Volume 128 Issue 31
Monday, October 20, 2014
kansan.com
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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COMMENTARY
Heeney helps make up for dull secondary
It has been the Kansas secondary that has been profiled as the strength of the 2014 Jayhawks. For a defense that often has to carry the weight from a stagnant offense, the secondary gets more praise than any other unit.
Back in his first press conference as a defensive coordinator this season, interim coach Clint Bowen compared this year's unit to the legendary 2008 Orange Bowl tandem of defensive backs.
For the most part, this secondary has walked the walk for much of the season by keeping opposing attacks to a minimum. That was until it faced Texas Tech (3-4) in a 34-21 loss Saturday.
Red Raiders quarterback Davis Webb torched the Jayhawks secondary for 288 yards and three touchdowns on 44 pass attempts. Ten different Red Raiders ended up with a catch.
Keeping the Jayhawk defense from being overexposed was senior linebacker Ben Heeney, who had a career day in Lubbock. Texas.
Heeney has lined up at middle linebacker for four years now and has been the face of the defense for three. His 8.3 solo tackles per game this year gives him a strong argument for being an All-American.
Heeney finished with 21 tackles (17 solo) on the day. His 21 tackles marks the most by a Kansas player since LeRoy Irvine had 21 in 1979 against Missouri. Heeney was five shy of tying the FBS record for most tackles in a game, a feat set by Bob Crabler of Notre Dame in 1979.
With Heeney leading the way, Bowen will look to get a conference win in his remaining five-game audition. If he's successful, it could likely help remove his interim tag and make him the head coach of Kansas football.
Even if Bowen is fortunate enough to land his dream job, he will have a challenge replacing a load of seniors on the defensive side of the ball. But without question the biggest test of all will be replacing No. 31 in the middle.
— Edited by Ben Carroll
The senior linebacker out of Hutchinson had 10 stops alone after one quarter of play. He had 14 through two, leaving him one shy of his previous career high of 15 he set last season against Rice.
His performance poses an even bigger question going forward: How will Kansas replace him?
Thanks to Heeney's 21-tackle day, which is the most by any defensive player in the conference this year, Kansas remained intact and kept the Jayhawks in the game down to the wire.
Heeney also intercepted one of Webbs passes late in the first half, returning it 37 yards to set up a Kansas score that cut the deficit down to 10 just before the half.
SUPER SOUCIE
Sophomore helps Kansas sweep TCU, move up to fourth in Big 12
Sophomore middle blocker Tavler Soucie spikes the ball in the victory against TCU on Saturday. Soucie set career highs in kills (16), hit percentage .652) and aces (2).
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNFL
it was only 15 days ago when the Kansas volleyball team (15-5, 3-3) lost its third consecutive match in the Big 12, plummeting to last in the conference.
But the preseason pick to finish No. 2 in the Big 12 this season took another step toward renovating its record Saturday afternoon with a convincing three-set triumph against Texas Christian University (12-9, 2-5) and its third straight win.
The Jayhawks took the first set 25-17 behind 20 kills, then controlled the next two sets for 25-19 set wins. The team finished with 58 kills on the day, including a combined 26 from middle blockers Tayler Soucie and Kelsie Payne. The
win bumped the Jayhawks to No.4 in the Big 12 standings.
"We thought if we had a really good week,we could get right back into the top half of the Big 12 standings," coach Ray Bechard said after the team's first conference home win. "And we've done that."
Soucie, a sophomore, posted career highs in kills (16), hit percentage (.652) and aces (2), while freshman Payne chipped in 10 kills and a .556 hit percentage. The two combined for only one error and a .610 hit percentage on the day. Soucie now has 27 kills over
The Jayhawks played arguably their best offensive game of the season, as they posted a .408 hit percentage — their highest number this season, with the middle heavily contributing to that.
the past two matches and no errors to show for her attack-minded role.
"We're starting to play with more emotion and energy, and that's really helped us excel to the next level."
SARA MCCLINTON Senior outside hitter
"Soucie had her best match of the year, by far," Bechard said. "If you can get balance in the middle, it's going to make you tough to defend. We've been relying too much on (Chelsea) Albers and (Sara) McClinton and (Tiana) Dockery, and today we got that balance that we need to be a really effective offensive team."
In the days between Kansas past three wins, Bechard worked with freshman setter Ainise Havili to get the middle of the court — Souci and Payne — more involved. Havili posted 15 assists per set Saturday, nearly four above her average, for a total of 45.
"That's been a big thing for me — trying to get Ainise to trust me and know that I can hit a ball, I can score for our team," Soucie said. "We have a goal of how many sets we want to get to our middles and how many we want to get to our outsides. Balancing that is what we're trying to do."
Senior outside hitter Sara McClinton pitched in 12 kills in the match, while senior Chelsea Albers and junior Tiana Dockery each tallied eight.
The Jayhawks hit on all cylinders against a slumping TCU team Saturday. They lost their lead only four times in front of a crowd of 1,300 at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center, and the final scores came in closer than the play on the court let on. Now at 3-3 in the conference and two-thirds of the way through the season, Kansas — a队 filled to the bras with underclassmen — is starting to find its footing and mesh together in Big 12 play.
"We're really coming together as a team," McClinton said. "We're starting to play with more emotion and energy, and that's really helped us excel to the next level."
- Edited by Drew Parks
Cummings, Heeney nearly lead Kansas to upset
@stelly_liang
STELLA LIANG
@stelly_liang
Michael Cummings and the offense looked almost unstoppable on a drive late in the third quarter Saturday. The junior quarterback, who was making his second start this season, led a drive from Kansas' 19-yard line all the way to the end zone.
Texas Tech's Dylan Cantrell is tackled by Kansas' Ben Heeney during Saturday's game in Lubbock, Texas. Heeney had a career-high 21 tackles.
Along the way, he was 2-for-2 for 59 yards. He found tight' end Jimmy Mundine for a 24-yard gain. To set up the score, he threw a perfect pass to wide receiver Nigel King that went for 35 yards to the Texas Tech 2-yard line. Two plays later, Cummings carried the ball himself for the touchdown.
nat set up the layhawks' first touchdown late in the first half.
At that point, the Jayhawks were down 21-27 to the Red Raiders but had a lot of momentum on their side.
"The kid goes out and plays as hard as he can," Kansas interim coach Clint Bowen said. "True leader of our team and really exactly what you'd want to see any football player on any team play like. The guy plays the game with his heart and soul."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The offense was starting to click, but Kansas ended up falling on the road 34-21.
"You've got to be able to execute the little things to make the big things happen," Cummings said. "We came up short on a couple of instances."
Linebacker Ben Heeney, a senior from Hutchinson and a team captain, had a career day with 12 tackles, 17 of them solo. He even picked up his first interception of the season
However, it wasn't enough.
BEN HEENEY
Senior linebacker
Webb threw a pass that hit McDonald square in the chest. McDonald turned to run the other way when he realized the ball was no longer in his hands.
"... there's differences when you get blown out compared to when it's a close game, but a game like this and a game like last week, these ones hurt."
Early in the first quarter, before the Jayhawks knew how close the game would be late, junior cornerback Dexter McDonald dropped a near-certain interception. Texas Tech quarterback Davis
The Kansas secondary is normally solid for the Jayhawks, but had some lapses Saturday. Three different Texas Tech receivers caught touchdowns. Jakeem Grant and Brad Marquez each had six catches. Webb finished the game with 28 completions on 44 attempts for 288 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
The Jayhawks left Lubbock, Texas, thinking about their missed opportunities and what might have happened if a few things had gone differently.
Texas Tech running back DeAndre Washington had 23 carries for 164 yards, which was a career high. He was able to find holes and run for first downs in the fourth quarter when Kansas was trying to get the ball back.
"We gave DeAndre Washington quite a few yards," Bowen said. "I don't want to take credit away from the kid. He runs hard and plays nice, but we knew the play they were running, and we didn't stop it."
Cummings completed 20 out of 32 passes for 235 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and one interception. He also had the rushing touchdown. Overall, his quarterback rating was 138.6, the highest for a Kansas quarterback this season.
One area Kansas really struggled with was converting short third and fourth down situations. Last week, Bowen's decision to not go for it on fourth down was questioned.
On Saturday, on a 4th-and-1,
the Jayhawks went for it and
could not pick up the yard. In
all, Kansas didn't convert on
two fourth downs and only
converted four third down
chances out of 14.
Senior tight end Jimmy Mundine had another productive game, especially
catching passes in the middle of the field. He was the leading receiver in the game with seven receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Nick Harwell caught three passes for 45 yards and Justin McCay had two catches, one of which was a touchdown grab in the third quarter.
"I'm disappointed after every game we lose," Heeney said. "I mean, there's differences when you get blown out compared to when it's a close game, but a game like this and a game like last week, these ones hurt."
Edited by Ben Carroll
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