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KANSAN.COM
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JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Shane Jackson estimates that this Saturday's game against Memphis in Lawrence will be the next-best chance for Kansas fans to have something to cheer about.
SHANE JACKSON
@jacksonshane3
What does the game against South Dakota State look like with the same offense and a... more characteristic
Kansas defense?
James Hoyt
(@jamesj hoyt)
Kansas' offense looked good — scary good — on Saturday. This new air raid offense ran 91 plays, which was the seventh most in the country. The jayhawks accumulated 576 yards on offense, the first time since 2006 in the 41-38 loss
However, defensively Kansas fell short. The Jayhawks gave up 463 total yards on 72 plays to an FCS team. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits jumped out to an early 31-7 lead. Defensive players after the game said they lacked the juice, which seems shocking since it was the season opener and this was the one game in which they were favored.
It's evident that Kansas has a couple of really good defensive players, but as a whole, this team may not be able to execute, particularly if the players can't learn to bring guys down at first contact.
its "one loss" but it was sdsu. Are we in for another long season?
HeyShane #ShanE-mailbag — Farzin Vousoughian (@Fazin21)
Depends on what you view as a long season. Personally, I left the game feeling optimistic about this offense despite the loss. One thing to keep in mind is that it's only going to get better. Both David Beaty and junior quarterback Montell Cozart believe this team can average up to a 100 plays a game. If you love offense as much as I do, this team is going to be fun to watch
BOOTLEHACK
SEPTEMBER 27
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BUILT TO
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BULLY
HEAT
If you view a long season as losing most, if not all, games this year, then yes, this is going to be a long season. This defense is going to get better, but every opponent Kansas plays will be more talented
OCTOBER 24
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For that reason, the offense won't be as good as it was against the Jackrabbits, but it will be good enough to keep the Jayhawks in some games. Realistically, this team is starring down a 0-12 record this year, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a long season.
SEPTEMBER 25
RADKEY
GNARLY
DAVIDSON
Despite the loss, I was really impressed with
how #kufball responded to adversity. What
say you, @jacksonshane3? — Derek Skillett (@derek skillett)
lett (@derek_skillett)
Many people, myself included,
thought Kansas was going to come away with a win on Saturday. If it weren't for a botched snap at the end of the game, the Jayhawks had a real shot at tying the game at the end and forcing overtime. Had the game gone into overtime,
Kansas had the momentum.
The most likely loss for the Jayhawks is the road game against the best team in conference, TCU. The Horned Frogs have likely been held out of the playoffs because they played much closer to the Jayhawks in Memorial Stadium than most expected.
SEPTEMBER 22
ELIGH
DEM ATLAS
I have a feeling that's in a lot of the Kansas players' minds this year in their home contest. TCU is arguably one of the best five teams in the country and will have plenty of motivation for a home date with Kansas. Not exactly a
Kansas football actually made highlights on ESPN on Saturday night. ESPN showed the botched snap, but then it showed a graphic with the best chances for Kansas to pick up a win the remainder of the season.
Only four games made the radar, with Memphis rated the highest at 38 percent. The consensus is that this weekend is the best chance for Kansas to pick up a win. However, Memphis is no slouch.
Considering the Jayhawks even had a chance to send the game into overtime was impressive. With 12:38 to go in the first half, Kansas trailed South Dakota State 31-7. The Jayhawks then scored 21 unanswered points to cut the deficit to 31-28 with 9:12 to go in the third quarter.
game that screams upset alert
FRIDAY, SEPT 11
SRIK FIGA
APPROACH
BARREL MAKER
must find a way to maintain the Memphis offense, not shut it down. In the meantime, it's up to the offense to put points on the board.
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@jacksonshane3 how should the defense approach Memphis, who had one of the best offenses in the nation last season? #Ask-
SUNDAY, SEPT 13
ALBERT
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PRINZE GEORGE
SATURDAY, SEPT 12
THE MAGIC
BEANS
GEKKO
The laj Hawks could have given up with so many inexperienced players, but instead this team dug in and faced its first true test, and punched right back. It was good to see this team face that challenge so early in the season, and now fans can still feel confident when the laj Hawks gets into an early deficit because they can score points quickly.
(@WesleyDee23)
It appears the Memphis offense is not taking any steps back in 2015. In the Tigers' home opener, the offense accumulated 519 total yards, and 317 of those came on the ground from six different running backs. Tack on the fact that Memphis has a huge quarterback, Paxton Lynch at 6-foot-7, this offense looks to be near unstoppable.
last season? #Ask-Shane— Wesley Dotson
.@jacksonshane3 Most
.@jacksonshane3 Most likely LOSS for the rest of the season? #KUfball — Sam Davis (@SamDa-
The good news is that, much like Kansas, Memphis is going through some growing pains defensively as well. The Tigers must replace eight starters from one of the league's best defensive units in 2014. In addition, Memphis has a new defensive coordinator on the sideline directing the unit.
visKU)
The defense doesn't have to be flawless to win the game; the jayhawks just have to walk off the field on Saturday evening with more points than their opponent. So Kansas
Pyle (@PyleDevon) Joshua Stanford is far more talented, and all through camp he was the clear leader of the receiving unit. However, because of the last practice before the game, Bobby Hartzog got the nod and saw more time on the field in the first half than Stanford did. Beaty said after the game that was because Hartzog earned it more than Stanford did in practice.
@jacksonshane3
bobby hartzog or Josh
Stanford to be the leading
receiver? — Devon
FREE POOL AND 51 DOMESTIC MUGS FROM 3-BPM DAILY!
Beaty is sticking to his guns and has no problem playing eight to 10 receivers every Saturday, so it doesn't appear that one guy is going to get the lion's share of the targets. Senior Tre' Parmalee currently leads the unit with three catches.
Stanford is a talented player, and Beaty admitted that. I have to imagine talent will win in the end, so I'd go with Stanford.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Backup quarterback Deondre Ford greets Montell Cozart as coaching staff leads him off the field after a hard hit on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Cozart's brief departure changed the game and future at quarterback for KU
CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
On third and eight early in the second quarter during Saturday's game against South Dakota State, Montell Cozart took off scrambling. First past the line of scrimmage, then a couple more yards, and finally into a wall of South Dakota State defenders who popped the ball loose and recovered it. Cozart took a hit, which left him stammering off the field with trainers by his side. He returned on the third play of the next drive after a chinstrap malfunction on the sideline, but that hit would alter the course of the game and, in another way, the future of the Jayhawks' offense.
Something clicked for Cozart after what was his second turnover of the day. He didn't sit on the turf and wallow, or call himself out of the game. He kept his head up and lived up to the captain role his teammates nominated him for;
Cozart came through.
After the Jackrabbits turned Cozart's blunder into a touchdown drive that took only 14 seconds, the junior quarterback was at the forefront of the Jayhawks' rally. Down 31-7 early in the second quarter, Cozart played almost spotless football for the next 45 minutes of game time, including three touchdowns over the next four drives.
"The thing that I was the most pleased with is Montell," said offensive coordinator Rob Likens. "He got hit pretty good... and he could have laid on the turf, and he could have found a very convenient way to get out of the ball game at that point. That dude got off the ground, put it all on his shoulders, and went back out there and played really well. That was the most we got out of the game."
Beaty echoed the same sentiments: the way Cozart carried himself after going down was impressive.
“[After the game], what I
told him was, "Hey, listen, we wouldn't have been in that game without you, bro." Beaty remembered saying to an upset Cozart. "He got the wind knocked out of him pretty good, and he came back and continued t help us move the ball down the field with his arm, which is something I'm now sure we knew he could consistently do going into [the game.]"
When Cozart was on the sideline fixing his chin-strap and prepping to get back into the game, it briefly opened the door for another quarterback, though no one knew who it would be. Freshmen Ryan Willis and Carter Stanley, as well as junior-college transfer Deondre Ford, were all listed on the team's depth chart as the back-up to Cozart.
Willis started warming up, then stood beside Beaty on the sideline as South Dakota State nabbed a quick seven points. It was clear who the back-up was for the first game.
"We felt like it was a situation where we could throw the ball in that game," Likens said of the decision to bring in Willis. "We were down a little bit, and he's got a really nice arm. We felt like he was the best option at the time."
Before Saturday, there was a chance that Willis — who Beaty said was the most accurate quarterback through fall camp — could be redshirted and used in the future. As he stepped onto the field, the Jayhawks burned any chance of that happening. Though Willis still is likely the future for the Jayhawks under center, he's only going to have three more years of eligibility after 2015.
"As he shows development, that gives us the opportunity to use him more, not just him but all the players that we have," Beaty said. "I told those guys a long time ago, don't plan on trying to red-shirt any of you. We don't have enough scholarships to do that. Every one of you have to be prepared
to play somewhere, some time.
And he's not any different than
the rest of those guys."
But, for now, Willis will continue to sit behind Cozart, and maybe even behind transfer-junior Deondre Ford. That will continue to be a week-to-week decision, as the quarterbacks have to fight it out. Or, as Beaty always says, "earn it."
"It was the next step in his progression, his maturation of trying to become a quarterback at this level," Beaty said of Likens. "But right now, Montell Cozart is our starter and he did a good job of leading us back."
Edited by Vicky Diaz-Camacho