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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE DAILY DEBATE
Who will win the Kansas-Central Michigan game on Saturday?
KANSAS
The Kansas football team enters this Saturday full of
In Durham, the offense was dreadful, with the exception of a few enthralling plays by junior and freshman running backs De'Andre Mann and Corey Avery, finishing with 65 and 87 rushing yards respectively.
unanswered questions, and plenty of room for improvement. The Jayhawks come off a deflating 41-3 loss at Duke this past weekend.
Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart threw for 89 yards and two interceptions, completing 11 of his 27 passes. His main target, senior wideout Nick Harwell, was essentially non-existent totaling nine yards on two receptions.
The defense was not much better, allowing 511 total yards to the Blue Devils, 331 of those coming on the ground. Senior linebacker
Ben Heeney was the lone bright spot in the game, tying a career high with 15 tackles.
The Jayhawks face a 2-1 Central Michigan team this Saturday, who suffered a similar experience to Kansas in a 40-3 drubbing at the hands of Syracuse.
This matchup will be an interesting affair, especially in the first two quarters, to see how each team fairs after an embarrassing week prior. Each team will look to set the tone, but it will have to play an entire four quarters of football.
The game will come down to talent and coaching, where the Jayhawks should be favored. Kansas has the better athletes, and by track records and salary standards, a better coach.
But that goes out the window, seeing as how Charlie Weis does not have a signature win, or even an away win to his name as the Kansas head coach. Whereas two weeks ago, Central Michigan traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana and pounded a middle of the road Big Ten team in Purdue, 38-17.
Wais said it best in his mid-week press conference on Tuesday, calling the game
"critical" to the Jayhawks season, and virtually a must-win.
Kansas should win this game, and I expect them to. But the Chippewas will come out fighting, and Kansas needs to not overlook them. Because quite frankly, Kansas shouldn't be overlooking anyone at the moment.
Regardless of what the statistics says, this will be a close game. And a feeling arises similar to last year when the Jayhawks pulled off a miraculous comeback against Louisiana Tech, winning 13-10 on a last second field goal.
This game will be won or lost in the trenches, and needless to say,either team will have to score more than three points to come away with the W.
Edited by Lyndsey Havens
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
A after being slaughtered 41-3 against Duke last weekend, the
Jayhawks' hopes of beating Central Michigan this weekend are looking grim.
Central Michigan (2-1) is ranked first in the Mid-American Conference. Before losing last week to Syracuse, they were on a five-game winning streak, including two games on the road. Meanwhile the Jayhawks sit at a 1-1 record, barely squeaking by Southeast
Missouri and getting hammered by Duke.
The Chippewas have numbers in their favor as they arrive in Lawrence. They are first in the Mid-American Conference against the pass (177 yards per game), second in defense (291 yards), and fourth against the rush (114 yards) and in scoring defense (16.5 points). Their seven forced turnovers in the first three games not only leads their conference, but is the most in the country.
As for the Jayhawks, they are going to need to make some fairly dramatic changes both offensively and defensively if they have any hope for this season. The Jayhawk offense put up 24 points in the first quarter of the season, but has only earned 13 in the following seven.
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impact.
Cozart looked shaky in the pocket and struggled with his passing game, completing only 45.1 percent of his passes with two interceptions and one touchdown. Coach Charlie Weis, who is known for his offensive strategies, has not shown much hope for this year's offensive line.
Kansas has relied on the two-man run game with junior running back DeAndre Mann and freshman running back Corey Avery, but as we saw last weekend, this strategy is flawed against a rush defense. Senior wide receivers Tony Pierson and Nick Harwell give sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart options for receivers, but so far, they are the only players to make a significant
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Central Michigan has a strong starting lineup, with nine offensive starters returning and seven defensive starters returning at the start of the 2014-15 season.
The Chippewas' defense has shown a strong defense thus far. Sophomore defensive back Tony Annese is a valuable contributor, earning two of the team's six interceptions this season. Additionally, sophomore defensive end Joe Ostman leads the team in sacks and tackles for loss. A strong defensive line like this is likely to shut Cozart and his receivers down.
Momentum is a huge factor in this game. If Kansas doesn't get the momentum from the start, then it's bound to be a long afternoon at Memorial Stadium.
Edited by Logan Schlossberg
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