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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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STOPPING THE RUN
Jayhawk defense to face unorthodox offense on Saturday
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Michael Reynolds, senior linebacker, goes for a tackle on Sept. 6 against Southeast Missouri State.The Jayhawks will take on Central Michigan this Saturday.
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@HardyNFL
When Kansas takes on Central Michigan and its old-school offense Saturday, it will face a type of offense it may not see again the rest of the year.
Last week, the versatile Duke offense put more on Kansas' plate that it could ingest in the 41-3 loss for the Jayhawks. Duke's zone-read run game left defenders in the front seven frozen on multiple occasions, which led to breakaways, and the passing attack, engineered by dual-threat quarterback Anthony Boone, oftentimes put the Jayhawk secondary on its heels.
This week, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen has a whole new beast to tackle the old-school attack of Central Michigan offensive coordinator Morris Watts. Though 80-year-old Watts has tweaked his game to adjust to modern play style a bit, his offense still revolves heavily around a "22" personnel two players in the backfield alongside two tight ends.
"It's probably one of the few times you'll get to see a game this year with old-school football on offense," Kansas coach Charlie Weis said. "Multiple tight running backs, multiple tight ends try to pound you, pound you, pound you."
Duke put some emphasis on the run in its win against Kansas, with an 18-to-16 run-to-pass ratio, but Central Michigan will bring a whole different type of run game. Whereas Duke brought a zone-read game that focused on finesse and speed, Central Michigan sports a power attack that can drain a defense.
In its most basic form, a zone-read run style features a zone-blocking scheme where the quarterback will decide to run or pass based on how the defensive player reacts once the ball is snapped.
The power running game Central Michigan will bring to Memorial Stadium on Saturday creates specific run lanes of lead blockers designed to get beyond the front line of a defense. It's a more grind-it-out version of running the football in comparison to the zone-read, and it's more fit for pro-style quarterbacks, such as CMU's Cooper Rush.
"It's a different mentality," Bowen said. "You're faced with two different types of runs ... you've got to get your guys and make sure that you're really gap sound."
Kansas won't see this type of offen, even with diverse offenses in the Big 12. However, Bowen believes the layhawks are ready for any type of offense. Playing in the
Big 12 forces them to prepare for it.
"We can play pretty versatile with what we do within our package." Bowen said. "In our conference, every year, it forces you to do that. ... Our conference is one where you have be prepared each
"It's probably one of the few times you'll get to see a game this year with old-school football on offense."
CHARLIE WEIS Kansas coach
After Kansas' beating at the hands of Duke last week, Weis was straightforward about putting that game behind him.
and every week for a little bit different offense. We've faced it before, and we'll get them ready."
"I clearly got across to them that you have to put that game in the rearview mirror," Weis said. "You've got to be focusing on Central Michigan, because if you don't, you'll get whooped again."
Edited by Alyssa Scott
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Kansas senior linebacker Victor Simmons brings down a Southeast Missouri State player during the SEMO-KU matchup on Sept. 6.
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