THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
QUOTE OF THE DAY
TUESDAY, DECEBMER 3, 2013
PAGE 7
"When you turn over the ball 100 times, the chance you have to come back in a game like that just goes out the window."
— Charlie Weis after the 31-10 loss to Kansas State.
The last time Kansas beat a first-string Division 1 quarterback was against Chandler Harnish and the Northern Illinois Huskies in 2011.
— ESPN.com
TRIVIA OF THE DAY
Q: What was the spread for games in the second half this season?
A. The opponent outscored Kansas 177-83 in the second half of games this season.
THE MORNING BREW
Charlie Weis deserves credit, but not too much
The 2014 season will be a great opportunity for Charlie Weis to earn his keep, because he sure hasn't done so yet.
Kansas wrapped up yet another disappointing season on Saturday with a 31-10 loss at home to rival Kansas State, finishing 3-9 (1-8) with wins over South Dakota, Louisiana Tech and West Virginia. Yes, it was a two-win improvement from last season, but let's not forget the fact that both Louisiana Tech and West Virginia were playing with an arm tied behind their back — neither team was able to start their first-string quarterback due to injury.
It was the same old story for the Jayhawks against Bill Snyder's Wildcats. The defense played well enough to keep the team at arm's length, 21-10 K-State late into the third quarter, but six turnovers and innumerable dropped passes plagued the team all afternoon long, and gave an already superior Wildcat team an unnecessary advantage. Kansas looked out-prepared for a large portion of the game, and Charlie Weis looked out-matched, by a little (lot) more than $300,000, the difference between his and Bill Snyder's salary.
Let me first acknowledge the gravity of the situation that Weis stepped into and give him his credit where credit is due. When he was hired in December 2011, Charlie Weis took over a program that was downtrodden and undisciplined from top to bottom. It didn't take long for Weis to filter out some of the crud, dismissing 29 total players from the team for reasons ranging from academic issues to behavioral issues to desires to continue their careers elsewhere. He was also forced
By Daniel Harmsen
dharmsen@kansan.com
to sign 18 of 24 players in his most recent recruiting class from the JUCO ranks because of a severe lack of upperclassmen and depth on both the offensive and defensive lines. So things weren't exactly spotless inside the Anderson Family Football Complex when he came in.
short-changed by any means. If anybody has been short-changed to this point, it has been the fans. According to USA Today's annual database of college coaching salaries, Charlie Weis is the 31st highest paid coach in college football, and paid just $300,000 less than K-State's Bill Snyer.
When Weis took the reins from Turner Gill, the team GPA was 2.46 in the fall of 2011, but in just a few months of Weis at the helm, the GPA surged to a 3.0 in the spring of 2012. He then backed that up with the highest GPA the football program has recorded during the fall since the school began keeping track in 1986, a 2.83.
University of Kansas Associate Athletic Director for Student Support Paul Buskirk, an employee since 1987, said, "This was one of the most incredible jumps in academic performance from a team that I've ever seen". In late November, the Big 12 announced that Kansas had 19 players who earned mentions on Academic All-Big 12 first and second teams. The 19 honores tied Oklahoma for most in the conference. No debate here; Weis improved things in the classroom.
Saturday's game decisions frustrated me to the core. He rolled a right-handed quarterback, Montell Cozart, who has had enough trouble completing a pass from a stand-still, left to throw a 15-yard pass across his body. It was intercepted. The rest of the playcalling was predictable.
And his clock management was dreadful like it has been all season.
So, yes. Weis took over a sinking ship, and he made fast improvements off the field, but he was paid handsomely, signing a 5-year, $12.5 million contract with incentives that could push the yearly salary to over $3 million. This was what he was paid to do and he wasn't
The defense was burned on a lake Waters option pass — twice. Waters ran to the line of scrimmage, like he had all season, and found a wide open Zach Truijlo and Glenn Gronkowski for touchdowns.
The defense has taken a step forward this year. It's hard to argue that. But for the step that the defense took forward this year, the offense took two backward, and Charlie Weis is supposed to be the offensive guru. Last year, the team finished 113th nationally in total defense and 115th in scoring offense. This year, the team finished 97th in total defense and 121st in scoring offense. What Kansas gained from cutting penalties from 69 to 45 from 2011 to 2012, it lost and then some with 88 penalties in 2013. How much of the defensive credit goes to Weis, and how much of it goes to defensive coordinators Clint Bowen and Dave Campo, who have been one of the few
May
bright spots in game performance and on the recruiting trails?
I pity jake Heaps because no receiver seems to want to catch a pass for him, but to this point, no Charlie Weis transfer has panned out. Not Dayne Crist. Not Justin McCav. And the offensive line
hasn't lived up to the billing.
Who are the stars on this Kansas team? Well, the few that Kansas has are far from glimmering, but if I had to make a list, it would start with James Sims, Tony Pierson, Ben Heeney, Jimmy Mundine, Ben Goodman, Isaiah Johnson, McDexter Donald and JaCorey Shepherd. A grand total of one of those players is a true Charlie Weis recruit: Isaiah Johnson.
Since taking over again in 2009, Bill Snyder has gone 41-22. Taking his $2.8 million a year contract into consideration, he is making roughly $341,463 per win. Charlie Weis is 4-20 in two seasons, and taking his $2.5 million a year contract into consideration, he is making roughly $1.25 million per win. Generally by year three, a college coach can be fairly judged by the fan base, even in a situation as dire as Kansas'. With almost the entire defense returning, next year had better be the year for Weis to start winning. His seat should be feeling a little warm right now.
— Edited by Lauren Armendariz
This week in athletics
Tuesday
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the two day. arity ."
Wednesday
Women's Basketball
Arkansas
7 p.m.
Lawrence
Thursday
Women's Swimming
USA Winter Nationals
All Day
Knoxville, Tenn.
Friday
Women's Swimming
USA Winter Nationals
All Day
Knoxville, Tenn.
Saturday
Women's Swimming USA Winter Nationals All Day Knoxville, Tenn.
Men's Basketball
Colorado
2:15 p.m.
Boulder, Colo.
Track
Bob Timmons Challenge
4 p.m.
Lawrence
Women's Basketball
Texas Southern
2 p.m.
Lawrence
Sunday
women's Swimming
William Jewell
2 p.m.
Lawrence
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