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PAGE 8B
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
O
TEXAS FROM PAGE 11B
and company this week?
Wescott: A running game that is still very limited by the fact that Texas is playing a red-shirt freshman center who is still getting used to making all those calls and making sure that he identifies everything. The offensive line as a whole is still very inexperienced, so I'd expect Texas to do mostly what they've done through the first several weeks. They've moved the pocket a lot for Swoopes so the protection concerns are not as big, which simplifies a lot of the reads for him. When they tried to drop back and pass this season they've had some troubles, especially at right tackle against UCLA.
The longhorns do want to get a bit more vertical in the passing game, but I'm not sure how much they are going to be able to do that. Swoopes has been very accurate, surprisingly. He has struggled with inaccuracy throughout his career at High School and early on at Texas. He is only averaging 5.7 yards per pass, which is an extremely low number. Very much operating on short passes. They haven't been able to produce big plays, particularly with the running game, but also with the passing game. Kansas should be able to drop back in coverage and keep everything in front of them
DAN: Malcolm Brown, Jordan Hicks, Quandre Diggs. There may be a chance all three of those names will make a ProBowl roster. Charlie Weis said at his press-conference on Tuesday that Brown is one of the best players he has ever seen. Texas likes to get after the quarterback, with almost four and half sacks per game, good for second in the conference, which will present problems for a young Montell Cozart. Is this defense one of the tops in the Big 12?
WESCOTT: I think the Texas defense has the potential to be one of the best defenses in the Big 12. They've played two games that have been
pretty good for the most part. The BYU game was a pretty significant disaster and they still had some major breakdowns to swing the game against UCLA — missed tackles on a long 58-yard run after half-time, getting beat on a double move after giving up a long punt return. They had a really high-probability of winning that game against UCLA.
The defensive line has played pretty well as you mentioned. Malcolm Brown is kind of in a contract-year as a junior, he's likely going to leave, he he's married and has a family now, he's been really impressive. The linebackers have been a little bit better than the last several years, but still suffer from some hesitation and missteps, even with Jordan Hicks, and the secondary has had a few recurrences of tackling issues.
WESCOTT: For a Texas team that has had problems showing up already this season, even with the new coaching staff, I think that makes it a little hard to predict. I expect a low scoring game. I don't think Texas can produce enough big plays to really be able to blow Kansas out of the water. I think it will be fairly close. I'll go with 24-13 Texas. I think the Longhorns' offense will be able to make a few more plays against a Kansas defense that definitely gave up some big ones against Duke, but I think the Texas defense plays a pretty solid game this weekend.
Edited by Amelia Arvesen
DAN: Lastly, how do you see this matchup unfolding on Saturday?
By the end of the year, this Texas unit could come together and be one of the best units in the conference, but right now they are still working out their growing pains. They've dialed up a lot of blitzes from a lot of different angles — didn't allow as many fire zones as Manny Diaz did before, but they are trying to get after the quarterback this week.
FIVE THOUGHTS ON SATURDAY'S GAME AGAINST TEXAS
1. KANSAS PLAYS TEXAS FOR THE 14TH TIME SINCE 1901, AND IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD FOR KANSAS
Kansas State twice in 1998 and 2007.
Kansas has only won two of the 13 contests, winning them in 1901 and 1938 in Lawrence. The Longhorns have outscored the Jayhawks by an average of 42.8-14.4 points per game in the 11 matchups of Big 12 play. In Big 12 Conference opening games, Texas is 15-3 with its only losses coming from Oklahoma State in 1997 and
2. KANSAS IS 2-1 AND TEXAS IS
1-2
You read that right. Kansas is only one win away from last year's win total. The Jayhawks are doing better than the Longhorns as Texas just suffered back-to-back losses. The Longhorns average 3.5 vards per carry, and the Jayhawks average 4.6. If Kansas controls the ball on the ground and keeps its defense off the field, it might surprise the Longhorns at the final whistle.
3. TEXAS COACH CHARLIE
STRONG IS IN HIS FIRST YEAR
AND IT'S BEEN ROUGH
Strong has dealt with more
than just losses with his new
team. On Tuesday, Strong dismissed junior offensive tackle Kennedy Estelle, who started last season, for an undisclosed rules violation. Estelle is the ninth player kicked off the team so far this season. Strong chuckled when reporters asked him if he is too hard on his team. "I give them a lot of chances to get it right," Strong told reporters. Kansas will gladly welcome the Texas backups.
4. TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE IS VULNERABLE
The Texas starting offensive line from last season is gone. Three of the five graduated, one was dismissed and another suffered a season-ending injury. The most experienced offensive lineman is left guard Sedrick
Flowers, who will start in only his fifth career game. Getting to the quarterback quick and taking control of the line of scrimmage early is key for Kansas.
5. THE SCHEDULE FAVORS KANSAS
texas is known as a powerhouse in football, KU coach Charlie Weis told the media on Tuesday, "I would rather have played them three weeks ago." He added, "It would have been nice to play them for the spring game and be done with them." The Jayhawks have a chance against Texas because it's still early in the season and Texas isn't settled into its routine yet.
Red Sox top sloppy Rays 11-3
Edited by Kelsey Phillips
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tampa Bay Rays' Brandon Gomes, right, reacts as Boston Red Sox's Christian Vazquez, left, scores on a two-run double by Xander Bogaerts during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Boston, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014.
BOSTON — Anthony Ranaudio pitched seven strong innings, and Garin Cecchini hit his first major league home run to help the fifth-place Boston Red Sox beat the fourth-place Tampa Bay Rays 11-3 on Wednesday night.
The Red Sox twice batted around, scoring five runs in the fourth inning and four more in the sixth, when they drew five walks — three with the bases loaded.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ranaudo (4-3) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, striking out two to snap a three-game losing streak. The victory was the 69th of the season for the defending AL East and World Series champions, who need one more win to beat their total from 2012 — their only season under Bobby Valentine.
Jake Odorizzi (11-13) allowed five runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out three in three-plus innings. In all, six Rays pitchers allowed 10 hits and nine walks.
It was 2-all in the bottom of the fourth with two on and nobody out when Mookie Betts singled to load the bases and chase Odorizzi. Xander Bogaerts singled to drive in two runs and Daniel Nava doubled to bring home two more. Brandon Gomes got the next two batters before walking Cecchini on a wild pitch that moved Nava to third.
Another wild pitch allowed Nava to score, and then Rusney Castillo walked before
Gomes got Bryce Brentz on a grounder to end the inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
RAYS: SS Yunel Escobar, who sprained his left knee, was sent back to Florida for an MRI. He will be out the remainder of the season. ... Ryan Hanigan was in the original lineup at catcher, but he was a little sore after hitting something off his toe in Tuesday night's game. ... During the fourth
inning, C Curt Casali took a foul ball of his mask and left the game and was replaced by Jose Molina.
REO SOX: DH David Ortiz
rested a sore left wrist. ... 3B
Will Middlebrooks missed
his second straight game after
sprraining his right hand
during batting practice on
Tuesday. ... 1B Mike Napoli
missed his sixth game in a
row with lingering problems
in his finger, back and toe.
UP NEXT
the teams wrap up the three-game series on Thursday when Allen Websberg (4-3) takes the mound against Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-4). Then the Red Sox say goodbye to their World Series championship defense — and to Derek Jeter as well — with a season-ending three-game series against the New York Yankees.
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CHECKING IN ON THE ROYAL
Playoff odds: 87.1% (espn.com)
Last time out: Defeated Cleveland
India ns 2-0 on Monday
Next opponent: at Cleveland Indians on Tuesday
Record: 85-71
Division standing: 2nd place -1 game behind Detroit Tigers
rending up: Danny Duffy, starting pitcher - Pitched six scoreless innings after missing two starts due to a sore shoulder. He has the best ERA among Royals starting pitchers (2.32)
wino card standing: Own second spot - 2 games ahead of Seattle Mariners (not including Oakland Athletics-Los Angeles Angels game)
Trending down: Alex Gordon, out-
fielder - Has only three hits in his
last seven games
Looking ahead: Winning the division is still very much possible for the Royals. First-place Detroit faces the two worst teams in the division to close out the season, but the Tigers are a combined 15-16 against those teams.
Brian Hillix
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