THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
PAGE 9
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Kansas secondary has up-and-down performance
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
Strength versus strength. The talk leading up to Saturday's showdown between Kansas and Duke was on the premier matchup between each team's biggest strength. Duke's NFL-caliber receivers arguably faced one of the best secondary units in Kansas history.
The Jayhawks recorded three interceptions last week in their 34-28 victory in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State. Senior Dexter McDonald earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors with a two-interception evening.
He and the rest of the secondary had its hands full against the Blue Devils, though.
Coming into Saturday's contest, the highly touted No. 1 receiver, senior Jamison Crowder, caught 14 balls for 163 yards and two scores in two games. Weis compared him with Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith because of his quickness.
But teams couldn't focus too much on Crowder without being burnt by senior Issac Blakeney. The 6-foot-6
prototypical NFL receiver had nine receptions for 135 yards with three scores coming into Saturday's game.
"I wouldn't put out anything in particular; we just need to bring our A-game like every other game," senior safety Cassius Sendish said before the game. "If we do that like we know we can, we will come out victorious."
"That was embarrassing... there's going to be plenty of blame to share."
CHARLIE WEIS Kansas football coach
Despite losing to the Blue Devils 41-3, the Jayhawks held up to Sendish's comments by silencing the Duke dynamic duo. The KU secondary proved the doubters wrong, holding Crowder and Blakeney to just six receptions for 52 yards and no touchdowns.
It was Duke's third option, junior Max McCaffrey, who found holes in the Kansas secondary. McCaffrey had just nine catches for 99 yards and no touchdowns before Saturday's contest. McCaffrey
scored twice on seven receptions for 79 yards against the Jayhawks.
The ground game contributed to a majority of the offense's 511 yards and 41 points. The Blue Devils rushed for 331 yards to help out an air attack that struggled to do much against the KU secondary.
Freshman running back Shaun Wilson, who was not listed on the depth chart before the game, gashed the Jayhawks. Wilson ran for a school-record 245 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns
Like the receiver unit, an unexpected player torched the defense in the running game.
Sept. 12, 2009, remains the last road victory for Kansas after an unlikely 41-3 drubbing by the Blue Devils. Despite the loss, the secondary showed promise, proving they may be as good as advertised. But if the front seven can't contain a freshman who was unlisted on the initial depth chart, it may be another year before the Jayhawks can snap this streak of road losses.
"That was embarrassing," Weis said. "Other than the punter, there's going to be plenty of blame to share."
Edited by Drew Parks
KHLOE KIM/THE DUKE CHRONICLE
Kansas linebacker Ben Heeney and another Kansas defender bring down a Duke ball carrier. Heeney tied his career record of 15 tackles Saturday.
1221 DUCK/THE DUKE CHRONICLE Kansas running back Corey Avery finds a hole in the Duke defense. Avery racked up 16 carries for 87 yards, averaging 5.4 yards at the matchup in Durham, N.C., on Saturday. Kansas lost 41-3.
IZZI CLARY/THE DUKE CHRONICLE
Broncos fend off Chiefs 24-17 with goal-line stand
ASSOCIATED PRESS
It took the Denver Broncos three tries to put away the Kansas City Chiefs.
Terrance Knighton batted away Alex Smith's fourth-and-goal pass to Dwayne Bowe with 15 seconds left, preserving the Broncos' 24-17 win over the scrappy Chiefs on Sunday.
The Broncos (2-0) thought they had sealed the win twice earlier on the drive.
Aqib Talib's pick-6 was negated by Quanterus Smith's hold. Then, Nate Irving's fumble recovery following DeMarcus Ware's sack and strip was ruled an incomplete pass after a review.
The Chiefs (0-2), without All-Pro running back Jamaal Charles for much of the game, converted 11 of 16 third-down
opportunities overall. They just couldn't capitalize in the biggest moments as the Broncos mustered two goalline stands for the second straight week.
Peyton Manning was 21 of 26 for 242 yards and three TDs, but the Broncos had the ball for less than 10 minutes in the second half.
Charles left with an ankle injury in the first half, as did safety Eric Berry. These ailments came one week after three Chiefs suffered season-ending injuries.
Smith was 26 of 42 for 255 yards, and Knile Davis ran 22 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns for Kansas City.
Without Wes Welker for the second straight game and facing a defense that lost Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Johnson and tackle Mike DeVito to torn
Achilles tendons last week, Manning targeted his tight ends again.
He found Julius Thomas and Jacob Tamme for 4-yard TDs in the first half. Thomas became the first tight end in franchise history to catch four TD passes in the first two games.
Manning also threw a 12-yarder to Demaryius Thomas, who pinned the football on his left shoulder blade with cornerback Chris Owens draping him.
The Broncos head to Seattle next week with a 2-0 record, if not exactly a head of steam, to face the Seahawks, who handed them a Super Bowl shellacking and then talked trash about them in the offseason.
Emmanuel Sanders led the Broncos with eight catches for 108 yards, the first 100- yard game of his career.
Denver GM John Elway retooled his ground game and embarked on a defensive makeover after that 43-8 Super Bowl loss. Yet, the Broncos have been unable to salt away big leads or get off the field consistently.
Smith led the Chiefs on a 19-play drive that ate up 10 minutes coming out of halftime. They came up empty after getting to the Denver 4 on the strength of five third-down conversions.
They have come up big when backed up near their goal line, though.
An offensive holding call and linebacker Brandon Marshall's sack dropped them back to the 19. Cairo Santos was wide right on a 37-yard field goal attempt.
Santos, who beat out incumbent veteran Ryan Succop with a strong leg in
training camp, also failed to kick a touchback later in the game, and Bubba Caldwell returned it 54 yards, setting up a score.
Davis trotted in from 4 yards, pulling Kansas City to 21-17 with 7:11 left. He also had a 2-yard TD run in the first half.
Caldwell's big kickoff return set up Brandon McManus' 20-yard field goal that put Denver ahead by seven with 3:27 remaining.
The Chiefs got it right the next time, however, converting all three third downs on a 14-play drive that covered 90 yards and chewed up nearly eight minutes. The key was Anthony Fasano's bobbling 22-yard grab to the Broncos 25.
Charles left after running just twice for 4 yards and catching one pass for 8
yards. Kansas City was trying to get him more involved after giving him just seven carries against Tennessee in the opener. Charles rushed for 1,287 yards a season ago, which was third most in the NFL.
Demaryius Thomas had an 80-yard TD catch negated when right tackle Chris Clark was whistled for being downfield.
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