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KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
CHRISTIAN HARDY @ByHardy
Gradecard: Kansas vs. Oklahoma State
Tre Parmalee
Little has been said of Parmalee as a leader on offense, yet he's been the Jayhawks' rock on the offensive end all year long. The 5-foot-10 senior recorded his first career 100-yard game as he went for six catches and 115 yards against Oklahoma State. Parmalee's consistency has been extremely important for the Jayhawks, especially his hands. There's no stat to prove how rough Kansas' young receiving corps have been in pass-catching this year, but the team has dropped at least four passes a game, and that's probably a low estimate. Parmalee, meanwhile, has caught five passes in each of the last four games he's played and was the only player to catch more than two passes against Oklahoma State. That's something that Kansas has at no other position, especially on offense. He accounted for over half of the Jayhawks yards this week, and will continue to be a huge piece of the passing game going forward.
Ryan Willis
Willis was thrown behind an offensive line that struggled to handle Oklahoma State all day, but that's beside the point. Willis, a freshman, made far more mental errors in this game than any game before. Willis completed only 12-of-31 passes and tossed two interceptions — not nearly the performance he had in his first start against Texas Tech. He often led receivers too far on their routes, and again often failed to progress through reads if the receiver wasn't open. When he had the opportunity to step up into a clean pocket, he was either hesitant or just didn't make the move at all. "He had a rough day," said head coach David Beaty. "He overthrew a bunch of guys. His poise wasn't where it has been. He got hit early, which causes some of that."
The one thing that will probably stand out from special teams is the bad snap that junior Matthew Wyman couldn't punt away and on which Oklahoma State scored a touchdown. But every other aspect of this special teams squad had a good game on Saturday. The onside kick to start the second half was nearly recovered by Kansas and almost carried on the momentum they had at the end of the first half. Sophomore Nick Bartolotta's 40-yard field goal conversion in the first half to get Kansas on the board was the first made field goal in five tries for the Jayhawks. And outside of the botched punt, Wyman was very solid in his second game as a punter. He punted eight times for a 43.1 average, and twice pinned Oklahoma State inside the 20-yard line — better than any game former starting punter Eric Kahn had in the first five games at punter.
Special teams
Offensive Line
I'm starting to feel like a broken record when I grade this offensive line. Willis was sacked twice - a low number -- but was hurried constantly and rarely sat in a clean pocket. Willis's rushing totals, five rushes for -20 yards, is a good indication of the type of pressure he felt, although they didn't go down in the books as sacks. Only one of his four "rushes" went for positive yardage. That said, the Oklahoma State defensive line is one of the best in the country, and came into the game as a top-five team in sacks per game. "There's no two ways about it: That's probably as good of a pass-rush that I've seen in a long time, from a lot of people," Beaty said. "The last group I played against that was that big was Alabama ... A lot of things we did, we played into their hands at times."
Defensive backs
It's so painful to watch these young guys struggle. Of course, they're putting the work in and they're watching the film. But when it comes to the field on Saturday, they just are not performing up to par. It may be because they're young. It may be because of the inexperience. It may be because of the supreme talent at wide out in the Big 12. But whatever it is, the defense backs are getting beat if the front seven aren't bringing constant pressure. Transfer junior Marnez Ogletree slotted into a big role this week and was beat twice for touchdowns; the third passing touchdown came as sophomore Derrick Neal got beat over the top in the second half. As a whole, Oklahoma State passed for 381 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-36 passing on the game. On deep routes, when the corners go into chase, they struggle to get their hands up and locate the ball, which either results in the receiver making an easy catch or the defensive back drawing a defensive pass interference call. It's a lose-lose for these young corners right now, and it's going to have to be that way until they get more experience in Big 12 play.
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olleyball's undefeated run ends with loss to No. 2 Texas
JOSH MCQUADE
@LOneWOlfMcQuade
The Jayhawks hit the road for Austin, Tex. at 19-0 their best record in program history. Their opponent, the Texas Longhorns, were ranked No.2 in the nation, but the Jayhawks were a top 10 team in their own right, looking for their 20th-straight win this year.
The clock finally struck midnight.
The Jayhawks perfect season came to an end at the Gregory Gymnasium, as the Longhorns proved to be too much for the Jayhawks to handle, sweeping the match (25-16, 25-19, 25-14).
[the Longhorns] forced us into things we didn't want to do. That's what good teams do, but then you have to have a response to that."
"Tonight can be a learning experience if we allow it to be," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said after the match to KU Athletics. "Obviously
Kansas showed some jitters in the first set, which they never led at any point. The team posted five service errors, while allowing Texas to record a hitting percentage of .517. However, things would tighten up.
After dropping the 1st set, No.7 #kuvball has responded well vs. No.2 Texas.KU won the first 5 pts of the set and currently leads 15-12.
Scott Chasen (@SChasen-KU) October 24, 2015
The second set showed a change of pace as the Jayhawks regained their footing. Kansas scored the first five points of the set, forcing Texas to use its two timeouts before
either team had reached 20 points. However, after Kansas took a 17-12 lead, the tide would turn.
The Longhorns went on an 8-1 run, taking control of the match at 20-18. They'd eventually finish off the set at 25-19.
“[We] were managing the second set fine, and then they got on a run,” Bechard said. “We needed to get into the locker room at one (set) apiece. [Instead.] they went on a late run in the second set, and that carried over into the third.”
After two sets, Kansas needed a miracle if they we're going to complete the comeback. Kansas had not dropped two sets in any game this year, and had only dropped the first set of the match a single time, in an early game against Arkansas. However, the momentum was too much for the Jayhawks to stop.
After 2 sets: No. 7 #kuvball trails No. 2 UT 2-0. Texas takes the 2nd set 25-19. #kuvball had not lost 2 sets in a match prior to this one.
Kansan Sports (@KansanSports) October 24, 2015
The team lost the third set 25-14. Kansas posted just eight kills in the set, with a surprisingly low hitting percentage of just .027. The team committed seven errors, an unprecedented mark for the team over their first 19 games.
Simply put, Kansas did not look like itself.
The Jayhawks, who came into the contest averaging around 50 kills per match, only posted 33 kills, compared to 48 for the Longhorns. Along with the low kill total, the Jayhawks also recorded 17 attacking errors. As a team, the Jayhawks struggled, although there were
some varying individual per formances.
Sophomore Kelsie Payne, who is originally from Texas, recorded 10 kills to only one error. Additionally, sophomore setter Ainise Havilli was just a dig away from recording a double-double, as she posted 28 assists and 9 digs; Havili also posted two kills.
However, there weren't enough of those positive individual performances for the Jayhawks to win. And even when the individuals thrived, it wasn't for long enough stretches to prove decisive.
"We have to play good against good teams for two hours. You can't play good for half a set or three-fourths of a set [and expect to win]." Bechard said. "We've had matches this year where that worked. Obviously tonight that wasn't the answer."
TO THE NEW MEMBERS OF GAMMA PHI BETA
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