Volume 124 Issue 37
kansan.com
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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PAGE 12
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14,2011
CONFERENCE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
1 P.M. SATURDAY, OCT. 15
Both the Tigers and the Cyclones look for their first conference vicotry this weekend in enter Columbia, Mo. Iowa State has lost all of its early momentum that three consecutive close victories brought, dropping the last two games against Texas and Baylor. Missouri entered the season ranked in the top 25, but a loss to Arizona saw it quickly exit the poll. With the Big 12 looking stronger than ever, the losing team in this game could be looking at a long stretch before its next opportunity to win.
Missouri quarterback James Franklin is the second leading rusher on the Tigers and faces a Cyclone defense that allowed 391 yards on the ground last week, 107 of which were to the quarterback.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Franklin
11 A.M. SATURDAY, OCT. 15
Texas A&M hosts Baylor in what is likely an elimination game for the Big 12 title. The Aggies have had a tough time holding onto early leads against top 20 teams, blowing a 17-point lead against Oklahoma State and an 18-point lead against Arkansas. The Aggie defense will have its hands full trying to control mid-season Heisman candidate, Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
PLAYER TO WATCH
If Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III goes off like he has all season long, he could deliver the Aggies their third defeat in four weeks. He should have plenty of opportunities to do so, as the Aggies have the NCAA's worst passing defense.
Griffin III
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Weeden
PLAYER TO WATCH
Cowboy quarterback Brandon Weeden leads a Cowboy attack ranked first in the nation in scoring and second in yards. Expect him to try to put up more than the 55 points Oklahoma scored on this defense last weekend.
2:30 P.M. SATURDAY, OCT. 15
The Cowboys emerged victorious on their previous trip to the state of Texas in a 30-29 victory over Texas A&M. They look to repeat the result against a Texas team reeling after losing 55-17 in the Red River rivalry game against Oklahoma. For the Cowboys, this victory would allow them to keep pace with their in-state rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, in the Rig 12 Title race.
For the second week in a row, Kansas State enters the game as the underdog to an unranked opponent. The Wildcat offense is not breaking records by any means, but instead the Wildcats are led by a stellar defense. The Wildcats rank in the top 20 in defensive scoring and total defense. This week they'll face another talented quarterback in Seth Doege, who has thrown for 17 touchdowns this year.
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PLAYER TO WATCH
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Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein has carried the ball more times than he's thrown it, scoring seven times on the ground this year. Tech can score in bunches, so Klein will be called on to keep the chains moving, the clock running and the Red Raiders off the field.
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Klein
From what I witnessed first-hand last year and have heard this season, players love playing for Gill; they just haven't been able to win for him. Barring any monumental upsets, Gill will have six wins or fewer after two years on the job.
a stand-up guy and a successful football coach don't always go hand in hand.
Sophomore cornerback Tyler Patmon pulls an Oklahoma State ball carrier to the ground near midfield during the first quarter of Saturday night's game at Boone Pickens Stadium. Patmon had four tackles against OSU along with a defensive pass interference while in the end zone during the second quarter.
The one thing working in Gill's favor right now is his contract, which doesn't include a buyout. If he was fired, he would receive the remaining salary left on his five-year deal. At $2 million per year, he is set to receive $6 million more after this season.
It's common knowledge that most college football coaches need at least three seasons to get their affairs in order, and besides that, it's highly unlikely KU Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger has the resources to shell out around $10 million to dismiss Gill and his assistants as well as hire a completely new staff. But if enough angry, big-money donors bang on Zenger's door and open up their checkbooks — and that's a big 'if' — things could change quickly.
stayed for the final act of the Jayhawks' blowout loss to the Cowboys watched their team get out-scored in the fourth quarter to Kansas.
Yes, it was against a mix of first, second and third string defenders that the Kansas offense faced in the fourth quarter, but the 14 points Kansas scored at the end of the game Saturday showed that the offense is resilient. The 28 total points Kansas scored helps put in perspective just how poorly this Kansas defense has been playing.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
Scoring 28 points against the No. 6 team in the nation, is no small accomplishment. Scoring 28 points would've been good enough to win 11 FBS games last week and tie two of them. Instead of being the 12th winning team in college football with 28-points or fewer, the Jayhawks lost by 42.
Edited by Jonathan Shorman
Kansas actually scored one more point than Oklahoma State has allowed on average all season. The biggest margin of victory the Cowboys had before
have put Kansas on track to win 20 games that week. Of every team that scored more than 34 points and lost in week five of the college football season, Kansas had the largest deficit, falling by 11 points.
Following the Oklahoma State game, coach Turner Gill broke down the defensive woes into two simple categories: "Our guys did not tackle quite as well, as far as early on," Gill said. "And the second thing is the guys were not doing what they were told to do in some cases."
It's a combination of a lack of athleticism, play-making and tackling that have led to the team's struggles, Gill said.
By admitting that some players are not following their coaches' instructions on the field, Gill helps shed some light on the defense, which ranks 34 yards worse than any other FBS team.
Sophomore cornerback Tyler Patmon suggested Wednesday that there is only one way to fix the defenses' problem: practice.
"When it comes down to it, it's
consistency," Patmon said. "We have to go hard in practice no matter what."
It appears that the Jayhawks got the message. Freshman linebacker Ben Heeney said a few of the players asked their teammates to pick up their performance on the practice field.
"The past two days, our
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defensive practices have been 100-fold better than what it's been," Heeney said. "I just think we look a lot better even from last week to this week."
Gill said the team has practiced with more focus and energy the past two days. He said there is urgency with the team in practice, because they know
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they have to be on all cylinders against No. 3 Oklahoma this Saturday.
If the play in practice has improved, the Jayhawks' defensive performance this season has served as a wake up call.
the Jay
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Edited by Alexandra Esposito
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