, Reesing only throwing for 224 yards passing and the leading receiver for the Jayhawks in yards was Jake Sharp the runningback with 62 yards (most of which came on a shovel pass early). Briscoe and Meier didn’t get into their usual pace with Reesing and Briscoe dropped a touchdown pass from Reesing (the pass was kind of low, so it wasn’t all Briscoe’s fault). Reesing ended his NCAA leading streak of consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass among active players, but did rush for the lone Jayhawk touchdown. This easily had to be the worst game I have seen Reesing play in his collegiate career he looked like he was thinking too much and not letting the game come to him.
One thing that didn’t help Reesing was the lack of a running game as the Jayhawks only had 81 yards. Early Sharp and Opurum looked like they would be able to run the ball some on the Sooners but Oklahoma made adjustments and stopped that from happening. The running game got stopped because Oklahoma’s defensive line and linebackers were in the backfield disrupting it and Reesing timing. The Jayhawks offensive line has given up more sacks in game than the three they did against the Sooners but it seemed the defensive line was always either in the backfield or disrupting the pass by getting their hands up.
This offensive performance is by far the worst I have seen by the Jayhawks, as they moved the ball early against the Sooners defensive somewhat but Reesing made uncharacteristic mistakes. Then in the second half the Sooner defense just stopped the Jayhawks from really doing anything. The Jayhawks take on a offense with the potential to be high octane in Texas Tech next week so they better be prepared to score points.
KU defense:
Defense only gave up 337 total yards to the Sooners (85 rushing, 252 passing). The defense is want kept the Jayhawks in the game only giving up one touchdown in the first half and stopping the Oklahoma defense pretty well (other touchdown in 1st half on an interception return).
While the 1st half was the best performance the Jayhawk defense has probably give in many years, they still had their problems in the game. Now most people know that this Jayhawk defense isn’t set up to continually stop teams, but to come up with key stops in the game and allow the Jayhawks offense to capitalize and put points on the board to maintain a lead. That being said it was only time before an offense like Oklahoma’s found a groove against the Jayhawk defense.
In the second half that happen, with Oklahoma scoring 21 points, but there were some factors that didn’t help the Jayhawks defense. First the fact the Jayhawk offense couldn’t score and stay on the field, which made the defense winded throughout the second half. Also there were some untimely penalties, bad tackling and lapses in defense as well at times.
Now the defense did do good things and coming into this game you would have said the Jayhawks defense forced two turnovers, only allowed 337 total yards and 28 points to Oklahoma, you probably would have thought KU would have a shot to win the game.
Jayhawks have started to stumble a little with back to back losses but they are still not out of it in the North. It will be an uphill climb but can be done and all starts next week as the Jayhawks head down to Lubbock, Texas to take on the Red Raiders on Halloween. The Jayhawks will have to put solid performances by all facets of the team together to come away with a victory, as this game is mightily important for their chances to win the North, also the Jayhawks don’t want to get embarrassed like last year against Texas Tech in a game they lost 63-21 in Lawrence.
October 23, 2009
Oklahoma at KU
By: Mike Smith
Both teams will be coming into the game on a loss (KU to Colorado & OU to Texas). In a season that looked promising for the Jayhawks at the being of the year there are some question marks arising causing concern for some on whether the Jayhawks can win the North. Well it won’t be easy for the Jayhawks with their final six games of the year, but it starts this weekend against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma has had a disappointing season only being 3-3 and suffering many injuries to key players. The Sooners will be minus obviously one of the best college tight ends Jermaine Gresham who is out for the year and also reining Heisman trophy winner junior quarterback Sam Bradford. While this season has been disappointing for the Sooners, they still are an outstanding team. With a defense which ranks 8th in nation in total defense and 3rd in scoring defense only giving up 9.67 ppg; also the three loses they suffered were all by a total of five points.
Both teams need to get back on the winning path this season after a loss, so this game is pivotal for both teams. Jayhawks will need to capture one win against their south opponents at the minimum, two preferably to keep themselves in the talks of winning the Big 12 North.
Oklahoma Sooners:
Like stated earlier the Sooners have been through their share of adversity throughout the season with injuries and close losses.
Oklahoma on offense has taken a big hit; coming into the season they had an inexperienced offensive line, they lost their All-American caliber tight end and then their Heisman quarterback got injured came back and got injured again. The Sooner offense is still potent, but has turned the reins over to a red-shirt freshman Landry Jones. Landry has been pretty good for the Sooners but he is obviously no Sam Bradford and still pretty young thus maybe not being able to read defenses with a great ability. He will really on a very impressive running game, probably the best tandem of runningbacks in Big 12 and maybe the nation with DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. The running game will be key for the Sooners to help Landry Jones, even in the pass game with passes to the runningbacks in the flat, plus KU has give up a 100+ yard rusher the last two games. Wide receivers Ryan Broyles, Brandon Caleb and Cameron Kenney will have to make timely catches.
On the defensive side of the ball the Sooners have done extremely well this season and rank among the best in the nation. They do pretty much everything sound and well, as they have forced 16 turnovers, sacked the quarterback 22 times and have 53 tackles for loss on the season. The defensive line and linebacking core is full of NFL caliber players like: DE’s Jeremy Beal and Auston English, DT Gerald McCoy and at LB Travis Lewis, Ryan Reynolds, and Keenan Clayton. These guys are getting to the quarterback and that will be the key against Kansas because if you can cause havoc on Todd Reesing you will possibly stifle the KU offense. Then in the secondary OU has tremendous athletes as well. Everyone knows about corner Dominique Franks but Brian Jackson is good also he has four interceptions this year.
Overall Oklahoma is tremendously better than their records shows and coach Bob Stoops will make sure his team isn’t discouraged and works hard to turn their season around.
Kansas Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks suffered their first loss of the season against Colorado in Boulder this past weekend. The second half of the season for the Jayhawks will not be an easy one with the likes of Texas, Texas Tech, Nebraska and then rivalry games against Missouri and K-State, but it starts this weekend against the Oklahoma Sooners.
Saturday the Jayhawks made mistakes on both sides of the ball and have room for improvement in all facets of the game. The defensive performance was a lot better than that of the Iowa State game. If you look at the stats for Colorado they would not wow you as KU only gave up 322 total yards. The defense saw a big shake up in personal this past week with Lubbock Smith starting at safety, red-shirt freshman defensive lineman John Williams, freshman corner DJ Beshears (who will start over Daymond Patterson this weekend), JUCO transfer defensive end Quinton Woods and wide receiver Bradley McDouglad played a little defensive back. Maybe the interjection of new faces helped spark something in the defense to play better, but they still gave up a 100 yard rusher (Rodney Stewart CU RB). The key for the defense this week will be containing the running game of Oklahoma with DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown and their passing catching in the flats.
On the offensive side of the ball the Jayhawks continue to pass the ball well with Todd Reesing throwing for over 400 yards against the Buffalos, with a lot of passes going to his favorite guys Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe. The Jayhawks pass game will be important against the Sooners; Briscoe had a KU record 269 receiving yards last year in Norman against the Sooners and the Jayhawks might need another big performance similar by someone to take down the Sooners. While the passing game is important and want the Jayhawks do the best the running game and offensive line blocking will be what dictates how well the offense does against a stout Oklahoma defense. Senior runningback Jake Sharp and freshman Toben Opurum who combined for 40 yards last week will have to give KU the multiple dimensions to its offense (KU had a team total -8 yards rushing vs. CU, because of sacks on Reesing). To go along with the running game the offensive line will have to open up holes and protect Reesing, which they struggled to do somewhat against Colorado and Oklahoma has even better athletes on defense the Buffs.
This game is very important for both teams to win to get back on the winning side of things. For the Jayhawks it’s tremendously important for a few reasons: one its key if the Jayhawks want to win the North and two the seniors don’t want to go out not getting a win against one of the big South teams like OU, Texas and Texas Tech. Last year’s game was a close one with the Sooners only winning by 14 points and the Jayhawks only trailed by 7 late into the third quarter. For the Jayhawks to win they will have to be efficient on offense with both the pass and run and on defense they will have to force red-shirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones into mistakes and contain Oklahoma’s two head monster running attack.
October 18, 2009
Jayhawks make a comeback but fall short for first loss of year
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks went on the road for only the second time this season and their first Big 12 road game against the Colorado Buffalos. KU had struggled the past two times in Boulder only scoring a combined 21 points (winning 19-14 in ’07 and losing 13-44 in ’05).Well it wasn’t any different for the offense for the first half at least and then the end of the game, but the third quarter Jayhawks scored a plenty. The Jayhawks fell down 21 points in the first half, but made a comeback and took the lead but ultimately loss the game 34-30.
There were many factors that played into the loss for the Jayhawks, the defense, turnovers a stagnant offense at times.
KU offense:
Jayhawks score 30 points and have 423 yards but not enough and if you watched the game you would know the Jayhawk offense wasn’t that proficient.Jake Sharp returned for the Jayhawks so you would think the Jayhawks would be able to change up the running game and bring two different dimensions to it with Opurum and Sharp. Well the Jayhawks finished with -8 yards rushing as a team; yeah you read that right. That is mostly because Reesing was sacked five times and those yards loss count towards rushing yards, but Sharp and Opurum didn’t do much either. Sharp had 37 yards on 14 carries and Opurum and two carries for three yards and a touchdown. Now that Jayhawks did get down 21 points so they had to go to the air a lot to comeback, but the run game was getting stuffed at the line by the Buffalos.
As for the passing game it was there for the Jayhawks with Reesing throwing for 401 yards, two touchdowns. Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe had good receiving days (Meier 103 yards TD; Briscoe 154 yards, TD) but it will be the plays not made that will be remember in this game.
The Jayhawks did lots of uncharacteristic things that kept them from beating the Buffalos. First, they turned over the ball three times, in which two times Colorado got outstanding field position inside their own five yard line, leading to 14 points off turnovers by the Buffalos. Second thing that hurt the Jayhawk offense was no running game. Third untimely penalties with Reesing intentional grounding and the pass inference call that negated a late go ahead touchdown. Lastly, was the pressure on Reesing, as the offensive line gave up five sacks and the Jayhawks only converted 5 of 17 third downs.
The offense wasn’t the usual offense of the Jayhawks as they started off sluggish and couldn’t move the ball, then weren’t able to finish drives off at the end of the game. But the Jayhawks wouldn’t have been in that position if they would have gotten off to a better offensive start.
KU defense:
If I told you KU’s defense only allowed 322 total yards (147 rushing, 175 passing), forced 3 turnovers and had 3 sacks you would probably say KU’s defense looked pretty good and that the Jayhawks won the game. Well everyone knows that outcome of the game, but was the defense better than last week against the Cyclones.Yes the defense was better but they still had some tackling problems and gave up some big plays, but to give them credit they forced turnovers or Colorado to punt when the Jayhawks needed it to comeback.
The few problems for the defense in this game that I did see was tackling at times because some plays that got like 5 to 8 yards could have been stopped in the backfield or for only gains of 1 to 3 yards. Also to go with the tackling issue, I saw a lot of over pursuing and not staying home in your gap or coverage, which allowed guys like Colorado’s runningback Rodney Stewart to get to the corner and have a 100+ yard day.
The defense was overall better in this game and we can probably say this is the true KU defense that we will see, but they still have to play better offenses than Colorado’s this season. One thing that I touched on with the offense is the turnovers inside the five yard line of Colorado, this lead to 14 points for the Buffalos. Well if you put your defense in that situation it’s pretty hard to stop a team from scoring.
Jayhawks fell from the ranks of the undefeated and suffered their first loss of the season moving to 5-1 on the year. This game is not to blame on one person or one side of the ball, as everyone could have done better and the team just didn’t play up to its full potential possibly and Colorado played a stellar game executing well. The loss hurts KU’s chances of winning the Big 12 North as their schedule only gets harder from here with the likes of Texas, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Missouri left on the schedule. But up next is another hard team in the Oklahoma Sooners who will come to Lawrence looking to get back to winning after losing to rival the Texas Longhorns. This game will not be easy for the Jayhawks but they cannot afford two straight loses if they want to win the North.
October 15, 2009
KU at Colorado
By: Mike Smith
Big 12 play opened up a little rough for the Jayhawks at least on one side of the ball, but they came away with the 41-36 victory of the Iowa State Cyclones. Now they go on the road for to take on Big 12 North opponent the Colorado Buffaloes.
Colorado hasn’t had a great season thus far and opened up Big 12 play with a 38-14 loss to the Texas Longhorns. They switched quarterbacks late in the game putting Tyler Hansen in over Cody Hawkins. One thing that the Buffaloes can hang their head on is the fact that the defense actually only allowed 17 points by the potent Longhorn offense (Texas scored TD’s on two special teams plays and an INT return).
This game won’t be easy for the Jayhawks even though they have won three straight against the Buffaloes, they have never won four straight in all the years on playing each other. Also in KU’s last two games in Boulder the offense struggled and wasn’t as potent and effective as usual (winning 19-14 in ’07 and losing 13-44 in ’05).
Colorado Buffaloes:
The Buffaloes are 1-4 thus far with their only win coming against Wyoming; losing early season games to Colorado State and Toledo.
Colorado’s problems have been on both sides of the both this year. The offense has been able to score some points at times, but also looked horrible and couldn’t move the ball really well at all. Cody Hawkins was the quarterback for the team for the first 4 and a half games throwing for over 1,000 yards, nine touchdowns but also nine interceptions. A little bit into the second half of last week’s game versus Texas the red-shirt was burned on Tyler Hansen and he has become the new starting quarterback. Besides the quarterback position the rest of the offense has struggled as well the wide receivers are under performing with Marques Simas and transfer Andre Simmons not playing to the caliber Colorado thought they could. Wide receiver Scotty McKnight and tight end Rair Geer have been solid. The running game which is the strength on the Colorado offense hasn’t been what it was thought it could be, heralded runningback Darrell Scott hasn’t done much but Rodney Stewart and Demetrius Sumler have been good enough on the ground for the Buffs.
On the defensive side of the ball the Buffalos give up 30 points per game but have shown signs of improvement holding Texas’s offense to 17 points last week. The linebackers and defensive backs are the strong suit of the Buffalo defense. The Buffalos have been able to cause some pressure on the quarterback and forced 8 turnovers this season. Linebackers Jeff Smart, Marcus Burton and BJ Beaty will be key in containing Reesing’s running ability. The defensive backs Cha’ppelle Brown, Jalil Brown and Jimmy Smith will have to play tight coverage on the slew of receivers the Jayhawks throw at them.
Overall Colorado has struggled this year and is really looking for a spark to help stop their season from being a disaster and a win over a ranked Jayhawk team would help that. The Buffs have done well at containing the Jayhawks offense in Boulder and will have to do so on Saturday to even be in the game.
Kansas Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks a coming off a record offensive performance and a horrible defensive performance against the Iowa State Cyclones in their Big 12 opener, looking to beat Colorado for the fourth straight year.
Saturday’s defensive performance was one of the worst I have seen, but I don’t think the Jayhawks defensive is as bad as it looked against Iowa State, nor as good as it looked early in the season. This defense will give up points because the Big 12 offenses are just superior but it needs to make the big plays when it counts and get some 3 and outs to let the offense score and get the team a lead. That being said the defensive line has been good this year with its pressure on the quarterback (16 sacks, 29 quarterback hurries). The linebackers are still a huge question mark they were not really making many plays versus Iowa State and haven’t been that great all year. Then there is the veteran secondary who you can say has possibly underachieved thus far this season, ranking 108th in pass defense (260 yards per game). In order for the Jayhawks to win the North and have a successful season the defense has to be able to make some stops at times and stop the run well (which they didn’t do vs. Iowa St.).
The offense is moving along at a great pace with Todd Reesing at the helm. KU’s offense is near the top in a lot of offensive categories in the nation and will continue to be throughout the season. In order for the Jayhawks to beat Colorado Reesing will have to get the offense into its grove and move the ball efficiently, since the Jayhawks haven’t had the best offensive outputs the last two times in Boulder. True freshman Toben Opurum will be relied upon to carry the load again, as senior Jake Sharp is still questionable but could possibly play. But I think people can expect Reesing to air the ball out to his outstanding receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe as well as Bradley McDougald and Jonathan Wilson. Also one key factor on the success of the Jayhawk offense is the play of the young offensive line, who are only allowing 1.4 sacks per game (gave up zero sacks to Iowa State).
This game should go in the Jayhawks favor because the Jayhawks offense is way better than Colorado’s, plus the Buffalos are starting a Tyler Hansen so the change at quarterback could cause a slow start for them. But it’s something about playing in Boulder that hasn’t been good to the Jayhawks in the recent games there, as the offense struggle a bit. The Jayhawks will move to 6-0 but it could be close if the Colorado defense plays well, though the final score probably will be the Jayhawks winning by around 10 points.
October 11, 2009
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks opened Big 12 play against the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones came into the game coming off a heartbreaking loss to Kansas State the week before. Most people thought the Jayhawks wouldn’t take anything for granted after trailing 20-0 at the half in last year’s matchup against the Cyclones in Ames.
Well it didn’t look like they took like that in the game as Iowa State made a game of it in Lawrence. The Jayhawks ultimately came away with a 41-36 victory, but didn’t come easy.
It was a tale of two sides of the ball for the Jayhawks; the offense set plenty of passing records behind Todd Reesing, Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe and ran the ball decent as well, but the defense couldn’t seem to stop Iowa State all game, giving up plenty of big plays.
KU offense:
A record setting day for the offense and all the yardage and points were needed to ensure a Jayhawk victory. The offense was field a relatively balanced attack, but the passing game was the definite mojo to the offense.
The rushing attack wasn’t the best it has been for the Jayhawks but true freshman Toben Opurum did provide a good performance once again in the place of starter Jake Sharp, finishing with 98 yards and one touchdown. But it’s want Opurum did that that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet that helped the offense the most. Behind his passing blocking and blitz pickups and the great offensive line play from the Jayhawks Reesing was able to have a career high day in passing yards with his two favorite receivers Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe. The offensive line gave up zero sacks and no quarterback hurries as well, after giving up five sacks two weeks ago to Southern Miss.
Records were abounding for the Jayhawks in the passing game and all the stellar offensive performances were needed. Reesing showed the world he still is the quarterback that can make plays happen finishing with a career high 442 yards passing and tying a record set by him with 37 completions in a game. His main targets of the day, each had themselves quite a day as well. Kerry Meier caught 16 passes (a KU single game record) for 142 yards and two touchdowns, becoming KU’s all-time leader in career receptions in the process. Dezmon Briscoe finished with 186 yards and two touchdowns on 12 receptions; Briscoe became KU’s all-time leader in career receiving yards surpassing Willie Vaughn.
Overall KU’s offense looked to have found the groove after having some issues in the early non-conference games.
KU defense:
The defense is the real story of this game and it’s not a good story. Jayhawks defense gave up 512 total yards and 36 points to and Iowa State team that is not that great. There were some many problems in this game for the Jayhawk defense, where to start?
First the Jayhawks have stated stopping the run is the main key on defense every game and Iowa State’s best offensive weapon coming into the game was running the ball with runningback Alexander Robinson (who averaged 114 ypg coming into the game). Well they didn’t do a very good job stopping the run as the Cyclones ran for 219 yards and Robinson had 152 yards and two touchdowns himself. With the ability to run the ball it made KU’s pass defense a little suspect, as Arnaud threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns.
The most disappointing things from the defensive in my mind were plentiful. First, they Jayhawks didn’t get a great amount of pressure on the quarterback finishing with one sack and only six quarterback hurries. Second, the linebackers seemed to be in la-la land as Iowa State was in the second level of the offense it seemed like all day. Third, of the top seven tacklers in the game one of them was defensive lineman and four of them were defensive backs, this just shows poor tackling. Finally the most disappointing thing is if Arnaud was a little more precise of a passer KU would have lost this game because on the late 4th down stand, Iowa State wide receiver Darius Darks was open in the end zone, but was over thrown. Where was the coverage?
I don’t think the Jayhawk defense is as bad as it looked against the Cyclones but something needs to be done by coach Mangino to shore it up before they play tougher opponents in the Big 12. Maybe coach Mangino can simplify the schemes or something to help this defensive get back to the fundamentals and playing better.
Well the Jayhawks move to 5-0 on the season, but have questions all over the place on their defense. The offense can win you a lot of games if you’re the Jayhawks but they will need the defense to make some stops against teams like Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Texas Tech and Missouri, if they plan on winning those games. One close game against a so-so team, who played really well, is nothing to completely lose your faith in the Jayhawks of winning the North, but if the defense continues this type of performance the offense won’t be able to win every game. Next up is the 1-4 Colorado Buffalos in Boulder.
October 9, 2009
Iowa State vs. KU
By: Mike Smith
Big 12 play is about to start for the undefeated Jayhawks as the Iowa State Cyclones come to town.
Iowa State is 3-2 on the season and opened up Big 12 last week with a loss to Kansas State in Kansas City, on a blocked extra point. The Cyclones have a talented players and a new head coach in Paul Rhoads this season, but they still are bottom dwellers in the Big 12.
Last season the Jayhawks went to Ames and trailed 20-0 to halftime, but had a major comeback in the second halftime and came away with the victory. KU head coach Mark Mangino will make sure that game is fresh in the minds of the Jayhawk players and all things point to a Jayhawk onslaught of offensive against the Cyclones.
Iowa State Cyclones:
The Cyclones are 3-2 on the season but 0-1 in Big 12 play with a loss to Kansas State last week they continue Big 12 play on the road this week in Lawrence.
Last year’s game was a close one with the Cyclones taking an early 20-0 lead at the half, but failing to stop the high powered Jayhawk offensive in the second half to end up losing by three points. In order for the Cyclones to be in this game they will have to match KU in scoring and try to take an early lead to put a damper on KU.
The offense for the Cyclones has some athletic playmakers on the team. Quarterback Austen Arnaud is a dual threat guy that can sling the ball but likes to tuck and run the ball as well. He has a pair of receivers in Marquis Hamilton and Jake Williams that he throws too. But the main weapon of the Cyclone offense is their running game with runningback Alexander Robinson who averages 114 ypg, good for second in the Big 12. Robinson coming into game will probably not be 100% due to a groin injury suffered against Kansas State, but should see plenty of action. Also the veteran led offensive line has help out the running game and Austen Arnaud only allowing one sack thus far this season.
Defense for the Cyclones will be the big key has they try and stop the high powered Jayhawk offense. They give up 20 ppg, but they have not seen an offense like the Jayhawks all season thus far. In saying that they do have some playmakers on the defensive side ball. They have 4 players with 30+ tackles and as a team they have nine sacks and have forced 12 turnovers. Former walk-no linebacker Jesse Smith is playmaker for this Cyclone defense and will be in on plenty of tackles versus the Jayhawks. Also look out for defensive lineman Nate Frere and defensive backs David Sims (3 INT’s) and James Smith.
Kansas Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks are coming off the bye week and looking to open up Big 12 play on a good note.
Trust me when I say the Jayhawks remember last year’s game against the Cyclones in Ames in which they trailed 20-0 at the half, but showed character and poise by not giving up and coming back in the second half. Coach Mangino will make sure the Jayhawks don’t take things for granted this time against the lowly Cyclones.
The Jayhawk offense looks to continue its onslaught of putting up over 500 yards per game. Reesing will be ready to make sure the Jayhawks don’t take the Cyclones lightly has he looks to continue is NCAA active player record of 22 straight games with a touchdown pass. Toben Opurum once again might be the starter in place of Jake Sharp, as Sharp might not quite be 100% yet, but Sharp has improved and could still be good to go for the team. Jake Sharp was a key to the comeback in Ames last year, so it would be great to have him. Expect Reesing to air the ball out but expect a good dose of the running game as well. The offensive line looks to prove the five sacks give up to Southern Miss is an anomaly.
On the defensive side of the ball the Jayhawks are looking to improve upon a few things coming out of the bye week. The Cyclones best weapon on offense is running the ball but the best thing KU does on defense is stop the run (3rd in nation 59 ypg), so the Jayhawks should be able to corral Robinson and Arnaud. The problem for the Jayhawk defense is their pass defense which ranks 98th in the nation, so the Cyclones will need to trust Arnaud to air it out a little more and the Jayhawks will need to step it up with guys like Daymond Patterson, Darrell Stuckey and others. Also the battle of the Jayhawks defensive line and blitzing packages against the Iowa State offensive line will be one to watch. Who never wins that battle will have a big impact on the game as the Jayhawks have 15 sacks on the season and the Iowa State line as only given up one sack.This game shouldn’t be a problem for the Jayhawks for a few reasons: 1. The Jayhawks have won four straight games coming off the bye week, 2. The Jayhawks remember last year and won’t let that happen again and now they are the superior team to the Cyclones and 3. The Cyclones are coming off that depressing loss to Kansas State and that could serve as a letdown in this game. KU will move to 5-0 and move their active game winning streak to 7 games has they take down the Cyclones in what could be an ugly game.
September 28, 2009
Jayhawks come up with key stops to preserve win
By: Mike Smith
The Jayhawks in their final non-conference game of the season came away with the victory over a feisty Southern Miss team, who proved to be the toughest test yet for the Jayhawks this year. Jayhawks won 35-28 with a balanced attack on offense and big key stops by the defense late in the game.
This was a game lots of people thought would have its fare share of offense and sure enough it did (KU- 433 total yards: 331 passing & 102 rushing; Southern Miss- 395 total yards: 331 passing & 64 rushing). Jayhawk offense got it down through the air and on the ground; Southern Miss usually running the ball well got their yards through the air by their sophomore quarterback Austin Davis.
Jayhawks are going into the bye week next week 4-0 before Big 12 play starts. Last time the Jayhawks started 4-0 was the year they won the Orange Bowl under Mangino. This team is starting to draw comparisons to that Orange Bowl team.
KU offense:
No sluggish start for the Jayhawk offense in this one has they score on their first two offensive series. 433 total yards and a balanced attack through the air and on the ground. The only glaring thing for the offense is the fact in they had almost all their yardage in the first half.
The rushing attack was stopped to a minimal impact in the last game versus Duke, as Jake Sharp played sparingly with an injury and Opurum spelled in action. This week with sitting out Sharp still favoring this calf which as a deep tissue bruise, true freshman Toben Opurum was relied upon throughout the game and got the job done rushing for over 100 yards and had a rushing and receiving touchdown on the day as well. Opurum was the feature back and showed he can carry the load, but did have a fumble late in the game which almost led to Southern Miss points.
With the rushing attack back on track this week, the Jayhawks put together a fully balanced attack on offense. Reesing aired the ball out for 331 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. Kerry Meier was the go to guy for Reesing today, has Meier had a career had in yards receiving, finishing the day with 141 yards and two touchdown catches. After Meier, Reesing spread the ball around between runningback Opurum, Bradley McDougald (7 receptions for 46 yards), Jonathan Wilson (52 yards) and Dezmon Briscoe (60 yards, plus 20 yards rushing with a rush TD).
While the offense was able to put a balanced attack together with the running and passing games, they sputtered in the second half and weren’t able to drive on late offensive series in the game, thus relying on the defense to come up with big stops. Coming into the game Reesing had only been sacked two times, but was sacked 5 times and pressured into mistakes throughout the game.
KU defense:
The defense is the story of this game, as they come up with multiple big stops to preserve the victory for the Jayhawks. They once again almost allowed nearly 400 yards, and really didn’t get into a groove till after the first few offensive series by Southern Miss.
Coming into the game Southern Miss’s offense was known for their running game which averaged nearly 250 yards per game, with herald senior runningback Damion Fletcher and his backup Tory Harrison. Well the Jayhawks held Fletcher and the Southern Miss rush attack to a total of 64 rushing yards. Southern Miss Sophomore quarterback Austin Davis took this as a challenge to him and he proved he is good quarterback and was able to weather the hostile environment of Memorial Stadium.
Davis finished the day with 331 yards passing and almost picked apart the Jayhawk defense during the whole game. But the Jayhawk defense like stated early came up with key stops, one coming right before halftime with a fourth down and 1 for stand against Southern Miss to stop a Golden Eagle scoring drive and keep a touchdown led going into halftime. Then in the fourth quarter after the Jayhawk offense can’t run time off the clock the defense comes up with two big stops after a Jayhawk turnover and on Southern Miss’s last offensive series with cornerback Daymond Patterson making a pair pass breakups and defensive end Jake Laptad getting a sack.
Lots other individual plays and overall play that was very important to the Jayhawks defensive stand at the end of the game. Chris Harris finished with 15 tackles (11 solo), Drew Dudley 10 tackles, Justin Thornton with 8 and Darrell Stuckey with 7 tackles. The Jayhawks forced 2 turnovers in the game an interception by backup nickelback Ryan Murphy and a forced fumble by Stuckey which was recovered by linebacker Justin Springer.
Jayhawks come away from the game the victor and move to 4-0 on the season, but definitely not the overall team performance Mark Mangino would want for the Jayhawks. Overall a great performance with the offense and defense both making plays, but the key is they both need to be proficient together. After that the Jayhawks need to correct all the mental mistakes in penalties they had on both sides of the ball.
The victory might have gone to the Jayhawks but it wasn’t easy. The offenses in the Big 12 are more prolific than this Southern Miss offense and the defenses are better for some teams as well. So if the Jayhawks want to win the North they will have to step it up in Big 12 play and get things done. They start off Big 12 play in two weeks against Iowa State at home, then travel to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
September 27, 2009
Jayhawks comes up with key stops to preserve win
By: Mike Smith
The Jayhawks in their final non-conference game of the season came away with the victory over a feisty Southern Miss team, who proved to be the toughest test yet for the Jayhawks this year. Jayhawks won 35-28 with a balanced attack on offense and big key stops by the defense late in the game.
This was a game lots of people thought would have its fare share of offense and sure enough it did (KU- 433 total yards: 331 passing & 102 rushing; Southern Miss- 395 total yards: 331 passing & 64 rushing). Jayhawk offense got it down through the air and on the ground; Southern Miss usually running the ball well got their yards through the air by their sophomore quarterback Austin Davis.
Jayhawks are going into the bye week next week 4-0 before Big 12 play starts. Last time the Jayhawks started 4-0 was the year they won the Orange Bowl under Mangino. This team is starting to draw comparisons to that Orange Bowl team.
KU offense:
No sluggish start for the Jayhawk offense in this one has they score on their first two offensive series. 433 total yards and a balanced attack through the air and on the ground. The only glaring thing for the offense is the fact in they had almost all their yardage in the first half.
The rushing attack was stopped to a minimal impact in the last game versus Duke, as Jake Sharp played sparingly with an injury and Opurum spelled in action. This week with sitting out Sharp still favoring this calf which as a deep tissue bruise, true freshman Toben Opurum was relied upon throughout the game and got the job done rushing for over 100 yards and had a rushing and receiving touchdown on the day as well. Opurum was the feature back and showed he can carry the load, but did have a fumble late in the game which almost led to Southern Miss points.
With the rushing attack back on track this week, the Jayhawks put together a fully balanced attack on offense. Reesing aired the ball out for 331 yards passing, three touchdowns and one interception. Kerry Meier was the go to guy for Reesing today, has Meier had a career had in yards receiving, finishing the day with 141 yards and two touchdown catches. After Meier, Reesing spread the ball around between runningback Opurum, Bradley McDougald (7 receptions for 46 yards), Jonathan Wilson (52 yards) and Dezmon Briscoe (60 yards, plus 20 yards rushing with a rush TD).
While the offense was able to put a balanced attack together with the running and passing games, they sputtered in the second half and weren’t able to drive on late offensive series in the game, thus relying on the defense to come up with big stops. Coming into the game Reesing had only been sacked two times, but was sacked 5 times and pressured into mistakes throughout the game.
KU defense:
The defense is the story of this game, as they come up with multiple big stops to preserve the victory for the Jayhawks. They once again almost allowed nearly 400 yards, and really didn’t get into a groove till after the first few offensive series by Southern Miss.
Coming into the game Southern Miss’s offense was known for their running game which averaged nearly 250 yards per game, with herald senior runningback Damion Fletcher and his backup Tory Harrison. Well the Jayhawks held Fletcher and the Southern Miss rush attack to a total of 64 rushing yards. Southern Miss Sophomore quarterback Austin Davis took this as a challenge to him and he proved he is good quarterback and was able to weather the hostile environment of Memorial Stadium.
Davis finished the day with 331 yards passing and almost picked apart the Jayhawk defense during the whole game. But the Jayhawk defense like stated early came up with key stops, one coming right before halftime with a fourth down and 1 for stand against Southern Miss to stop a Golden Eagle scoring drive and keep a touchdown led going into halftime. Then in the fourth quarter after the Jayhawk offense can’t run time off the clock the defense comes up with two big stops after a Jayhawk turnover and on Southern Miss’s last offensive series with cornerback Daymond Patterson making a pair pass breakups and defensive end Jake Laptad getting a sack.
Lots other individual plays and overall play that was very important to the Jayhawks defensive stand at the end of the game. Chris Harris finished with 15 tackles (11 solo), Drew Dudley 10 tackles, Justin Thornton with 8 and Darrell Stuckey with 7 tackles. The Jayhawks forced 2 turnovers in the game an interception by backup nickelback Ryan Murphy and a forced fumble by Stuckey which was recovered by linebacker Justin Springer.
Jayhawks come away from the game the victor and move to 4-0 on the season, but definitely not the overall team performance Mark Mangino would want for the Jayhawks. Overall a great performance with the offense and defense both making plays, but the key is they both need to be proficient together. After that the Jayhawks need to correct all the mental mistakes in penalties they had on both sides of the ball.
The victory might have gone to the Jayhawks but it wasn’t easy. The offenses in the Big 12 are more prolific than this Southern Miss offense and the defenses are better for some teams as well. So if the Jayhawks want to win the North they will have to step it up in Big 12 play and get things done. They start off Big 12 play in two weeks against Iowa State at home, then travel to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes.
September 26, 2009
Southern Miss vs. KU
By: Mike Smith
Non-conference is coming to an end and the Jayhawks will have their toughest test yet this season versus Southern Miss.
Southern Miss is 3-0 after a comeback win over Virginia last week and the Jayhawks are 3-0 with a win over the Duke Blue Devils last week. Larry Fedora is in his second year at Southern Miss going 7-6 last year with a win in the New Orleans Bowl. Fedora also has the Golden Eagles on a current 8-game winning streak (which is tied for second longest active streak with Ole Miss, Florida has the longest with 13 wins).
This game will feature two potent offenses from Southern Miss’s electric running game, with their Wildcat formation and the Jayhawks overall proficient offenses that can air it out or run the ball.
Southern Miss Golden Eagles:
The Golden Eagles are riding that 8-game winning streak, but this will be their first road game of the season.
Southern Miss’s offense is one that can provide some exciting plays. The running game with Damion Fletcher and Tory Harrison is what makes the Golden Eagles offense very dangerous. Fletcher can become only the 8th runningback in Division I football to rush for over 1,000 yards in his four years in college. Southern Miss’s offense runs a Wildcat (or Wild Eagle) formation were Fletcher and Harrison get the ball; this formation as been successful for the Golden Eagles gaining them good chunks of yardage. While the offense relies on the run a lot quarterback Austin Davis manages the offense and makes good decisions (hasn’t thrown an interception in last 128 pass attempts). He has great weapons to throw to in tight end Leroy Banks and 6-6 231 lbs receiver DeAndre Brown (one of the best freshman receivers last season).
On the defensive side of the Southern Miss is a solid team but haven’t necessarily played a team like KU in their last 8 wins. During their 8-game winning streak they have held opponents to under 100 yards rushing in every game. On the defensive line they have a 6-0 314 lbs guy who can bench 500 pounds in Anthony Gary to plug holes and stop the run. Their linebacking core has playmakers for them in Korey Williams and Ronnie Thornton, who lead the team in tackles. In the secondary watch out for Eddie Hicks at safety as he reads quarterbacks well and gets interceptions.
Kansas Jayhawks:
Jayhawks got the victory again last week, but once again started over sluggishly actually trailing for the first time all year. The offense again couldn’t move the ball the first few series and the defense gave up the big plays. That being said the Jayhawks came away with a 44-16 win over the Blue Devils.
The Jayhawk offense feels like they still weren’t clicking on all cylinders but in the game against Duke they were overall better as a unit. The running attack could fall on the shoulders of true freshman Toben Opurum as Jake Sharp suffered a non-contact injury last week and according to head coach Mark Mangino will be a game time decision this week. So look for the Jayhawks to air the ball out with Reesing and his receiving core, as Sharp will most likely be out and Southern Miss’s defense keys on stopping the run. Briscoe and Meier will once again be the go to guys for Reesing.
The defense had its worst performance last week against Duke giving up 16 points and 394 total yards of offense to the Duke Blue Devils.
That being said the game was not a total bad performance because they got consist pressure on the quarterback and forced turnovers, but were hit with too many big plays which was really all Duke was successful at. Well the Jayhawks will have to shore up the defense because they can’t afford to give up big plays against a team like Southern Miss with all the athletic and fast players they have. The key for the Jayhawk defense, nickelback Justin Thornton and other players told me is stopping run every week. Well this week it’s easily the most important thing that the Jayhawks do, as Southern Miss runs the ball exceptionally well with two runningbacks.This game will be a challenge I believe for the Jayhawks because of the versatility of Southern Miss’s offense. Points will be scored in this game and there will be some electric plays for both teams. A game against a team like Southern Miss will be beneficial for the Jayhawks going into Big 12 play. The keys will be turnovers and whose defense steps up the most. Overall I think the Jayhawks home field advantage, more potent offense and the pressure from the Jayhawks on the defensive side of the ball will lead the Jayhawks to a 4-0 non-conference record.
September 25, 2009
Kansas Recap
BY: Jason Nafziger
The 3-0 start features blowouts of Northern Colorado, UTEP and Duke. Stats so far: Kansas ranks 7th with 6.13 yards per rush attempt and 27th with 8.3 yards per passing attempt. Overall, they have averaged 42.3 points and 537.7 yards on offense per game. Defensively, they are 14th with 2.22 yards allowed per rush attempt and 47th with 6.1 yards allowed per pass attempt. Overall, they have allowed 8.7 points and 282.7 yards per game. Coming up: The Jayhawks should stay perfect through games against Southern Miss, Iowa State and Colorado.
Jason Nafziger writes about Pro and College Football at
http://onfootball.wordpress.com
September 20, 2009
By: Mike Smith
Saturday the Jayhawks returned home for their third game of the season, this time against an ACC opponent. That ACC opponent was the Duke Blue Devils; a team not expected to do much in the ACC. The Jayhawks came away with a 44-16 victory over the Blue Devils but it wasn’t as easy as the final score shows.
Duke’s offense game is not that good but with the two quarterbacks they used in Sean Renfree and Thaddeus Lewis they were able to lead the Blue Devil offense to 394 total yards of offense against the Jayhawk defense. The Jayhawks seem to be suspect to big plays on defense, but still only gave up 16 points which is the ultimately the most important statistic.
Mangino is well on his way to becoming the winningest coach in KU football history. (Mangino has 48 wins with victory over Duke) He only needs five more wins to surpass A.R. Kennedy (52 wins) for first place.
KU offense:
The offense for the Jayhawks once again started off sluggishly in the game but ultimately picked it up and finished with 490 total yards of offense (338 passing yards, 152 yards rushing).
The rushing attack as been potent in the first two games this season with Jake Sharp and Toben Opurum and even Todd Reesing and backup quarterback Kale Pick. Well in this game the Blue Devils were able to hold the Jayhawks to a total of 152 yards rushing; when Sharp had 100+ yards himself in the first two games. Sharp didn’t see has much action in the game, as he looked a little under the weather not being able to make his cutbacks as usual. So with Sharp only getting a few carries true freshman Opurum stepped in and had 70 yards rushing and 2 TD’s.
With the rushing attack taking a step back this week, Reesing made sure that he got things done for the offense through the air. After the game versus UTEP, Reesing was feeling like he let the team and himself down with his passing performance; so wanting to prove that he still is the elusive spark of a quarterback that he is, he aired the ball out versus Duke. Reesing went 28-41 for 338 yards and 3 TD passes. Dezmon Briscoe had his second 100+ yard game this season in as many games (making him the all-time leader at KU in most 100+ yard games in a career with 9). and was able to score a TD as well Kerry Meier (64 yards 1 TD), Jonathan Wilson (63 yards), Bradley McDougald (37 yards), Toben Opurum (50 yards) and Jake Sharp (7 yards 1 TD) got into the receiving action as well.
While the offense still looked good there were a couple of things that stood out to me that could make this offense even better. The offensive line has done a great job protecting Reesing only giving up 2 sacks all season (1 sack vs. Duke), but Duke was pressuring Reesing more than the other two teams the Jayhawks have played. Then in the passing game there were big play passes dropped that could/should have lead to more points.
KU defense:
The defense has been doing good things for the Jayhawks this season and their fast start has been a pleasant surprise. That being said they really haven’t played any world beaters of teams thus far this season.
Going against a Duke offense who ranked near the bottom of most major statistical categories last year, the Jayhawk defense gave up 394 yards of total offense (95 yards rushing, 299 yards passing) and 22 first downs. Granted the most important statistic is the points given up and KU only gave up 16 points for all those yards allowed, which means they did step up when it counted. But the problem with this defense is its knack for giving up the big play, which we saw in the UTEP game and even more versus Duke.
That being said there is plenty of good things to take from this game for the defense. Pressure on the quarterback was once again outstanding this week as the Jayhawks had 5 sacks, 8 quarterback hurries, forced two interceptions and had 11 tackles for loss. So will the Jayhawks allowed a good chunk of yardage, most of it came on big plays for Duke.
Lots of individual players on the Jayhawk defense had a great game: Darrell Stuckey, a staple on the defense had 11 tackles, true freshman linebacker Huldon Tharp had a career high 10 tackles, Daymond Patterson had 8 tackles and an INT and linebacker Drew Dudley had 8 tackles and a sack (he has had a sack in each game this season). Also on the defensive end Maxwell Onyegblue had himself a big game with 3 tackles, a sack and an INT ran back for a touchdown. Steven Johnson, Justin Springer and Jake Laptad all had a sack as well in the game.
It seems odd to come away with complaints from a game were the Jayhawks scored 44 points, hold their opponent to 16 and put up 490 yards of total offense, but in reality the Jayhawks haven’t looked like a finely tuned machine yet and could still improve on all sides of the ball. The defense needs to focus on not giving up big plays and for the offense just finely tune those small mistakes like drop balls.
Jayhawks end their non-conference schedule next week against Southern Miss; Brett Favre’s alma mater. Southern Miss is coming off a huge comeback victory over Virginia and riding an 8-game winning streak. This game in my opinion will be the toughest yet for the Jayhawks.
September 17, 2009
Jayhawks make their way back to Memorial stadium this weekend to take on an ACC opponent in Duke. No this isn’t a basketball matchup; though one might think if these two teams are matching up it would be in basketball.
Duke is a team that is getting better under head coach David Cutcliffe in his second year, but only went 4-8 in his first season.
Both teams are coming off road victories last week (Duke over Army and KU over UTEP). Blue Devils coming back in the fourth quarter to win easily and the Jayhawks controlling the game offensively and defensively versus UTEP pretty much from the get go.
Duke Blue Devils:
Duke will be riding an emotional high after getting the road victory over Army. Red-shirt freshman quarterback, Sean Renfree came into the game in the third quarter for senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis and led Duke to two touchdown drives. Plus cornerback Leon Wright had a pair of pick-six’s in the 4th quarter as Army tried to make a comeback.Duke’s offense is definitely not the greatest finishing towards the bottom nationally in almost every category last season. Senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis is still the starter against KU, but I would expect to see Renfree if Lewis struggles once again. Lewis & Renfree do have some decent receivers to throw to in Johnny Williams, Austin Kelly, Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner. But what the problem is for
Duke’s offense is the rushing attack which thus far as averaged 44.5 ypg this season in two games (played FCS-team Richmond and Army). Re’quan Boyette and the Duke offense will need to rush the ball to stay in this game with the Jayhawks, but it won’t be easy against this Jayhawk defensive line that has held two teams to a total of 78 rushing yards in two games.
The defense of the Blue Devils will have a big time core on their hand come Saturday, trying to stop this high powered Jayhawk offense; that you can say still isn’t fully clicking on all cylinders on offense. Blue Devils defense lost four of its top six tacklers and only returns five starters. There is some veteran leadership on the defense with linebacker Vincent Ray, who is the only active player in the ACC with two 100+ tackle seasons, Leon Wright & Catron Gainey in relatively young secondary after them. Then on the defensive line they have 6-6 300lb, Vince Oghobasse who is massive force on the defensive line, plugging the running lanes.
Kansas Jayhawks:
Jayhawks went down to El Paso and got their first non-con road victory since 2003. The game was controlled by the Jayhawks offensively and defensively. Mangino and players believed they left points on the field with the offense, even though they scored 34 points. The defense held the UTEP Miners a good offense to 7 points and 208 total yards (less than Northern Colorado in week 1).
The Jayhawk offense feels they have left points on the board thus far this season and can get better (in two games have scored 83 points). Reesing feels he needs to improve on the passing game and I have a feeling versus a relatively young secondary of Duke, Reesing and the Jayhawk offense will air the ball out quite a bit on Saturday. With receivers like Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier, Jonathan Wilson and Bradley McDougald, Reesing shouldn’t have a problem airing the ball out. Then there is the rushing attack of the Jayhawks with the two-headed monster of Jake Sharp and true freshman Toben Opurum. Jake Sharp looks to go over 100 yards once again this season, after accomplishing that feat in the first two games. Even with the offense scoring all the points in the first two games, the defense probably has been the biggest story around the KU football team and on campus. The defense has only give up 10 points this year, forced 4 turnovers and recorded 9 sacks after two games.
The defense looks to continue its dominating ways, against another opponent that really shouldn’t be much of a challenge. Duke doesn’t run the ball well and the quarterbacks aren’t that mobile so the havoc on the quarter should continue for the Jayhawks with Maxwell Onyegblue, Jake Laptad, Drew Dudley and crew. If that pressure happens it will only continue to help the secondary in their pass coverage and possibly lead to turnovers.
This game probably won’t be close for many reasons. First, Reesing wants to prove he can get the passing game clicking on all cylinders so I look for a big game from him and his receivers. Second, Duke’s offense is not that proficient and with the possibly use of two quarterbacks chemistry could be an issue. Lastly, the Jayhawks will be back home at Memorial stadium; with the noise from the fans and the defense getting to the Duke quarterback (whoever it is) turnovers could happen.
September 13, 2009
Jayhawks bury the Miners
By: Mike Smith
The Jayhawks went on the road to El Paso in week 2 to take on the UTEP Miners. Non-conference road games haven’t been too good for the Jayhawks in the Mangino era, losing the last three, with the last win in 2003 at Wyoming. That changed in El Paso as the Jayhawks won 34-7 over the Miners. In a game expected to be filled with offense the big story was the Jayhawk defense stopping a potent Miner offense.
Jayhawks offense once again put up big numbers (576 total yards), but the defense was the story as the held a Miner team who averaged 32.9 ppg last season to seven points and 208 total yards (less than what FCS-team Northern Colorado had in week 1).
With the victory Mark Mangino tied Glen Mason with 47 victories at KU, which is the 2nd most in school history.
KU offense:
The Jayhawks offense started off sluggish the first couple of series but picked up after that. This week the offense was pretty balanced between the pass and run (255 yards rushing and 321 yards passing). The running game continued to show it’s a integral part of the offense; Jake Sharp had another 100+yard game with 2 TD’s and freshman Toben Opurum had 62 yards 1 TD. Reesing opened up the passing game, especially with Dezmon Briscoe back from his suspension. Reesing threw for 260 yards 1 TD and 1 INT; Briscoe had 154 yards receiving, 66 yards for Jonathan Wilson, 29 yards and 1 TD for Sharp receiving.
The offense showed it’s versatile once again with the run and pass game. The offensive line blocked well again this week but did give up a sack on Reesing.
KU defense:
Jayhawks only gave up seven points to a team who averaged 32.9 ppg last season. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and the Miner offense couldn’t muster much at all only getting seven first downs and only really one big play (which was Vittatoe’s TD pass to Kemp). Most of the night the Miners offense didn’t get out of their own territory.
The most impressive thing with the Jayhawks defense was the play in the trenches of the defensive line. The Jayhawks recorded 6 sacks (Maxwell Onyegblue 2, Drew Dudley 1, Patrick Dorsey 1, Jeff Wheeler 1.5 and Jake Laptad 0.5) and held the Miner offense to a total of four yards rushing. The Miners tired to air out the ball but with the defensive line pressure and the nickel defense of the Jayhawks they only mustered 204 yards passing.
If the Jayhawks defense keeps this up they will definitely be a bigger force in the Big 12.
KU special teams:
Great coverage on punt/kick returns stopping UTEP deep in their own territory all night. Daymond Patterson set up some good field position with his punt returns. Also, Jacob Branstetter had his first field goal attempts of the season going 2-4 in the game.
Getting an early road win will only benefit the Jayhawks as they play five road/neutral site games of their eight Big 12 contests this season. Overall great things came from the game for the Jayhawks offensively, defensively and special teams. Weathering an early road test will give the Jayhawks even more confidence for the rest of the season. This coming weekend the Jayhawks are back home taking on ACC opponent the Duke Blue Devils.
September 10, 2009
KU at UTEP
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks go on the road this week to El Paso, Texas to take on the UTEP Miners, for the first ever meeting between them.
This will be a bigger test for the Jayhawks, than Northern Colorado. The Jayhawks haven’t won a non-conference road game since 2003 at Wyoming and went 1-4 in true road games last season (only winning at Iowa State).
So, this one will not be an easy task for the Jayhawks even thought the UTEP Miners don’t have a great record versus the Big 12 (7-21-1 all-time; 3-9-1 in El Paso).
UTEP Miners:
The Miners lost a disappointing game versus Buffalo at home last week. They were plagued by mistakes such as penalties (12 penalties for 101 yards), bad snaps and etc.
That being said the Miners will be ready to try and knock off a ranked opponent in the Jayhawks this week.
Their offense can sling it with the best of them, with their quarterback Trevor Vittatoe who put up numbers just as good as Todd Reesing last season. Vittatoe has his top two receivers back in Jeff Moturi and Kris Adams. Also with wide receiver, 3rd string quarterback combo James Thomas II and runningback Donald Buckram the Miners offense will be potent (avg. 32.9 ppg last season).
Defensive coordinator, Osia Lewis is in his second of installing his 3-3-5 defensive scheme. The defense held Buffalo to fewer yards then their own offense and looked overall better from last year, but that’s only one week. The secondary is full of senior leadership and is the staple of the Miners defense. Braxton Amy is back after tearing his ACL last season and Da’Mon Cromarite-Smith is their best all-around defensive back. The linebackers are important to help pressure the quarterback. Jeremy Springer the twin brother of KU’s linebacker Justin Springer switched to the linebacker position this season and is a key on the defense.
KU Jayhawks:
The Jayhawks have a great offensive game versus Northern Colorado (567 total yards) and most importantly got a convincing win.
The offense showed if you are going to play the pass all night like Northern Colorado did, they will run the ball all over you. Jake Sharp, Toben Opurum and Todd Reesing ran all over and might be able to run the ball on UTEP’s defense. Reesing will still pass the ball with all his weapons he has in Kerry Meier, Jonathan Wilson, Bradley McDougald and the return of Dezmon Briscoe after his suspension last week. Also, the offensive line looked good and looks to continue to open holes for the running game and keeping Reesing from being sacked.
On defense the Jayhawks got the job down versus Northern Colorado holding them to three points and 246 total yards, but there were some things that could be improved upon. The Jayhawks had some pass inference calls (3 on corner Anthony Davis), Darrell Stuckey said communication could have been better and tackling could have improved at times. The secondary will be the key against UTEP’s pass happy offense. Chris Harris, the nickelback looked outstanding in that position, also Justin Thornton was good in the secondary. Drew Dudley was very active at linebacker with a sack and Jake Laptad had a sack as well.
This game looks to be an offensive show with two of the top active passing yards per game quarterbacks (Vittatoe 4th-264.3 ypg & Reesing 5th-259.5ypg). The key will be whose defense can stop the opponent’s offense, to let their respective offense try and mount somewhat of a lead. The Jayhawks need this win on the road to help prepare for the road games in conference play. Expect Reesing to go to the air more with Briscoe back but the Jayhawks will use their run game as well and get the win in a shootout down in El Paso.
September 6, 2009
Jayhawks run wild over the Bears
By: Mike Smith
Jayhawks start the season off in the right way by getting a victory at home; granted it was against Northern Colorado a FCS team, but a win is a win. Many people thought they would see the Jayhawks pass the ball all over the place but Northern Colorado dropped eight players back into coverage almost all night. So the Jayhawks showed they’re dual threat offense by rushing the ball for 328 yards as a team. Jake Sharp (123 yards rushing, 2 TD’s, one receiving and one rushing), Todd Reesing (79 yards rushing, 2 TD’s) and true freshman Toben Opurum (79 yards rushing, 2 TD’s) did the main damage on the ground. While Reesing did pass the ball as well, with most of this pass going to Kerry Meier. The defense did a great job holding the Bears to three points and low yardage, but did have some problems with penalties.
Some might say the story of the game was the fact that four Jayhawk players were suspended. Dezmon Briscoe (WR) and Jamal Greene (DT) both for their actions in the spring and should be back next week. Raimond Pendleton (WR) and Jeff Wheeler (DE) were suspended for violating team rules.
KU offense:
The Jayhawk put up the big total offensive yards (547 total offense yards) they usually do. Most people would think that most of the yards came from Reesing’s gun slinging passing, but contrary to that most of the yards came from running the ball. Jake Sharp showed that he can carry the load and is as big of a threat as anyone else on the KU offense. Reesing ran the ball via is elusive scrambling ability but also passed the ball for 208 yards and a pair touchdowns. Kerry Meier was Reesing’s favorite target, corralling five catches for 115 yards; true freshman Bradley McDougald had 49 yards receiving and Tertavian Ingram nabbing a touchdown pass from Reesing.
Obviously people expected the Jayhawks offense to score and do well in this game. But there are two big keys that the Jayhawks can take away for the game on offense. They are the showcase of the running game and the blocking from the offensive line. The offensive line blocked extremely well for the run game and gave up zero sacks; gelling well together.
KU Defense:
Jayhawks only gave up three points to the Bears and 246 total yards of offense. The Jayhawk defense looked good in getting to Northern Colorado’s quarterback Bryan Waggener, sacking him three times (2 by DE-Jake Laptad, 1 by LB-Drew Dudley). The secondary looked pretty solid with safety Justin Thornton leading the team in tackles, safety Chris Harris making a lot of plays and JUCO transfer Calvin Rubles looked good in coverage as well coming in for Anthony Davis who had a problem with getting called for pass interference. Also the defense forced two fumbles recovering them both.
The Jayhawks did hold Northern Colorado to 74 yards rushing but the Bears did mount a few drives deep into Jayhawk territory. The main reason for those drives happening was penalties; leading the way in those penalties was cornerback, Anthony Davis getting flagged for pass interference three times. But the Jayhawks answered and only allowed three points to the Bears.
Now the Jayhawks played a FCS team so take what they were able to do for what you want. But in my mind this was a great way to start the season for the Jayhawks getting a game and win under their belt. The Jayhawks will have more of a test next game with the UTEP miners in El Paso.
September 2, 2009
Northern Colorado vs. KU
By: Mike Smith
College Football time is upon us! The Jayhawks kickoff this Saturday and look to continue their success under head coach Mark Mangino.
The Jayhawks start the season off with what many would call a cupcake game versus a FCS team in the Northern Colorado Bears. The Bears went 1-10 last year and will play a game up a division for the third straight year (07- vs. Hawaii lost 63-6; 08- vs. Purdue lost 42-10).
All that being said you can never take an opponent lightly (i.e. Michigan against Appalachian State) and I know the Jayhawks won’t do that with the Bears.
Northern Colorado Bears:
While the Bears only won one game last year they have lots of optimism for this season. First off as a team they were the least penalized in the Big Sky last year and converted 83.3% of the time in the red zone.
The team returns 16 starters (6 on offense, 7 on defense, 3 kickers). The offense is led by a senior quarterback in Bryan Waggoner who threw for over 2,500 yards last season. He gets his top two receivers back in Alex Thompson and Brandon Smith. But most of the attention on offense and the Bears will be probably be on JUCO transfer runningback Andre Davis, who they expect good things from.
The defense for the Bears has good leadership and starting experience returning on the defensive line and in the secondary. Teams scored 71.4% of the time on them in the red zone. Guys to watch will be Stephen Michon & Max Hewitt in the secondary. As well as junior, James Schrenk who moves from backup quarterback position to being a starting linebacker.
Kansas Jayhawks:
This year the Jayhawks look to continue their success with another bowl game bid. But sights are set higher in than just that, in wanting to win the North and the Big 12 championship.
The Jayhawks will be led by many upperclassmen; returning 17 starters. The offense is led by 5-11, senior quarterback Todd Reesing a gentlemen who threw for over 3,800 yards 34 TD’s last season and had broken many KU records. He will have plenty of weapons to go to this season. Starting with maybe the best group of receivers in the nation, with Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier and Jonathan Wilson. Then there’s senior runningback, Jake Sharp, who rushed for over 800 yards last year. Also two true freshman runningback Toben Opurum and Bradley McDougald should have an impact on the offense too. The Jayhawks offensive line is the question mark, but is shaping up. The Jayhawks should score plenty of points this season.
The defense will be key for the Jayhawks, all this year. They will be led by senior, co-captain Darrell Stuckey. The Jayhawks look to stop the Big 12 offenses better than last year, though they weren’t bad last year. Secondary is full of experienced talent with Stuckey, Justin Thornton, Daymond Patterson and more. The defensive line will need to generate a pass rush consistently; the defensive tackles are important, along with Jake Laptad, Maxwell Onyebgule and JUCO transfer Quintin Woods at defensive end. The linebacker position is interesting; senior Arist Wright and juniors Drew Dudley and Justin Springer are slotted to start, but that could change throughout the non-conference.
This game really is just for the Jayhawks to get the season underway the right way, which is with a win. Northern Colorado will be a better team this season, in my mind, but won’t be able to compete with the Jayhawks in the end. This game will end in a blow out with the Jayhawks winning. Fans can get their rosters out, because I’m sure they will be learning who the second string guys are on the team with backup quarterback Kale Pick leading the way for the second stringers.
August 21, 2009
The Kansas Quartet
By: Mike Smith
This Jayhawk football team will be led by four extraordinary seniors this season. These four gentlemen all exemplify what this Jayhawk team is about and how they carry themselves. These four seniors are the team captains and obviously key parts to the success of this Jayhawk team.
Three of those gentlemen hail from right here in Kansas; that is WR- Kerry Meier, RB- Jake Sharp and S- Darrell Stuckey. The other is a 5’11 QB who hails from Austin, Texas in Todd Reesing. All these gentlemen were not high ranked or recruited out of high school, but have blossomed into great players for KU and Coach Mangino. All four guys have been named to many watch lists for awards this football season.
While many people look at how great they have been on the field for KU, I think if you look at each gentleman further, you will see they all have traits that exemplify great players and what the Jayhawk team is about.
Wide receiver Kerry Meier, was the best player in Kansas in 05 according rankings, but still was not highly recruited. Meier started as a QB at KU but got hurt and lost his starting spot to Todd Reesing. Instead of giving up he showed he was too proud to do that and became a wide receiver, trying to help the team in any way he can. He is a man full of pride and strives for perfection in all that he does; when he miss a pass in practice he will do pushups on his own.
“Kerry Meier, he has a lot of pride. He wants to be perfect; he strives for perfection in everything that he does…he’s a perfectionist,” said Coach Mangino.
Then there’s the number one ranked Kansas player coming out in 06, runningback Jake Sharp, who was not even ranked by Scout.com in their high school player rankings. He’s a guy who many thought would not be an every down back and that he could carry a load. But he proved people wrong last year carrying most of the load last year. Sharp looks to continue showing he can be the guy for the Jayhawks. Football to Sharp is his life and wants to succeed at it, he is a determined man.
“Jake Sharp is determined young guy, that really football is his whole life. He eats it, sleeps it, he is one of the first guys out every day. This is important to him,” said Coach Mangino.
Next we have the man that probably gets the most attention when it comes to KU football, but not enough recognition as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, that’s 5’11 quarterback Todd Reesing. The Austin, Texas native was ranked as the 36rd best quarterback by Scout.com in 06. Well you can’t measure competiveness and Reesing has plenty of it. This is a guy who was Top 10 in the nation in passing yards, total offense, passing ypg and more last season. So with stats like that you would like he wouldn’t have to prove he can be a good quarterback, but he still seems to have some doubters, maybe not as many but they’re still out there. Well one thing’s sure Reesing loves proving all doubters wrong constantly and never is satisfied.
“A guy like Todd Reesing, he is never satisfied. His whole sole purpose in life is to prove people wrong,” said Coach Mangino.
Lastly by not least, there is Kansas City, Kansas native, safety Darrell Stuckey, who ranked as the 66th best safety in 05 according to Scout.com. He was only garnered offers from Tulsa, Wyoming, Northwestern and K-state besides KU. Well that ranking means absolutely nothing because his guy will easily be in the NFL next year. He has developed into a great leader on the field and off, doing Student Senate. Stuckey is a well spoken guy, who likes to prove people wrong but unlikely his fellow captain Todd Reesing he goes about it in a quieter manner.
“Darrell Stuckey really is a guy, in a different personality like Todd Reesing. He likes to prove people wrong….He does it a little bit of a different way, he’s a little bit more quiet, he talks a lot, he has a chance to be a great politician,” said Coach Mangino.
These four captains represent what this Jayhawk football team is about: pride, determination, hard work and proving wrong all the doubters. In my opinion as a Jayhawk fan you couldn’t ask for any better gentlemen to lead this team into battle and even bigger heights and history.
Mike Smith is part of a student sports talk show on campus Wednesday night’s 6-7pm CT on 90.7 KJHK FM Lawrence or www.kjhk.org, visit the shows website at wavinthewheat.com.
August 13, 2009
KU Camp update
By: Mike Smith
Camp has been underway for a little more than a week now and the Jayhawks have got a lot of intriguing story lines going on.
Attending the Jayhawks media day on August 11th and watching practice that morning there were some interesting things I observed and heard. Listening to Coach Mangino in his press conference and talking with some players the Jayhawks have started practice in a good fashion and look to have another great season. (Audio of Mangino’s press conference and interviews with players from WR-Dezmon Briscoe to LB-Arist Wright and more can be heard at www.wavinthewheat.com)
Replacing the Linebacking core for last year:
Coach Mangino when asked about the LB’s all he said was they still need work. It’s early in camp so as a Jayhawk fan I don’t want to worry but after hearing some of Mangino’s remarks I’m a little skeptical about the LB’s progression thus far.
Many people thought guys like Justin Springer, Arist Wright, Jake Schermer, Angus Quigley and JUCO transfer Vernon Brooks would be the obvious replacements at LB this year. But while Springer is listed on the depth chart as a starter right now, he has been dinged up and not getting a lot of action. Vernon Brooks, had to leave camp because of a family issue and if he’s not getting work in it will be hard for him to break the rotation. And Angus Quigley is not were Coach Mangino wants him to be.
“Angus is coming along. His growth at that position has not been nearly as fast as I would have liked for it to be,” said Mangino, “It is a crash course for him and he really needs to understand the urgency there. When he comes to terms with that I think he will be ok.”
Watching practice freshman Huldon Tharp and junior Drew Dudley saw a lot of reps and looked to be challenging for starting LB positions. This could be a good thing; because it could help bring out the best in the more experienced guys, or it could be bad because having inexperienced guys starting at LB could lead to mistakes, maybe.
Coach Mangino really likes Tharp, saying he expects him to win a starting spot. Let’s hope that Angus and the others progress and get better to possibly give the LB position depth with some experience and youth.
The LB’s are working hard and will need to, so they don’t let down the Jayhawks defense and team.
“Everybody at the linebacking position is working hard to make this unit a strong unit and be a focal point of the defense and not be that unit of why we lost games,” said linebacker, Angus Quigley.
O-line progressing very well:
Many Jayhawk fans are worried about how the O-line will shape up after the loss of 3 starters. Well Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes return (playing center & right tackle respectively). With juniors Sal Capra and Carl Wilson listed as the starting guards and at left tackle red-shirt freshman Tanner Hawkinson.
Watching practice the O-line looked pretty solid and seemed to be coming along at a great pace. Sal Capra really impressed me dominating his man in O-lineman drills. New left tackle Tanner Hawkinson looked more comfortable in his O-line spot and seemed to be progressing well.
“Tanner works real hard. He’s working hard day in and day out. He’s listening to the coaches and packed on a lot of weight, and he’s a great guy. He’s great to work with. I think the things that he’s doing will really help us out,” said runningback, Jake Sharp.
Also Mangino stated he was happy with the O-line’s progression as well as its depth. With guys like Wisconsin transfer Brad Thorson, freshman John Williams and Trevor Marrongelli as well as convert defensive lineman Darius Parrish.
“Darius had offensive lineman written all over him from day one, but we didn’t have much depth on the defensive line last year so out of necessity we had to use him there,” said Coach Mangino.
The O-line is not totally set yet according to Mangino, (most likely will be RT-Jeff Spikes, RG-Sal Capra, C-Jeremiah Hatch, LG-Carl Wilson and LT-Tanner Hawkinson) but Mangino knows he will have plently of good O-lineman.
“I know this that we are going to have more than five quality offensive lineman,” said Mangino.
Dezmon Briscoe update:
The pre-season all Big 12 wide receiver, is fully back with the team and practicing, getting back into rhythm the Reesing and the offense.
“He has responded well and he knows what is expected of him here-of any player-and when you don’t meet those expectations or standards there are consequences. He feels good and realizes that it is behind him now. He has had a good attitude and he has been having a really good camp. He learned a valuable lesson like everyone does in life every once in a while,” said Coach Mangino.
Not switching to 4-2-5 defense:
Mangino was adamant that while the Jayhawks will be using the 4-2-5 or nickel package a lot this season, they still will be operating out of a base 4-3 defense.
“We’re not changing our defense… We still operate out of a base defense which is a 4-3. We have to because there are two or three really good teams in this league that will run the ball down your thoart, if you try and play them in the nickel package all night,” said Coach Mangino, “What we’ve made a decision to do is to modify our nickel package a little bit and put some new calls in there and change up some responsibilities….The changes are more for the players to adapt, than it is a wholesale change of the system.”
BIG 12 North title here comes the Jayhawks:
One thing that I was for sure about after KU’s media day was that the Jayhawks plan on doing all they can to win their first ever North title.
All the players reiterated that winning the Big 12 North and making the Big 12 championship game is the main goal for the team this season.
“The main thing we want to do is win the Big 12 North at the very least,” said defensive lineman, Caleb Blakesley.
This Jayhawk team isn’t happy with leaving their legacy has the past two great seasons, with back-to-back bowl games (first time in KU history), one of them being a BCS bowl game win. They are striving for more and something else that the Jayhawks haven’t done yet.
When asked about winning the Big 12 North, safety, Chris Harris said “That’s our main goal, for this year to win the North. To win the Big 12 championship. That’s our goal; that’s something that’s never been done here (Kansas).”
The biggest thing I learned at media day is that the Jayhawks are by far a very focused team and ready to make more history.
August 3, 2009
Kansas pre-camp look
By: Mike Smith
Camp opens up in the next few days (Aug. 6th) and there are plenty of storylines for the Kansas Jayhawks. From the Jayhawks defense going to use the 4-2-5/nickel scheme more often to Dezmon Briscoe’s status on the team and more.
Jayhawks hoping nickel is money defense:
Coach Mangino stated the nickel will probably be the Jayhawks base defense. This should help the Jayhawks in a few ways on the defensive side of the ball. The Hawks have to replace all 3 linebackers (LB- Mike Rivera, James Holt and Joe Mortensen) but with the nickel there will only be 2 LB’s on the field thus finding replacements will be a little easier not having to look for as many LB’s. Guys like seniors: Arist Wright, convert RB Angus Quigley, Jake Schermer, juniors: Justin Springer, Dakota Lewis, sophomores: Steven Johnson, Chris Heinz and incoming freshman Julian Jones.
Also the passing defense should improve from last season giving up 273.6 ypg ranking 114th in the nation. They lose Kendrick Harper (CB) & Patrick Resby (SS) but return the whole starting secondary; Darrell Stuckey (SS) will be the leader and the engine to make the defense go. And depth will not be a issue for the secondary with the starters Justin Thornton, Phillip Strozier, Daymond Patterson and other guys like Calvin Rubles (JUCO transfer), Anthony Davis, Corrigan Powell (both soph.), Chris Harris (nickelback), Lubbock Smith (RS Fresh), and freshman Prinz Kande & Dextor Linton.
While the nickel will help those things; the defense will obviously still give up numbers to BIG 12 offenses, but hopefully not so bad (304 ypg in BIG 12). But the pass rush will be a big key for the Jayhawks, who averaged 2.2 sacks per game last year and the seniors LB’s had 14 of the 28 sacks. So the D-line will need to step up with guys like Jake Laptad (7 sacks last year), Caleb Blakesley, Jamal Greene, Maxwell Onyegbule (who all return), JUCO transfers Quintin Woods & Travis Stephens and others.
Overall the nickel package should benefit the Jayhawks; one thing is the Jayhawks defense will be key to lots of games.
Dezmon Briscoe update:
Coach Mangino recently said Briscoe’s status with the team is “day-to-day.” Saying at media days “I anticipate he’ll be there. It’s pretty simple: You get your work done and you’re with us in August.”
Briscoe who was elected to the All-BIG 12 preseason team recently and had 1,407 yards receiving with 15 TD’s last season; he was suspended early spring for academic issues. He missed the spring game but was reinstated soon after. Mangino expects him to be there at camp, so Jayhawk fans don’t worry too much but just hope Briscoe gets his head on straight. Briscoe is a key cog to the Jayhawks offense, so losing him would be a tremendous loss but I personally believe Briscoe will be ready to go.
Jayhawks not picked to win North in Preseason media poll:
Jayhawks miss out in media poll finishing 2nd behind Nebraska for the North title. The question is does that affect the team maybe feeling like they aren’t getting respect they should.
Well at media day Jayhawk QB, Todd Reesing, I believed summed it up by this quote. “After being here for a couple years, at Kansas you start to accept the role of underdog. And realize that you’re probably not going to be picked for anything.”
It’s not surprising that the Jayhawks were not picked to win the BIG 12 North, mainly their BIG 12 schedule has people doubting them. So once again the Jayhawks will have to continue to prove they belong and can compete with the big boys. Reesing and the gang will look to prove people wrong and probably use this as bulletin board material. My personal belief is that the Jayhawks will be making a trip to Arlington this year, after winning the BIG 12 North.
Meier permanently @ wide receiver:
The first week of camp will be key to whether Kerry Meier just focuses on the wide receiver position or backup QB and wide out. All depends on Kale Pick (RS Fresh from Dodge City) and Jordan Webb (Freshman from Union, Mo.) can take the reins as the No. 2 & 3 QB’s.
O-line battle:
The offensive line looks to replace 3 O-lineman (Ryan Cantrell, Adrian Mayes, Chet Hartley) this year. Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch return; with Hatch moving over to play center. The battle will ensue between veterans juniors: Sal Capra, Carl Wilson, Ian Wolfe and Wisconsin transfer Brad Thorson and young guys red-shirt freshman: Tanner Hawkinson, John Williams, Trevor Marrongelli and maybe sophomore Ben Lueken (if he recovers from the car accident). The younger guys look to compete and come up with 2 or all 3 O-line positions.
Red-shirt freshman, Tanner Hawkinson is receiving lots of attention as he came to KU as a tight end and know looks to move to the o-line; possibly at left tackle protecting Reesing’s blind side. This will be an interesting project, but Mangino has had success moving tight ends to the o-line. Just look at Adrian Jones, of the Houston Texans, who’s played in the NFL for going on 6 years now. Some people like John Williams as another front runner for a o-line spot, as well as juniors: Sal Capra and Brad Thorson.
This will be a position battle all KU fans should keep their eyes on during camp.
Backup RB spot opens:
With recent news that herald JUCO transfer, Jocques Crawford, will transfer from KU after a disappointing year. Stating a want for more playing time as the reason he was leaving, but he was currently suspended from the team stemming an off the field issue. I’m sure Crawford is not leaving KU because of playing time, but this overall will probably be a good move for the Jayhawks, because you don’t want any bad apples on the team.
With this an opportunity opens up for sophomore Rell Lewis, JUCO transfer Daniel Porter and incoming freshman Deshaun Sands & Toben Opurum. Many believe Opurum can be the next Brandon McAnderson basher type rusher. Maybe Deshaun Sands can show KU fans shades of this dad former Jayhawk, Tony Sands. But the guy not getting to much pub is JUCO transfer Porter, maybe from the perception Crawford gave people on JUCO RB’s but he could be a guy that factors in, as he is really quick (running a 4.38 40-yard dash). My bet is that Lewis gets a lot of the early touches but Opurum will start to take touches away from him during the season. It will be interesting to see who steps up in camp and will be important for someone to step up as lots of the BIG 12 teams have 2 RB’s to rely on.
Stay tuned here for updates on all these topics and more KU football coverage all season.
July 28, 2009
Can the Jayhawks win the North?
By: Mike Smith
KU football looks primed for another good season with many returning players; Coach Mangino has this team headed in the right direction and the program is now garnering national media attention. This is the time of year preseason conference polls come out and get all college football fans excited for the upcoming season. The media poll for the BIG 12 recently came out and slotted KU in 2nd place in the North behind Nebraska by a few points. As a voter this year, I personally voted KU to win the North (some might look at it as a homer pick, due to the fact I attend KU and cover them for a student sports radio program, but there are real legit reasons I believe they will win the North).Reasons why KU will win the BIG 12 North:
Reason #1: A Glance at the other BIG 12 North teams:
Before looking at KU as a team, let’s look at each other team in the BIG 12 North and there are key reasons why they could struggle this season.Colorado- While it will be Coach Dan Hawkin’s 4th year and the Buffalos return many key players, there is some controversy at the QB position. Cody Hawkins took most of the snaps this past season but Tyler Hansen also saw action as well. Having a stable QB situation will be the key for whether the Buffalos struggle or surprise some people in the North. That said they still don’t have the explosiveness on offense to match KU and their defense won’t match what Nebraska’s will be.
K-state- The Wildcats are losing their signal caller, Josh Freeman, so they will be inexperienced at the QB position this season with either junior Carson Coffman, JUCO transfer Daniel Thomas or Dylan Meier. Also the legend or god in Wildcat fans eyes, Bill Synder is returning to the helm as head coach, so it will take some time for him to re-implement his system back into place at K-state. Plus their defense was absolutely abysmal last season ranking near the bottom in the major categories (110th in scoring defense giving up 35.8 ppg & 117th in total defense 479.1 ypg). With 8 starters back on the defense they should be better, at least they really can’t get worse; but in the high powered BIG 12 those offenses aren’t going to be easy to stop.
Iowa St.- The Cyclones have only won 8 games the past 3 years (only 3 wins coming in the Big 12) and have been the punching bag for the Big 12. With Gene Chizik leaving to become the Head Coach at Auburn, new Head Coach Paul Rhoads, former Auburn defensive coordinator will have to implement a new system, yet again starting the rebuilding process for the Cyclones. Plus while they return a good core group of players, winning one or two games in the BIG 12 will be the realistic goal for the team this year.Missouri- After 2 years straight of winning the BIG 12 North they will find that hard this year. They lose their top 3 players in receivers (Maclin, Chase Coffman and Tommy Saunders), as well as 3 of their top 4 tacklers (Brock Christopher, Justin Garrett and William Moore) and defensive staples Ziggy Hood and Stryker Sulak. But most of all they lose a Heisman runner up QB, Chase Daniel, meaning inexperienced Blaine Gabbert will man the helm. While some might look at Gabbert being the main worry for the Tigers, I say it will be the defense with only 4 returning starters and a new D-coordinator (Dave Steckel, who was the LB coach) the Tigers will have to make things click fast before they face the all the BIG 12 offenses.
Nebraska- The key for the Cornhuskers will be replacing their QB as well; as Joe Ganz graduated. While also replacing other weapons on the offense in Nate Swift (WR), Todd Peterson (WR) and Marlon Lucky (RB). On defense Zach Potter (DE) and Armando Murrillo (CB) will need to be replaced, but the Cornhuskers defense doesn’t get hit that hard as their top 4 tacklers return this season, with their whole secondary intact and two stellar D-lineman in Ndamukong Suh and Pierre Allen. But the while Pelini looks to have the Cornhuskers headed back to prominence, he will go into battle with a very inexperienced QB, Zac Lee, who has only thrown two passes in his first two seasons at Nebraska.
Reason #2: KU football’s defense
Some will say the defense is what scares them in picking KU to win the BIG 12, well here are some reasons why the defense will be better this season.The defense gave up 29 ppg and 397 ypg last season. But a lot of other BIG 12 defenses gave up big numbers as well, because of the electric BIG 12 offenses. The defense this year is returning 7 starters with its secondary fully intact.
Mangino said he looks to use a nickel package (4 D-lineman, 2 LB’s and 5 D-backs) more often this season. This my friends is the key to the Jayhawks defense, switching to this package more often will help the Jayhawks get their experience on the field and help protect against the spread offenses in the BIG 12.
With senior leadership from Darrell Stuckey (S), Phillip Strozier (S), Justin Thornton (CB) and Caleb Blakesley (DT) the Jayhawks defense should be solid and sound. Also having Daymond Patterson (CB), Jamaal Greene (DT), Jake Laptad (DT) and JUCO transfer Quintin Woods (DT) will be key.
The defense will probably still give up points in the BIG 12 but that’s because the BIG 12 offenses are just that good. But with the turnover in the BIG 12 North teams and the inexperienced QB’s that should help out the Jayhawks and their defense.
Reason #3: KU football’s offense
The main reason the Jayhawks will win the North title is their offense, because hands down they have the best one in the Big 12 North. KU’s offense will easily continue putting up the yards and the points, as they averaged 34 ppg and 432 ypg last season. The success of the offense obviously hinges on a 5-11 QB with great athleticism and playmaking ability, Todd Reesing. Reesing is 20-6 as a starter, holds over 30 school records and threw for 3,888 yards and 32 TD’s with 66.5% completion rate last season. All those numbers and records don’t come without good players around you and KU returns its top 5 rushers and their top 4 players in receiving yards.The Jayhawks running game after senior RB, Jake Sharp is a mystery with the recent transfer news of Jocques Crawford. Obviously Sharp will be the main guy and is a versatile back but with Crawford the highly touted JUCO transfer last year transferring that means opportunities for guys like sophomore Rell Lewis, who rushed for over 60 yards in the spring game and freshman Toben Opurum and Deshaun Sands. I have heard some rave reviews about the freshman Toben Opurum, who many are comparing to a KU RB a few years ago in Brandon McAnderson. If Opurum provides the Jayhawks with the bashing type of running like McAnderson it will only create more of a balanced attack for the KU offense.
Then there is the best part of the KU offense besides obviously Todd Reesing; it’s the guys he throws the ball to. The receiving core should be one of the best in the country with potential All-American Dezmon Briscoe, Reesing’s 3rd down go-to man Kerry Meier and Jonathan Wilson. All three of these guys can have over a 100+ yard game any day and with three receivers with great capability Reesing will not lack in options to distribute the ball around. Not to mention the Tight End, Tim Biere who has a year under his belt now; he could potentially play a bigger part in the offense with all the attention going to be on the receivers.
Reasons why people think KU will have some trouble winning the North:
I understand there are people who don’t think KU will win the North and I see their arguments and for the sake of representing both sides here are the reasons that could hold back the Jayhawks.Reason #1: KU football’s offensive line
The only question I have about the offense is the O-line, because the Jayhawks have to replace 3 lineman. Jeremiah Hatch and Jeff Spikes are the only 2 returning starters on the O-line; Hatch is going to play center and Spikes will play right tackle. So developing cohesion between the new O-line will be the key for the Jayhawks to provide time for Reesing, to make this Jayhawk offense work the scoring machine they are.Reason #2: KU football’s LB unit
The key for the Jayhawks defense is how they will replace 3 of their top 4 tacklers, who made up their starting LB core. Replacing Joe Mortensen, Mike Rivera and James Holt will be extremely hard. Guys like Artist Wright, Jake Schremer, Justin Springer, Dakota Lewis, JUCO transfer Vernon Brooks and converted RB Angus Quigley will have to step it up and produce for this Jayhawk defense to do its job. Also as I said earlier when talking about the defense, we can except the Jayhawks to use the nickel package more, meaning only 2 LB’s will be needed on the field at that time, adding another DB in the other LB’s place thus making replacing that position a little easier.Reason #3: KU’s BIG 12 schedule
One other question mark in people’s mind is can the Jayhawks hold up with their BIG 12 schedule. Well KU should make it through their non-conference ok by beating Northern Colorado, UTEP in El Paso, Duke and Southern Miss. Then when BIG 12 play hits they only have 3 home games out of 8 games, with the others being 4 on the road and a neutral site game vs. MU in Kansas City.KU once again has to deal with the hard BIG 12 south schedule going against Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech. But to go along with that 2 of the 3 are on the road (@ Austin vs. Texas & @ Lubbock vs. Texas Tech). Having to go on the road for most of their BIG 12 games and that South schedule could spell bad things for the Jayhawks. But this team is filled with senior leadership and poised players that should make it easier to go on the road for them. And even if the Jayhawks don’t win any games against OU, Texas or Texas Tech some believe they will still challenge for the North title; but winning at least one of those games is most likely needed and many believe the November showdown with Nebraska in Lawrence will determine the BIG 12 North champ.
All that being said it really looks like that Jayhawks have the best chance to win their 1st BIG 12 North title this coming season. Jayhawk fans be ready for what could be a great season for the Jayhawk football program. History awaits them, go and be a witness this season.
Mike Smith is part of a student sports talk show on campus, visit their website at Waveinthewheat.com