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Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes II passes against Baylor in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.
Kansas football mailbag: Positives from Baylor and expectations for game against Texas Tech
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
Hey @jacksonshane3.
Early #kufball mailbag submission. Were there any positives to take away from this game?
AskShane @KansanSports
- Derek Skillett (@derek_skillett) October 10,
2015
Without trying to sound too sarcastic, Baylor was held to a season-low of 644 yards against Kansas. No one believed Kansas could contain the nation's best offense, but there were some positives on that side of the ball.
The reserves played a majority of the second half, and Kansas held Baylor to just 14 points after giving up 52
points on 52 plays in the first half. It was against the second team, but the defense showed flashes of improvement in the second half.
We knew this year was going to be a growing process, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Even without junior corner Brandon Stewart, Kansas played fairly well in the secondary in the second half.
Senior safety Michael Glatczak was a bright spot leading the way with double-digit tackles. Texas Tech expects to take advantage of this youthful defense, but after this weekend fans might see an improved defense. However, the biggest bright spot was freshman quarterback Ryan Willis.
@jacksonshane3 thought Willis looked
okay for what this game was. Made some good passes, only one pick. Thoughts?
- Brett Steinbrink (@ ThatHawkwardGuy) October 10,2015
First career start and the freshman looked pretty good. He completed 20-of-36 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was the lone score of the game for Kansas and it came on a beautiful 36-yard seam route connection to freshman receiver Steven Sims Jr. It was the first touchdown thrown by a freshman since Todd Reesing.
Willis had a pair of turnovers and an interception and a fumble. But the thing that impressed me most about him was after the turnovers,
he didn't look fazed at all. After the game, the players and David Beaty noted that his demeanor is much more mature than the average freshman, and nothing seems to rattle him.
That will be important going forward, especially if Willis is the guy for the rest of the season. But the biggest takeaway for me was Willis' cannon arm. The coaching staff had raved about his strong arm, but Saturday was the first chance in game action to see it first hand. It was nice seeing a quarterback take shots down the field.
@jacksonshane3 What's one major change that could increase KU's chances against Tech this weekend?
Although he still has to work on making reads and taking care of the ball, there was plenty to be optimistic about. Willis and fans should be confident in the quarterback they have going forward.
- Web Patron Joe Bush (@joebush_joebush)
October 14, 2015
I think the defense is going to struggle and Willis will look his age at times this Saturday, so the running game needs to be a factor this week. Kansas hasn't had a ball carrier amass 100 yards on the ground since Kinner did it consecutive weeks to start the season.
Against Baylor, Kinner was a non-factor due to injuries and only carried the ball twice. Sixth-year senior Taylor Cox helped out this week, with 19 carries for 45 yards in his first game after being sidelined for 765 days.
This backfield is the deepest and strongest position on the team, but unfortunately for Kansas it's becoming thinner and weaker due to injuries. If Kansas can get completely healthy, this would be the best weekend to get the running game going by keeping pressure off its young quarterback.
Another benefit is keeping the ball of the hands of Texas Tech and that high-octane offense. Texas Tech boasts the second-best offense in the country, next to Baylor.
Of the Red Raiders 44 scoring drives,19 of them took less than two minutes, and 10 were less than a minute. Getting the running game going will help slow down the game and potentially keep it closer than expected.
PREVIEW FROM PAGE 16
— Edited by Rebecca Dowd
noticed from him early, since recruiting, was that he was very passionate about becoming great, and not just giving it lip service. After a while, you can kind of tell between the guys. 'Coach, I'm going to come in there and start.' Okay. Then you've got the guys that, when they say it you go, 'Okay, I believe it.' He's one of those guys."
For a moment, though, there
was a glimpse at the future of Kansas football. As Willis tossed two flawless passes to his freshman teammates, you could peer through the eyes of Beaty and see what he has seen in rebuilding the Kansas football program. What he saw in those two plays in the first quarter — they made him excited for the future, but not so much that he lost sight of the present.
"We have to deal in reality," Beaty said. "The reality is that we have a lot of young guys
playing. We also have a lot of seniors here that deserve better than what we're giving them right now. Those guys have years left, and the quicker we can get them developed, the better it's going to be for us down the road.
"Yeah, I'm excited about the future because I know we got the right guys here right now." Of course, playing freshmen can be a negative. It gives fans
— and probably coaches, too
— headaches. It's asking for disaster and can be hard to watch
at times. But this is the state of Kansas football: developing young players through Division I playing time in hopes that they can be leaps and bounds ahead of the current upperclassmen Kansas has on the roster.
Soon after Willis connected with Sims, Baylor would pile on; it was 24-7 at the end of the first quarter and 66-7 in the end. On the scoreboard, it's not expected to be much better this week against Texas Tech — a consensus 31-point
favorite to beat Kansas — or through the rest of Big 12 play, where it becomes more likely with each loss that Kansas will go winless.
In the end, Beaty can get glimpses of the success of his young players, but full games in which the Jayhawks are successful are still years away from fruition. If all goes well, it will be that same group of freshmen to whom Beaty is giving experience.
"You look at it through what- ever perspective you want
to look at it," Likens said. "I choose to look at like this: In two and three years, those guys are going to be really good players. As you're looking at the scoreboard, it's not a lot of fun sometimes.
"But when you see those guys out there playing, you see them competing and getting the experience in right now, it's definitely going to pay off."
- Edited by Amber Vandegrift
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