Volume 124 Issue 58
Thursday, November 10, 2011
kansan.com
COMMENTARY
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STARTING LINEUP OFFENSE
After being shut out in Austin, Texas and held to 10 points in Ames, Iowa the Jayhawks have no choice but to hope their offense will pick up its play this week at Memorial Stadium. The offense averages 31.8 points per home game, while only averaging 15.5 points per road game. Still, 31 points or so against Baylor will not cut it. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb and freshman running back Darrison Miller will have to step it up against Darrison in order for Kansas to win.
Miller
Webb
Pos. NAME No. Year
QB Jordan Webb 2 So.
RB James Sims 29 So.
FB Nick Sizemore 45 So.
WR Daymond Patterson 15 Sr.
TE Tim Biere 86 Sr.
RT Tanner Hawkinson 72 Jr.
RG Duane Zlatnik 67 Jr.
C Jeremiah Hatch 77 Sr.
LG Trevor Marrongelli 69 Jr.
LT Jeff Spikes 74 Sr.
K Alex Mueller 10 Fr.
DEFENSE
The defense's 13 points allowed against Iowa State was the least amount of points a Kansas defense has given up since 2007. Still, the Jayhawk defense ranks last in the nation in yards allowed and plays a Baylor team that averages 41.5 points per game. Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III will provide a challenge Kansas has not seen since they played Baylor last year, in a 55-7 loss in Waco, Texas.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Pos. NAME No. Year
DE Toben Opurum 35 Jr.
DT John Williams 71 Jr.
DT Kevin Young 90 So.
DE Keba Agostinho 96 So.
OLB Steven Johnson 52 Sr.
MLB Darius Willis 2 So.
OLB Tunde Bakare 17 Jr.
CB Isiah Barfield 19 Sr.
CB Greg Brown 5 Jr.
FS Keeston Terry 9 RFr.
SS Bradley McDougald 24 Jr.
P Ron Doherty 13 So.
BY THE NUMBERS
541. 33 The number of yards the Kansas defense has given up on average this season.
15 The number of seniors that will be honored on Saturday
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011
AT A GLANCE
The Jayhawks will be honoring their 15 seniors Saturday at Memorial Stadium, as they will be playing their last home game in their Kansas career. Kansas, now 2-7 on the year and 0-6 in Big 12 play, will have its hands full trying to take on one of the most dangerous offenses in the country. The Jayhawks, who have given up more yards than any other school in the country, will be playing a Baylor offense that is ranked second in the country in total yards of offense.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior linebacker Steven Johnson: Currently 10th in the nation and first in the Big 12 in tackling. Johnson will be fired up, to say the least, playing in his final
home game at Memorial Stadium. The team leader frequently brings out his best performances in the big games, and look for him to do it once again as he tries to will Kansas to its first Big 12 victory.
Johnson
SPECIAL TEAMS
the special teams for Kansas played a major part in its 13-10 loss to Iowa state. Freshman kicker Alex Mueller was benched after missing a 49-yard and a 36-year field goal attempt.
Mueller
They brought in the punter, sophomore Ronnie Doherty to kick the Jayhawks final field goal attempt of the game, a 19-yard kick that was practically an extra point attempt. Kansas has not yet named a starting kicker for Saturday's game, and whoever it is will have the spotlight and potentially the game on the line.
FOOTBALL GAME PREV
COACHING
As if Turner Gill couldn't already catch a break, his questionable play calling garnered attention in the team's loss to Iowa State.
Gill
Gill's job is in jeopardy if his team cannot complete a truly remarkable turnaround. He has to find a way to get his players motivated like never before, and why not use Senior Day as a source for that motivation? Gill will pull out all the cards on Saturday, in a last ditch effort to keep his job.
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
MOMENTUM
Losing their bow eligibility against Iowa State, things continue to get worse for the Jayhawks. But, if they can use their 3-point loss to the Cyclones as a positive, the Jayhawks may be able to play with some confidence against Baylor. They'll need a strong start early to solidify any confidence they currently have.
QUESTION MARKS
Can the offense turn it around?
After opening the year as the strength of the team, the offense has been on a heavy decline, scoring just 31 points in its last three games. Against a team like Baylor, the only way to win is to put points on the board and a lot of them. The Jayhawks will have to pick up their play on the offensive side of the ball, or this one will get ugly.
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF ...
But in seven or eight years, when both schools are settled in their respective conferences, some business will try to sponsor a reunion in Kansas City of football, basketball, or both. It will be just enough time to cool off from the messy divorce, and both sides will realize hating someone else isn't quite the same.
Edited by Mandy Matney
The team plays the best it has all season. The defense, which has given up 40 or more points in seven out of the Jayhawks nine games this season, must play out of its mind against a potent Baylor offense. The offense has to trade scores with Baylor throughout the game in order to keep the Jayhawks in this one. In order for that to happen, the running game will have to have a big day, enabling sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb to return to his early season form.
to "prove" they don't care reveal their bluff.
Kansas officials and coaches have said they have no interest in playing Missouri beyond this season, and many fans feel the same way. There's probably a lot of truth in that, too. Kansas certainly doesn't benefit financially from playing Missouri in basketball, where an annual game in Kansas City would mean a 50-50 split of ticket money. Kansas will make much more than that when they play Davidson there next month.
Paterno, Spanier fired after Sandusky scandal
MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The longest and one of the most distinguished coaching careers in college football history ended suddenly with the firing of Joe Paterno by Penn State's Board of Trustees on Wednesday night. Paterno, who offered his resignation in the morning but said he wanted to finish this season, was joined on the unemployment line by university president Graham Spanier.
The move was in response to the arrest on Saturday of Paterno's longtime former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and the release of a grand jury report alleging he sexually abused at least eight young boys. Although neither Paterno nor Spanier has been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
Paterno received an eyewitness report of one alleged sexual assault in 2002 and just passed it up the chain of command. No one at Penn State pursued a criminal prosecution of Sandusky for that incident.
Speaking for the board, vicechairman John Surma said. "The past several days have been terrible, but the outrage we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological abuse that allegedly took place."
Surma was pressed repeatedly for an explanation of why Paterno, who is tied with Amos Alonzo Stagg for most games ever coached at 448, was not given a chance to coach the final home game against Nebraska on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Instead, defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was appointed to replace Paterno on an
"With the difficulties engulfing this university — and they are grave as you all have documented," Surma said, "it was necessary to make a change now."
interim basis.
Speaking at his house to students, Paterno said, "Right now, I'm not the football coach, and that something I have to get used to."
Perhaps fearing the worst, the 84-year-old Paterno, who has a record 409 wins, attempted to make an end run around the board of trustees in the hope of going out with a shred of dignity. In his statement, which was released through a Washington-area public relations firm as opposed to being approved by Penn State, Paterno expressed regret that he didn't do more to prevent Sandusky's alleged crimes.
MATT ROURKE/AP PHOTO
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno arrives home yesterday in State College, Pa. Paterno and university president Graham Spanier were fired yesterday evening, brought down by tjir failure to do more about an allegation of child sex abuse against a former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of molesting eight boys over 15 years.
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