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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Jayhawks seeks to slow down explosive offense
Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart holds off his opponents during the game on Nov. 16, 2013, against West Virginia. Kansas plays West Virginia this Saturday.
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The first game under interim coach Clint Bowen will be Saturday as the Jayhawks (2-2) travel to Morgantown, W.Va. for a matchup against the Mountaineers(2-2).
In John Denver's 1971 hit song "Take Me Home, Country Roads", the singer longs to be home where he belongs in West Virginia. Kansas also belongs in West Virginia, as well, because the last big 12 conference win Kansas captured was against the Mountaineers.
"This is a team we were successful against a year ago," Bowen said. "I hope that this week [Holgorsens]' stomach has settled down a little bit, he's not so sick from last week, and he shows up in good health."
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen he was nauseous when watching last season's lost to the Jayhawks on tape, and he doesn't want Kansas to repeat history.
The Mountaineers are a week removed from their 45-33 loss to No.4 Oklahoma.
West Virginia's two losses have come to teams inside the Top 5. Besides losing to Oklahoma, the Mountaineers lost their season-opener to No.2 ranked Alabama. West Virginia played Alabama close the whole game, but came out on the losing end 33-23.
In the two Mountaineer losses, Alabama and Oklahoma rushed for over 250 yards, but limited the two high-powered offenses to under 250 yards passing. If the Jayhawks were to be successful against the Mountaineer defense, the best way would be to take advantage of the weak run-defense.
The West Virginia offense, which averages 37.5 points per game, isn't the issue for its two losses. The Mountainerer defense allowed 28 points per game, and without their 54-0 win against Towson, the defense's points allowed would be a lot higher.
The Mountaineer offense averages 401 passing yards per
game, which ranks third in the nation. West Virginia against Alabama, who's the ninth best defense in the nation allowing 14 points per game, threw for 365 yards, which is the most passing yards Alabama allowed all season.
"The quarterback is playing exceptionally well," Bowen said. "This is a very potent offense."
Mountaineer quarterback Clint Trickett has thrown nine touchdown passes this season—three more than the Jayhawks have as a collective team. Also, Trickett has thrown just three interceptions this season—Kansas
sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart threw three interceptions in the first half alone against Texas.
“[Trickett] is off to a great start,” Bowen said. “The key number is that he's completing 72 percent of his passes. And it's not the 72 percent of dropping the ball off on short passes, the guy is throwing the ball down field and completing a high percentage.”
After the Jayhawks take on Central Michigan and Texas, teams that run more than pass, Kansas will have to deal with a complete opposite offensive scheme in West Virginia. The Mountaineers operate out of
the spread, and Bowen said that Ben Heeney and the defense are ready for the spread.
"People all the time label Heeney as a throwback linebacker, but I keep saying he's not a throwback linebacker," Bowen said. "[Heeney] is a modern day spread-offense type of middle linebacker. People don't give him enough credit on how athletic and fast he is on a football field."
The jayhawks offense will look a little different this weekend since former coach Charlie Weis was fired.
As reported earlier this week, Weis won't be the only offensive mind missing from the
sideline. Offensive Coordinator John Reagan will take his talents to the booth instead of calling plays from the sideline. Reagan said this will give him better view of the field, which should help Cozart make better decisions.
"I think that right now with the nature of where we are on offense and the youth that we have regardless of what year they are, we are a youthful or inexperienced offense and I think I can help us more by being upstairs," Reagan said. "I think I can help us more by taking some of the decisions out of the quarterback's hands."
The Kansas offense needs to
pick up the progression as the Jayhawks head into Week 5 by ranking 124th in the nation, scoring 15.3 points per game. The Jayhawks will have to stay with West Virginia point-for-point in order to have any shot of competing with the Mountaineer high power offense.
Before Weis was fired, he left us with a strong message, "Stats are for losers." But the two stats the Jayhawks need to win on Saturday will be the turnover battle and the red-zone success rate. If Kansas can win both, the Jayhawks have a shot to win the game.
Edited by Jennifer Salva
Kansas volleyball loses lead, falls to Kansas State
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In front of its first sellout crowd of the season, Kansas volleyball failed to show why the team was selected to finish second in the Big 12.
MATT CORTE
Kansas' recent domination over Kansas State was abruptly halted as the Wildcats squeaked by the Jayhawks in five sets, 19-25, 25-23, 25-14, 22-25, 8-15.
It's never easy to point at one reason for a loss, but if there was one, it was Kansas State's ability to turn partial blocks into digs and kills.
"When they dug the ball they had a better chance to transition kill," coach Ray Bechard said. "And if you're looking at one thing in the match, their conversion when they dug was a little higher percentage than the conversion when we dug."
Although it's still early, the loss was crucial for Kansas' chances at a Big 12 title. It now puts the Jayhawks' conference record at a troubling 0-2, with a lot of room to improve.
Up 14-10 in the first set, Kansas' start to the match was strong, and the team looked poised to run away with the game.
That's when Kansas State unexpectedly turned on the jets.
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Freshman setter Ainise Mavili and freshman middle blocker Kelsie Payne go up for a block against Kansas State on Wednesday night.
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The second set came with a more energized Kansas squad, as the team built a late 18-13 lead. Once again though, the Jayhawks squandered chances and let Kansas State right back in the game, barely escaping the set with a 25-23 win.
Set three gave everyone's heart in attendance a brief break with the Jayhawks steamrolling Kansas State 25-14.
claiming 15 of the final 20 points, winning the first set 25-19, and stunning the crowd in the process.
However, it wasn't meant to last, as sets four and five came with the same high intensity and likewise anxiety.
The Wildcats narrowly beat the Jayhawks 25-22 in set four after holding a 18-13 lead, which set up a decisive fifth set.
"It's difficult," Bechard said. "Up 2-0 on Saturday, and 2-1 (today). That's a reflection of the ability to make enough good volleyball plays to end a match."
Falling behind 5-9, Kansas made its final attempt at a comeback as it pushed the score to 8-10, but it was to no avail.
Kansas State ended the match by scoring the final five points, causing the Jayhawks to lose in a fifth set for the second time in a week.
On defense, Kansas was paced by sophomore libero Cassie Wait and junior Tiana Dockery. The duo combined for 34 digs in the match, 18 of which came from Wait.
Offensively, Kansas was led by senior outside hitter Chelsea Albers' 18 kills, with sophomore middle Kelsey Payne adding 12 in the match.
Kansas will face Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m., with the team attempting to defeat Texas for the first time since 2003.
The Jayhawks' next match comes against the reigning Big 12 champion Texas Longhorns.
Edited by Amelia Arvesen
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