+
8
SPORTS
KANSAN.COM
Gradecard: Kansas vs. Iowa State
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
+
Quarterbacks
Montell Cozart got the start after missing the beginning of last week with flu-like symptoms, and he wasn't terrible, especially behind the offensive line that gave him few chances to get comfortable in the pocket. He completed 15-of-21 passes for 150 yards and a 47-yard touchdown to wide receiver Tre' Parmalee. We got a chance to see him let loose three deep balls, but none were complete, as one was overthrown by a step and two were well defended.
This was the first chance for Beaty and company to get a long look at freshman Ryan Willis as well, with regular backup Deondre Ford out with strained ligaments in his thumb. Willis looked accurate when his first option was open, but forced it even when his first read wasn't open. That's almost exactly what was expected of Willis; coaches have repeatedly told us that he has a fantastic arm but wasn't great with his progressions and understanding of the offense. Willis completed passes of 38, 29, and 14 yards. He rushed for a 13-yard gain, though it was offset by penalty.
Either way, it was encouraging that Kansas took shots down field and tried to take the top off the defense. Cozart really looked antsy in the pocket in this game - confused about when to scramble and when to step up. When he did step up, he hesitated.
As mentioned, the offensive line didn't give the quarterbacks or running backs much room to work. Cozart was constantly under duress and rarely had time to go through progressions. Oftentimes, he was forced to leave the pocket and throw on the run, where he tends to force wokny passes that rarely end up in receivers' hands. To make it worse, guys are constantly switching in and out and there's no solid starting five on the line. At one point, freshman Clyde McCauley came into the game and was nearly pancaked by an Iowa State defensive tackle. In the first quarter, guard Bryan Peters was given a false start on a 4th and 1, where it looked like Kansas was set to convert; Beaty ended up deciding to kick the field goal and the team missed it. Both were indications of the team's youth, inexperience and prowess on the line.
Offensive line
Running backs
Again, many will chalk this up to the offense line being terrible, and it has been. But coach David Beaty was quick to attribute the run game struggles in part to the guys who are actually heading that run game. Kansas has rushed for an average of 51 yards per game on 1.6 yards per carry over its last two games and rushed for only 38 yards in this game. Whether the offensive line is atrocious or not, that's not going to cut it. If you can't run the ball, you can't open up the pass and the offense falls flat on its face.
Junior Ke'aun Kinner rushed for 4.2 yards per carry on 11 carries and probably needs to be a bigger part of the running game if Kansas wants to have any chance of getting something going here. In week 1, when Kinner rushed the ball 27 times against South Dakota State, there were no problems in getting the offense going. Maybe offensive coordinator Rob Likens should go back to that as a way to get the offense which scored only seven points this week going.
Front seven
What makes Kansas' running more of a struggle is that the Jayhawks are getting pounded by the run on the other end of the ball. Iowa State running back Mike Warren broke the school's freshman rushing record with 175 rushing yards. He averaged 9.7 yards per carry on 18 carries. The defense, whether it be the defensive line or the linebackers, is constantly failing on gap assignment and opening up holes in the defense. Gap assignment is not where it needs to be, and the run defense has to get better. The run game is bad, but the pass rush isn't there either unless Kansas brings six or more guys, which is where the Jayhawks got both of their sacks this week.
Kansas is giving up the seventh most rush yards per game (251.1) and eighth most points per game (40.3) in the nation. Kansas' next game is against Baylor — third in rushing yards (376.8) and tops in points (63.8) per game. In Las Vegas, Baylor opened up as a 38-point favorite in this weekend's game at Memorial Stadium; the line has been bumped to 41 points in favor of Baylor in the same day the original line went live. The Baylor game is followed by
Notes
Senior wide receiver Tre' Parmalee's receiving touchdown on Saturday was the first receiving touchdown of his career.
Texas Tech, third in the nation in points per game (50).
Cozart strained his left shoulder — his non-throwing arm — and never returned to the game. Beaty has no update after the game and KU Athletics provided no update on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore Chevy Graham started at nickel back over sophomore Tevin Shaw. Sophomore linebacker Michael Zunica was seen occasionally as a fullback in a few off-the-wall sets for Kansas.
Junior linebacker Marcquis Roberts' interception return for a touchdown was the first interception of his Kansas career and the first interception returned for a touchdown since former Jayhawk JaCorey Shepherd in 2013.
Solid offense will be key for softball
BRIAN MINI
@daftpunkpop
Kansas softball had one of its best seasons in recent history last year, going 40-15. Behind a high-powered offense, the Jayhawks look to head back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year as they began fall ball this past week.
Team outlook
Through five games, the Jayhawks have outscored their opponents 36-5. If you don't count their last game against Butler, that becomes 29-1.
Despite losing key starting pitcher Alicia Pille to graduation, Kansas opponents are only averaging one run per game against the likes of pitchers junior Sophia Templin, sophomore Andie Formbly and freshman Alexis Reid. Although pitching has been great, the offense has been the main strength of the team.
Last year, infielder Daniella Chavez, now a sophomore, set the Kansas record for RBIs in a season and had the most home runs by a freshman with 16. This preseason, she has 6 RBIs and a grand slam.
Top performer
Junior utility player Taylor Dodson was everywhere during the start of fall ball. Defensively, she's a solid infielder, and her ability to play multiple positions will give her time in the lineup during the regular season. She finished the first five games with six RBIs and two home runs.
"She has outworked everyone,been the most focused player and the most intense player," head coach Megan Smith said of Dodson in a news release.
Dodson hasn't had the chance to shine over the last two years, but this might be her year.
Best newcomer Reid's performances through
the first five games earned her best newcomer. In her two starts she's 2-0. She also has 13 strikeouts in four appearances.
What is surprising, however, is how well she's played in the infield during preseason. What stood out, besides her constant hustle to prevent extra base hits, was a key play in the game against Butler where Roane made a leaping grab on a line drive and threw out the runner at first for the double play that ended Butler's threat.
These strikeouts and wins may be against inferior competition, but Reid is a freshman who has stood out in a lineup with great pitchers like Templin. Her role will most likely be limited in her first year, but the speed at which she pitches will give her a role against any team Kansas will play.
Biggest surprise
Biggest surprise
Taylor Dodson hadn't been
the top performer, this would
be her. But since she has been
an offensive juggernaut, the
biggest surprise goes to sophomore Jessie Roane.
As a freshman last year, she started all 55 games at the catcher position after redshirt sophomore Harli Ridling's injury. Roane was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team, so it isn't her skill that's surprising.
The only game that exposed the problems the Jayhawks may have was the second game on Sunday against Butler. Butler scored three runs in the fifth inning after a series of walks and hits given up by Templin and freshman pitcher Ania Williams.
Improvements
It the first action of the fall for Williams; the pitchers on this Kansas roster are very young Of the five pitchers listed on the roster, two are freshmen and one is a sophomore. Templin will see the majority of starts, but young members of the team will need to progress quickly.
Tennis duo sweeps singles and finishes third in doubles
SHELBY DUFOUR
@shelbsdu456
The Jayhawks competed in the Purdue Invitational over the weekend and they dominated, finishing with a perfect singles record. Representing Kansas were sophomore Smith Hinton and freshman Anastasiya Rychagova; both won out in their respective single draws and finished third as a collective in doubles play.
Kansas kicked off the first day of the tournament on the right foot. Hinton and Rychagova competed in doubles, and after an opening round bye, they won their first match 6-3 against Purdue's Deborah Suarez and Marta Ruedas-Burgos. They would close out the day with another victory, topping Athena Treillot and Davina Nguyen of Michigan State 6-3.
Hinton and Rychagova also competed well individually, as they both won their singles
Kansas continued to dominate as Hinton bested Nicole Robinson of Purdue in two sets: 6-4, 6-2. Rychagova was matched against Purdue's Deborah Suarez, and she also won in two sets: 7-6 (3), 6-3. They both moved on to compete in Sunday's competition.
On the final day of the tournament Hinton completed her singles competition with a perfect 3-0 record. Hinton defeated Janina Berres (Memphis) in two sets — 6-1, 6-3 — to become the Boiler Up Draw champion.
"Today didn't start the way we had hoped," Kansas assistant coach Caroline Lilley said in a news release. "Smith and Anastasiya bounced back and finished the day on a much better note."
Brychagova also had success in her singles competition, as she won the Black Draw title with her victory over Allison Miller (Notre Dame) 6-2, 7-6(3).
matches. Rychagova competed against Georgia Patrasc (Mississippi State), ranked No. 83 in the country, and won in two sets: 6-2, 6-3. Hinton defeated Ines Vias from Illinois: 6-4, 3-6, 1-
When it came singles competition there was no redemption necessary.
The next day, Kansas returned to the doubles competition, albeit without the same success the team experienced on day one. The duo fell 6-0 to the eventual champions, Louise Kwong and Ines Vias (Illinois). Hinton and Rychagova redeemed themselves somewhat, however, as the pair defeated Notre Dame's Mary Kloss and Allison Miller 6-4, earning them third place in the competition.
"Smith and Anastasiya competed great all weekend and have a lot to be proud of." Lilley said. "Our goal is to keep improving every match and that is exactly what they did throughout this tournament."
Congratulations to our newly initiated members!
Sigma Kappa welcomes you to our sisterhood!
ROTHALVENGE
WEDNESDAY, OCT 7
BUILT TO
SPILL
HELVETIA
THIS WEEK
MONDAY, OCT 13
OPEN MIC
THURSDAY, OCT 8
BULLY
HEAT
SATURDAY, OCT 10
WICK-IT
THE
INSTIGATOR
FRIDAY, OCT 9
COVERSMITH
(EDLY SHOW)
SATURDAY, OCT 10
THUNDERKAT
FREE POOL
AND ST DOMESTIC MUGS
FROM 3-BPM DAILY!
UPCOMING SHOWS
OCTOBER 14
LYDIA
SEAHAVEN
TURNOVER
OCTOBER 15
BRONCHO
PSYCHIC HEAT
OCTOBER 17
YOUTH
LAGOON
MOON KING
OCTOBER 18
JEREMY
LOOPS
BRICK + MORTAR
OCTOBER 24
BLITZEN
TRAPPER
THE DOMESTICS
OCTOBER 29
JON
MCLAUGHLIN
TESS HENLEY
NOVEMBER 2
PROF
NOVEMBER'S HEARTLESS BASTARDS SLOTHURST
A
NOVEMBER 6
VANESSA
CARLTON
FULL CALENDAR
AVAILABLE AT
WWW.THGOTTLENCKLIVE.COM
+