THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2013
PAGE 5B
FOOTBALL GAMEDAY PREVIEW
CONNOR OBERKROM
coberkrom@kansan.com
KANSAS
STARTING LINEUP
OFFENSE
Kansas' offense sputtered after the first quarter against Texas Tech. Kansas ranks 107th in the country in yards per game and is still configuring things at the wide receiver position as senior Josh Ford and junior Andrew Turzilli are the new starters this week. There were also some shakeups in the offensive line as it looks to buy junior quarterback Jake Heaps more time and receivers to find more space. With Tony Pierson out, the running game, which was nonexistent against Texas Tech, should be a bigger priority this week.
DEFENSE
POSITION NAME NO. YEAR
X Josh Ford Sr. 8
LT Pat Lewandowski Jr. 61
LG Ngalu Fusimalohi Jr. 63
C Gavin Howard Sr. 70
RG Mike Smithburg Jr. 65
RT Aslam Sterling Sr. 77
TE Jimmay Mundine Jr. 41
H James Simms Sr. 29
QB Jake Heaps Jr. 9
F Brandon Bourbon Jr. 25
Z Andrew Turzilli Jr. 82
The Jayhawks' defense has had its fair share of up and downs this season and endured a rough three quarters last week against Tech after shutting them out in the first quarter. While junior linebacker Ben Heeney is having a colossal season, the secondary was tested last week and didn't perform favorably, giving up more than 500 yards. The defense will have to keep the TCU offense in front of them as their only chance of winning is to gut out a low-scoring, gritty about.
POSITION NAME NO. YEAR
LC JaCorey Shepherd Jr. 24
NB Victor Simmons Jr. 27
LE Kevin Young Sr. 90
N Keon Stowers Jr. 98
RE/T Keba Agostinho Jr. 96
BUCK Ben Goodman So. 93
RC Dexter McDonald Jr. 12
SS Isaiah Johnson So. 5
MLB Ben Heeney Jr. 31
WLB Jake Love So. 57
FS Cassius Sendish Jr. 33
PREDICTION FOR KANSAS 42-20 TCU KANSAS
BY THE NUMBERS
13 Combined number of passes broken up by JaCorey Shepherd and Dexter McDonald.
54. 3 Yards per punt by Trevor Pardula.
SPECIAL TEAMS
5. 1 Sacks by TCU, which is the best in the Big 12.
Junior kicker Trevor Pardula blasts punts like it's an ordinary thing and probably will see the same amount of action come Saturday. Field position could play a crucial role and special teams, while it hasn't been terrible this year, needs to capitalize on opportunities to squeeze every yard of field position possible.
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF
Kansas can keep it close. TCU is nowhere near a powerhouse, but it's still a respectable team. Saying TCU's offense won't do anything just doesn't hold any weight after Kansas' defensive performance last week. If the Jayhawks can grind it out without everything turning against them, whether in a win or loss, they should be proud of that on the road.
COACHING
PLAYER TO WATCH
Charlie Weis is coming off a demoralizing loss and needs to have some close games to warrant another year, at least in some Kansas fans' minds. Weis had some mishaps, including a disastrous fake punt. The easy mistakes can't happen for a team that's already digging deep with their lack of firepower. Weis' opportunity to win a Big 12 game and to break the 20-game road losing streak presents itself once again. Not an easy task, but things have to start changing soon for Weis to get everyone to start buying in.
AT A GLANCE
Andrew Turzilli has taken over the Z receiver spot in place of sophomore Tre' Parmalee and junior Rodriguez Coleman. Kansas has yet to see breakaway speed from their receiving corps and no one has consistently been able to get past the first line of defense. Turzilli displays some speed and physicality, something Kansas receivers have trouble with. If Turzilli can't do much, then this Kansas offense is probably never going to take a step forward into a capable offense.
TCU coach Gary Patterson looks to get his first win of the Big 12 season and get back on track after a tough loss against Oklahoma. Kansas hasn't played TCU on the road since 1996 and also looks to get its first conference win. TCU has won 30 of 35 last home games and is 60-11 under Gary Patterson.
After getting walloped last week, Kansas is still trying to get their first conference win, and winning on the road versus TCU would make things go a little bit smoother in Lawrence.
MOMENTUM
QUESTION MARKS
Edited by Madison Schultz
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