PAGE 6B
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Junior quarterback Jake Heaps makes a pass against Texas Tech. The Jayhawks lost to the Red Raiders 54-16 for Saturday's home game, at Memorial Stadium, as a strong start by the Jayhawks wasn't enough to carry the team through the game.
BACK TO REALITY
Jayhawks' early momentum thwarted by poor offense, special teams mistakes
CHRIS HYBL
chybl@kansan.com
OFFENSE: D+
Save for about two penalties, the offense was near flawless in the opening quarter. Jake Heaps went 9-for-14 with 121 yards, with a 25-yard strike to Jimmay Mundine. Tony Pierson also flourished in the first quarter as Heaps connected with the senior flanker four times for 63 yards. After that, however, the offense stalled as Heaps went 8-for-17 for just 78 yards the rest of the game. Coupled with the inept passing game was a stagnant running game, which saw only nine handoffs to James Sims. Turnovers were also a huge problem, constantly settingup the defense in bad field position, as they lost three fumbles and Heaps threw an interception to open up the second half. The offense had a chance to maintain its lead and to tack on to its fresh start, but failed to muster anything after a crisp first quarter.
COACHING: C-
DEFENSE: D+
While the play-calling was superb in the first quarter. Weis mixed it up well. Weis then backed off his running game in trying to keep up with Texas Tech, which he previously said he was against, and said it wouldn't work for their offensive system. Saturday reinforced that, as Kansas tried to keep up in the passing game and it was to no avail and then some. James Sims had only nine carries, as the running game was nonexistent, which is the team's offensive identity.
Similar to the offense, the defense started out remarkably after kickoff, halting TTU's air raid by surrendering just 85 yards in the first quarter. As the defense saw more time on the field though, TTU quarterback Baker Mayfield started to complete more passes. Even backup quarterback Davis Webb got in on the action as he tossed two scores. While the secondary had a tough task going up against the physical Tech wide receivers, Tech had no trouble spreading the ball, as there were many holes in the secondary contributing to a lot of easy drives. The pass rush was also lacking, and couldn't flush Mayfield out of the pocket enough to disrupt the high-powered offense.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C-
Aside from a fake punt and a missed extra point, the special teams weren't mediocre. The problem is that the fake punt changed things, as Tech went up 17-10 and had a more serious grasp on the game and never looked back.
DELAY OF THE GAME
GAME BALL
Lost in the impotent offense, late in the fourth quarter, Tony Pierson had one of the most crazy after the catch plays you'll ever see from a Kansas offensive player. Pierson who received a pass in the backfield on the left side, cut back to the middle defender to elude the defenders in front, then cut back to the left and dashed down the sidelines for a 39-yard gain in which he ran for more than 50 yards. He went down for several minutes after the play, but it definitely was one of the few highlights for the Kansas offense so far this season.
Tony Pierson is going to be greatly missed as it was announced he would miss substantial time with a concussion. Pierson had a spectacular day before he got hurt however, as he hauled in 6 catches for 118 yards and was one of the few sparks for the Kansas offense all game including 63 receiving yards in the first quarter, helping the Jayhawks hop out to a 10-0 lead.
GOOD, PLAIN OR JUST PLAIN STUPID
Charlie Weis said that the field position didn't factor in Trevor Pardula performing the fake punt, but when you're in a tie ballgame down in your own territory, it doesn't seem like the smartest idea. It makes sense to try to catch them off guard, but when you have a reliable punter and who may be your best offensive weapon, you should use him accordingly. Verdict: Just Plain Stupid
LOOKING AHEAD
Kansas will take on TCU, who's coming off a tight loss to Oklahoma on the road, 17-20. They will face another tough defense as the offense looks to get things going.
GLASS HALF FULL
Kansas had a near-perfect first quarter as the offense looked fresh, organized and had the best quarter offensively so far this season. So there was a flash, at least, of the offense becoming something that can put up points to keep the defense off the field. Heaps had maybe the best quarter of his career, and the protection of Heaps contributed to a 10-point first quarter.
FINAL THOUGHT
GLASS HALF EMPTY
The Jayhawks' mistakes early on really came to hurt them in the end, including the now infamous Trevor Pardula fake punt failure and some turnovers late in the game where they tried to orchestrate a comeback. Two big plays that seemed to deflate the energy of the game—the fake punt and a Heaps interception to open up the second half-derailed any chance of a victory.
Charlie Weis caught some flack for devising the fake punt, but that wasn't the only problem. The offense and defense have a long ways to go, as they surrendered another lead—Charlie Weis' seventh so far as the Kansas head coach. Their chances went from great to nearly impossible as Texas Tech dominated effortlessly after the first quarter.
Edited by James Ogden
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GEORGE MOLLENITA/ARSANJ Junior quarterback Blake Jablonski and sophomore kicker Matthew Wyman celebrate the first field goal of the game, which put the Jayhawks at 3-0.
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