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MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GAMEDAY
STRONG START, WEAK FINISH
Second half struggles continue as Jayhawks remain winless in Big 12 play
CHRIS HYBL AND CONNER OBERKROM chybl@kansan.com; coberkrom@kansan.com
OFFENSE: C-
The Kansas running game picked up steam early, leading a 10-play 70-yard opening drive and pushed Kansas out to a 13-0 lead. James Sims and Darrian Miller finished the half with 169 rushing yards on 8 yards per carry. The offense stalled from there, however, and couldn't move the ball in the second half. Jake Heaps finished the day with 16 passing yards and put the defense on the field too many times to be in a game that they should have taken over. Kansas ran 31 plays for 65 yards after the first quarter.
DEFFENSE: C+
As the offense got off to a quick start and then fell apart, so did the defense. Oklahoma quarterback Blake Bell struggled in the first quarter, but calmed down in the second, finishing the day 15-for-25 for 131 yards and two touchdown passes. The defense was on the field twice as long as the Kansas offense in the second half and were up against the wall the whole game.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D+
If you were asked to script the Jayhawks special teams day, it would be tough to imagine something worse than Saturday. While Kansas did block a punt that led to a score, they had a punt blocked, missed two extra points and botched a snap, resulting in two safeties. In a game that Kansas had little room to make mistakes, they put themselves out of the game with several mistakes on special teams.
COACHING: C+
Charlie Weis brought in freshman quarterback Montell Cozart in the second quarter, supposedly because they were against the wind. Cozart rushed for a 3-yard loss and the ensuing punt was blocked for a safety. On a day where the running game was clicking, Weis brought him in and it changed the game. While the decision may not have directly affected the momentum, it certainly played a big part.
GLASS HALF FULL
Kansas dictated the pace of the game with authority in the first twenty minutes Saturday. A disciplined defense played complement to an aggressive Kansas running attack that was able to cap some of Kansas' longest touchdown drives of the season. Kansas went 70 yards on its first drive for a touchdown and went 68 yards on its third drive for another. That's something the offense has not shown it can do with consistency.
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EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
Junior safety Cassius Sendish prepares to takle Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard during Saturday's game. Sendish recorded four total tackles in the game, and Shepard had two touchdowns.
GLASS HALF EMPTY
GOOD, BAD, OR JUST PLAIN STUPID
Kansas continued to solidify its identity as a team that can start, but not finish. After an impressive start by the Jayhawks, Oklahoma made adjustments and the Kansas offense didn't. Kansas could not pass the ball. In the post game press conference, head coach Charlie Weis admitted that Kansas didn't have a chance to have a good passing game with how bad the route running, catching, offensive line and quarterback play was. That's a lot of problems.
The run game. Kansas again proved it is a running team. Kansas executed its gameplan almost to perfection on its first two drives, putting the two drives on the shoulders of Darrian Miller and James Sims. Sims averaged 5.6 yards a carry and Miller averaged 7.5. Verdict: GOOD
DELAY OF THE GAME
When things get bad for Kansas, they get really bad. After the Sooners scored for the first time midway through the first quarter, they earned a safety from a blocked punt after a quick Kansas three-and-out. After the safety, Oklahoma scored on the first play of its ensuing drive. The Sooners kicked field goal to end the half, and scored on their first possession of the second half, ringing up 25 unanswered points.
LOOKING AHEAD
The two possessions that were quarterbacked by freshman dual threat quarterback Montell Cozart were significant. Charlie Weis indicated after the game that Cozart will be involved going forward, and his entrance into the game wasn't because of bad play from Jake Heaps. Weis seems to like the idea of Cozart getting more snaps in future games, so expect to see him in coming weeks.
LOOKING AHEAD
Since Kansas is a team that can start, it is doing just enough to keep fans interested. Kansas has shown it can play with some of the best opponents in the conference, but only for the first half. Kansas manages to collapse in different ways each week. The collapses appear to be easily preventable, but no matter how different the collapses may be, they always produce the same result.
STAT OF THE DAY
You decide what's worse: 28 yards of offense in the second half, or 16 passing yards for the entire game. Both stats are jaw-droppingly horrible, and both reflect how bad Kansas' passing game is. Kansas ran the ball effectively for the majority of the first half, but the offense cannot solely rely on the running game. If Kansas could get at least an average passing game, its season record could be drastically different.
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