+
KANSAN.COM
SPORTS
13
4
DAILY DEBATE
Which team will win the Big 12?
SEAN COLLINS
@seanzie_3
BAYLOR
Last season both the Baylor Bears and the TCU Horned Frogs were left on the brink of the inaugural College Football Playoff, and neither team made it. The two powerhouses are looking to dominate the conference once again, but the Bears have the best chance at making it into the playoffs.
Sure, Baylor lost quarterback Bryce Petty, and TCU has the Heisman hopeful in quarterback Trevone Boykin. After years of having elite college quarterbacks at Baylor, Seth Russell appears to be nothing less of those standards.
After just two games into the season, Russell has been strong with nine touchdowns and a 187.5-passer rating, currently ranking him at No.6 in the country, according to the NCAA. Passer rating evaluates the overall efficiency of a quarterback. The current single-season record is held by former Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson, who recorded a passer rating of 191.78 in 2011, according to sports-reference.com.
As the season continues, Russell will settle into his role more and more and, with the uncanny amount of weapons at his disposal including running back Shock Linwood and wide receiver Corey Coleman. Russell should be able to dominate the Big 12.
Although Boykin is a dominant quarterback in the Big 12 both in the air and on the ground as evidenced by the 4,661 yards of total
offense and 42 total touchdowns he produced in 2014, the Horned Frogs have to rely on him for more of the load than Russell will. If Boykin has a rough game or the defense has locked up the run game, the Horned Frogs may find themselves in trouble.
However, Baylor's ability to have many strong players putting up numbers in any given game gives the team a better matchup against defenses. Big 12 defenses will have a hard time balancing out stopping Linwood on the ground and Coleman in the air, giving the Bears the advantage in every game of conference play.
Unlike TCU, Baylor has most of its tough games at the end of the season, starting with Kansas State on Nov. 5. This gives the Bears time to develop and perfect their style of play with Russell commanding the offense. Luckily for Russell, stud running back Shock Linwood can carry much of the load, as he had already put on a dominant performance in the first two games of the season, putting up 205 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
TCU will immediately be tested against the Wildcats and a rattled up Texas Longhorns squad. While the Horned Frogs will be favorites in all these games, it will be no walk in the park.
Baylor running back Shock Linwood (32) jumps over Lamar defensive back Rodney Randle (20) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015, in Waco, Texas.
LM OTERO/AP PHOTO
Baylor and TCU go head-tohead on Nov. 27, the Horned Frogs' last game of the season. Last season, Baylor took the win in a 61-58 shootout. However, the team still wasn't able to get into the College Football Playoff. If both teams play to their full potential this season, it should be a matchup of undefeated teams in late November, and Baylor should come out on top.
PAIGE STINGLEY
@paigestinley
TCU
Fear the frog. Seriously, TCU is not a team to be reckoned with this season. The team's consistently solid offense is matched this season by an ever-more powerful defense. TCU displayed its potential in its home-opener game against Stephen E. Austin, winning 70-7. The Lumberjacks' first and only entrance into the end zone wasn't until the fourth quarter. Granted, SFA may not put up the same fight as Baylor or Oklahoma, but it was still a dominant win for the Frogs. TCU finished just shy of a bid to the playoffs last season, and it's determined not to let that happen again. Senior quarterback Trevone Boykin was one of the most improved quarterbacks last year and has showed this year that he has no plans of slowing down. In the first three games, Boykin has had 65 completions for 985 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior running back Aaron Green has had 45 carries for 272 yards and four touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Josh Doctson has had 17 receptions for 326 yards and three touchdowns.
TCU has the talent and the force to be great. The Horned Frogs have a veteran offensive line, which, when they play together, can't be beat.
Last year, the Frogs' only loss was to Baylor, and they still scored 58 points that game. There's no question whether or not the TCU offense is a powerhouse. The defense, on
the other hand, has suffered a lot of injuries already. The team could potentially be down eight starting defenders in their next game against Texas Tech on Saturday. Defensive tackle Davion Pierson, one of TCU's strongest defenders, was ruled out to play last week against SMU, and coach Art Briles has not said whether or not Pierson will be cleared for this week's game. Winning this game will be crucial for TCU's chance at a playoff bid this year. One loss could put them out of the running.
TCU has a balanced schedule in November, playing on the road against Oklahoma State, at home against Kansas and on the road against Oklahoma State before hosting Baylor on its home turf.
Baylor, on the other hand, has a tricky month in November that could make or break its record. The Bears visit K-State for a Thursday night game, host Oklahoma and then travel to Oklahoma State before playing TCU the following week. Briles' offense is tough, but can it handle a four-week beat down?
Ultimately, what it will come down to is the Black Friday. Nov. 27, showdown between TCU and Baylor. Each team should be fine handling most of their other opponents, but the true test will be to see how they handle each other. When it comes down to it, I think TCU has the stronger edge. They've got the talent and the experience. At the end of the season, they should be the team with a playoff bid.
— Edited by Derek Skillett
Opposing sideline: Kansas vs. Rutgers
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
A coach's true opinion is difficult to decipher, especially when talking about an opposing team. They don't always say everything they know and often skew the truth. Or maybe they don't even know the truth. That's why we have the opposing sideline: to find the truth about Kansas football's opponents.
This week I talked to Dan Duggan, the Rutgers football beat writer for New Jersey
Advance Media. We touched on everything from the team's recent suspensions, coach Kyle Flood's hot seat, the quarterback controversy and how to exploit the Rutgers defense.
KANSAN: How have the losses from suspensions affect ed the team? Have they been overstated at all?
DUGAN: No, they haven't, because they've lost a lot of key players. The first wave of players that got arrested, included a starting cornerback, starting free safety and one of their top cornerbacks. That depleted an already-thin secondary.
PerfectPair
All fountain drinks just $1.00 at participating KU Dining retail locations.
Additional exclusions may apply. See associate for details.
They take him off the field, not only do you lose his production you lose the attention that he draws for other guys, so now it's more difficult for other receivers to get open. Teams are really stacking the box, because they know Rutgers' strength is the run game. There really isn't much of a big play threat on this offense right now without him.
Then the latest arrest — which is such a suspension for now — is Leonte Carroo, the All-Big Ten wide receiver and by far the best player on the team. That's been a significant blow to the offense. Add it all up, and it's not just a matter of seven players suspended or dismissed, it's been starters and key players suspended and dismissed.
DUGGAN: The Carroo loss was pretty obvious. They just weren't able to get anything going offensively. He's been the main downfield threat, the defenses have had to gameplan for him, had to double team him and had to roll coverages his way.
KANSAN: How did you see the suspensions change the team last week? Especially after Carroo, who is really the main one.
DUGGAN; The Kyle Flood suspension. You don't want to excuse players being arrested, but that happens everywhere. It's kind of an unavoidable fact when you have 105 18-to-22 years olds — they're going to make mistakes and they're going to do stupid things. Obviously some of these crimes are serious, so ['I'm not trying] to diminish that, but it happens.
KANSAN: What's the most disappointing thing that has gone on with all of this so far?
To have a coach suspended for blatantly violating an academic policy, to me, that's much more egregious. He's the face of the program, he's the one looked at to set an example. If he's shorting the rules, that's going to overshad ow anything a player does, in my opinion.
KANSAN: Is Flood on the hot seat at all, or is his job in danger if he doesn't win games when he comes back?
DUGGAN: I think he certainly could have been fired for this offense; the University president even said that that was on the table. You have to believe he's on thin ice. You couple that with the arrests, and it's not shaping up to be a very good season on the field. So when you get to December, if you're looking at suspensions, the arrests, and a losing season, I would think that would all add up to an unclear outcome for Flood.
KANSAN: Shifting gears here, what's the M.O. on the offense? What do they try to do well?
DUGGAN: The strength of the team is by far their running backs. They have a stable of three or, really, four guys who are getting carries right now. Without Carroo, that's even more of a focus. That's what they're going to try to do. It was limited against Penn State, and I think part of that you can attribute to the fact that there were three new offensive lineman, and they had a really rough game.
Chris Laviano, the quarterback, had some decent numbers but really hasn't been able to make any big plays or stretch the defense. Penn State was able to bottle up the running game because they weren't scared of anything else. But if Rutgers is going to be successful, it's going to be off the strength of the running game.
KANSAN: There's a quarterback controversy, too. I don't know if you'd say Laviano is on thin ice, but he isn't getting support from the fans and those sort of things. What's the deal with quarterback? Could sophomore quarterback Hayden Rettig take over?
DUGGAN: I don't really expect Rettig to take over. When Flood picks a guy, he kind of sticks with him. The indications are that Laviano will start against Kansas. The main issue is, the razor-thin competition in training camp, and Laviano actually got suspended for violating curfew and getting caught with a fake ID. So, if anything, you would think the scales would have tipped towards Rettig.
Rettig started the first half of the opener while Laviano was suspended, and performed really well, and everyone knows he has a really strong arm, he's a four-start recruit, transfer from LSU, so he has a lot of those things that fans are going to latch onto. But once Laviano's suspension was up, he came in the second half and he hasn't really let go of the job. I think fans have seen the offense sputter, they've seen what Rettig can do, and they're aware of his credentials, so I think they just want to see if he can get a shot.
KANSAN: How big is that loss? Darius sitting out?
DUGGAN: Yeah, I mean,
it's a big loss. We talked about
Carrogo being the best offensive
player, but Hamilton is
hands down the best defensive
player. And they put him at
defensive tackle — right in
the middle of the defense — and
the defense is a destructive
force. A guy like him can free
up Turay, because they might
double Hamilton and that
leaves Turay singled up. It's a
domino effect: you lose one of
your best players in the middle,
everybody else has to try
to compensate and they just really don't have enough talent on this defense to make up for the loss of their best defensive player.
KANSAN: What's the weakness of this defense? Easier to pass or run against?
DUGGAN: It's sort of pick your poison. Against Washington State, they got killed in the air. Against Penn State, they got killed on the ground. That basically says, if you have a strength on offense, you just do that and attack the defense, because they haven't shown the ability to stop anybody yet. I would say the front seven is supposed to be the strength of the team with the secondary losing so many guys, playing so many young guys. That would be the most likely area for weakness, but against Penn State, the front seven got exposed, so there's holes all over this defense.
KANSAN: The spread is at 13. What's your pick?
DUGGAN: Rutgers 33, Kansas 20. I just think that Rutgers is obviously having some major issues, but there is still some talent on this team. Kansas [is just] at 60-something scholarships, and their defense looks really suspect. I would think that Rutgers will be able to run the ball against them, and I think defensively, they should be be able to play a little better since Kansas isn't as strong of an offense as some of the ones they've faced. Certainly it doesn't look like a blowout, but I can see Rutgers controlling the game and pulling out a 33-20 win.
Edited by Scott Chasen