8B
GAME DAY
THE UNIVERSITY OF BARRY KANSAN FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2007
KU KICK-OFF
AT A GLANCE
An easy way to judge the success of a team is to count its media requests. Before this season, Mark Mangino's media request sheet usually contained four or five items each week.
After the team's 8-0 start, two pages' worth of media outlets want to speak with Mangino, and the coach has struggled to meet all of the demand. If Kansas keeps winning, Mangino can count on having a full schedule for the foreseeable future.
BY THE NUMBERS
COUNTDOWN TO KICK-OFF
(2007 Averages and National Rank)
(2007 Averages and National Rank)
42.5ppg — 5th scoring offense
215ypg — 14th rushing offense
264.4ypg — 31st passing offense
10.3ppg — 2nd scoring defense
77.5ypg — 6th rushing defense
186.4ypg — 18th passing defense
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore running back Jake Sharp. Last week, the Jayhawk offensive line dominated a Texas A&M front seven that had been decent against the run up to that point. Saturday.
Sharp and his blockers will face the worst run defense in the nation.The Cornhuskers have allowed almost 250 yards
Sharp
per game on the ground this season, and Sharp seems due for a breakout game against a molasses-low defense.
QUESTION MARKS
》 How will Scott Webb deal with adversity? The senior kicker has been exceptionally consistent during his entire collegiate career, but he missed three field goals last weekend. The game may not be close enough to bring Webb's accuracy issues into play, but it will be interesting to see whether he can bounce back.
Can the Jayhawks cover the spread once more? In 2007, Kansas has covered the spread in all seven of the games with a betting line. Vegas favors the Jayhawks by 19 points — will they be able to rout the Cornhuskers?
HAWKS ENJOYING LIFE ON TOP
A Nebraska loss wouldn't be such a stunner this time
KANSAS VS. NEBRASKA 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium
OFFENSE
The Kansas offense may have scored only 19 points last week against Texas A&M, but it probably deserved more. For the third consecutive game, sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing did not throw an interception, and he completed nearly two-thirds of his pass attempts. Senior running back Brandon McAnderson displayed an impressive combination of power and speed on his way to a career-high 183 rushing yards. Poor special teams play cost the Jayhawk offense the extra points it should have put on the board.
DEFENSE
The defense is coming off of its best performance of the conference season. Senior defensive tackle James McClinton and junior linebacker James Holt stuffed the formidable Texas A&M run game and the Kansas secondary did an admirable job of containing the Aggies' option runs. With one of the nation's best tackles in McClinton, a very solid group of linebackers and a star cornerback in Talib, the Kansas defense is sturdy on all three levels.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Another week, another area of concern for the Jayhawk spi teams. Senior kicker Scott Webb has been solid throughout he so there should not be too many worries about his performance. But the blocked field goal in the first quarter showed a crack in Kansas' kicking game. Sophomore wide receiver Anthony Webb has not yet misplayed a punt, but his reckless style and hesitance to call a fair catch is a bit troubling.
MOMENTUM
The Jayhawks are riding high for yet another week. The team started the season by proving it could win at home and has recently established national credibility by pulling out
three road victories over respectable Big 12 Conference opponents. ESPN is paying attention, Todd Reesing is a Davey O'Brien Award semifinalist, and most importantly, the team is undefeated. It's beginning to look like Kansas isn't just a basketball school anymore.
Nebraska 4-5,1-4 Big 12 Conference
COACHING
A great deal of the credit for the program's turnaround has to go to the man in charge, head coach Mark Mangino. Since his arrival at Kansas, he has compared the process of building the program to "sawing wood". During some of the more disappointing moments of Mangino's tenure, it seemed all that sawing was for naught. Now that his team is competing for a BCS bowl bid and is heavily favored against the once-mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers, the hard work is paying dividends.
OFFENSE
Exactly what Nebraska will do on offense against Kansas remains a mystery because of quarterback Sam Xeller's season-ending injury. Junior Joe Ganz will make the first start of his career in Lawrence. In limited action this season, he is 3-for-4 with 75 yards and a touchdown. But Ganz adds a new dimension to the offense because he can run the ball. The change of pace could actually be a blessing in disguise for the NU offense, because the more it has run the ball, the better it has been this season. Junior running back Marlon Lucky exploded for 233 yards in the season opener against Nevada but has fallen to averaging only 92 yards per game since. The running game's efficiency is credited to the offensive line, anchored by center Brett Byford. The receiving corps is deep and talented with Maurice Purify, Nate Swift and Terrence Nunn each with at least 25 receptions.
DEFENSE
The Cornhusker offense has been competitive enough to win games this season. The same can't be said for the defense. A lot was expected of this unit before the season began. The defensive line was an area of concern but was supposed to be shored up by highly recruited players such as sophomore Ndamukong Suh, whose first name means "House of Spears". But with only one sack this season, he's not spearing the quarterback nearly enough. Nebraska ranks 112th nationally in sacks. Some of the blame has to be on the linebackers. Bo Ruud, for example, looked like one of the Big 12 Conference's best. But with only four tackles per game, his season is as disappointing as Kelly Osbourne's music career. Nebraska has experimented with many different personnel combinations in the secondary. They all shared one thing in common: they couldn't stop the pass.
SPECIAL TEAMS
least the Cornhuskers are outstanding at one thing: kick coverage. They rank first in the Big 12 in kickoff coverage and have booted eleven touchbacks. Cortney Grixby is one of the better kick and punt returners in the Big 12 conference. Dan Titchener has handled the punting duties well. Alex Henry hasn't missed a field goal yet but that could be because he's only attempted six.
Asher Fusco
MOMENTUM
46 years is more than just a meaningless statistic. The fact that it's been that long since Nebraska lost four consecutive games provides a harrowing look at how far it's fallen since the glory days. Nebraska led Texas going into the fourth quarter last week before letting all the positive momentum slip away. Longhorn running back Jamaal Charles rushed for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in a shocking comeback victory for Texas. At this point, the team not to stain the rich
UAS: As this point, Cornhusks are simply trying not to stain the rich NU tradition any further.
COACHING
Bill Callahan has served as the scapegoat for the improbable losing season in Lincoln, Neb. It will almost certainly cost him his job at the end of the season. But Callahan can't possibly be that bad of a coach. He is the same guy who led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl appearance in his first year at the helm. Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove must shoulder the majority of the blame for failing to put a competitive unit on the field despite undeniable talent.
Case Keefer
Mark Mangino
NU KICK-OFF
AT A GLANCE
Nebraska travels to Lawrence accompanied by a four-game losing streak in which it has been outscored 150-59. But a game in Memorial Stadium against the eighth-ranked Jayhawks could serve as the perfect opportunity for the Cornhuskers to get back on track. Nebraska has 46 victories and only seven losses all-time when visiting Kansas.
BY THE NUMBERS
2007 Averages and National Rank
26. 64ppg—62nd scoring offense
275. 33ypg - 21st passing offense
149. 44 ypg-69th rushing offense
31. 44 $ ^{4 \mathrm{ppg}} $ -91st scoring defense
224. 56ypg-63rd passing defense
242. 56ypg—119th rushing defense
PLAYER TO WATCH
broken the 100-yard mark four times this season and was the go-to guy even before Keller's injury. The only problem is Nebraska
Junior running back Marlon Lucky. With starting quarterback Sam Keller out with an injury, more of the offensive load will be placed on the shoulders of Lucky. Not that he can't carry it. He's
Lucky
abandons Lucky quickly if he doesn't find room to run. If Lucky can get past a vicious Kansas front seven early, look for him to keep Nebraska in the game.
QUESTION MARKS
>> How effective can new starting quarterback Joe Ganz be? It's the million dollar question heading into the game for both teams. The junior obviously wasn't good enough in training camp because he lost the position battle to Sam Keller. But if Ganz can find a rhythm against the Kansas defense, he could haunt it because the Jayhawks were unable to scout Ganz leading up to the game.
》How will Nebraska stop the Kansas ground game? Dead last. That's where the Cornhuskers rank in rushing defense nationally. Jayhawk running back Brandon McAnderson enters fresh off of a game where he ran for a career-high 186 yards. Jake Sharp's quickness to the holes makes for a mismatch against the Nebraska defense.
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
Game
Kansas State at Iowa State
Texas Tech at Baylor
No. 14 Texas at Oklahoma State
No. 9 Missouri at Colorado
Texas A&M at No. 5 Oklahoma
Time Channel
11:30 a.m. Versus
2 p.m. NA
2:30 p.m. ABC
5:30 p.m. FSN
7 p.m. ABC
TOP25
THURSDAY
No.11 Virginia Tech 27, Georgia Tech 3
SATURDAY
Game Time Channel
Wisconsin at No. 1 Ohio State 11 a.m. BTN*
No. 21 Wake Forest at Virginia 11 a.m. NA
No. 25 Clemson at Duke 11 a.m. NA
Vanderbilt at No. 18 Florida 11:30 a.m. NA
Troy at No. 10 Georgia Noon NA
Tennessee Tech at No. 19 Auburn 1:30 p.m. NA
San Jose State at No. 21 Boise State 2 p.m. NA
No. 15 Michigan at Michigan State 2:30 p.m. ESPN-GP*
Cincinnati at No. 20 South Florida 2:30 p.m. ESPN-GP
No. 3 LSU at No. 17 Alabama 4 cBS
Louisiana-Lafayette at No. 24 Tennessee 4 p.m. NA
No. 6 Arizona State at No. 4 Oregon 5:30 p.m. ESPN
Rutgers at No. 16 Connecticut 6:15 p.m. ESPNU
Florida State at No. 2 Boston College 7 p.m. ESPN-GP
Oregon State at No. 13 USC 7 p.m. ESPN-GP
No. 23 South Carolina at Arkansas 7 p.m. ESPN2
*Big 10 Network not available on Sunflower Cable*
*NGP Gameplan available on poy per vper*
TELEVISED GAMES
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Game Time Channel
Akron at Bowling Green 6:30 p.m. ESPNU
Nevada at New Mexico State 7 p.m. ESPN2
SUNDAY
Game Time Channel
Purdue at Penn State 11 a.m. ESPN
iowa at Northwestern 11 a.m. ESPN2
NC State at Miami 11 a.m. ESPNU
Ball State at Indiana 11 a.m. BTN
Navy at Notre Dame 1:30 p.m. NBC
Army at Air Force 2:30 p.m. CSTV
UCLA at Arizona 2:30 p.m. ESPN-GP
Maryland at North Carolina 2:45 p.m. ESPNU
Washington at Stanford 5:30 p.m. F5NNW
Tulsa at Tulane 6:30 p.m. CSTV
Illinois at Minnesota 7 p.m. BTN
Washington State at California 9 p.m. FSN
SMU at Houston 7 p.m. ESPN
.