Volume 124 Issue 37
kansan.com
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Edited by Jonathan Shorman
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.
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.
COMMENTARY
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.
Situation not good for Gill
Nevertheless, last season's woes were understandably attributed to a new staff implementing a new system while bringing in their own players. Another year with the staff and continued improvement from young players was supposed to soften the blows in the razor-sharp Big 12 this season. Instead, fans see an offense that went from bad to better-than-average and a defense that fighting to not go down as the worst of all time. And there's no hyperbole there. folks.
Some time between the 35th Oklahoma State point of the first quarter last Saturday and the ninth or tenth "We just need to keep improving" quote from coach Turner Gill, something became painstakingly clear: Gill's clock is ticking.
FALLING FLAT, AGAIN
His first season could be written off as the beginning of a major rebuilding job, but you can't forget the embarrassments. They're simply too big to hide. A 6-3 loss to an FCS level team. A 59-7 drubbing at the hands of Baylor. Not Oklahoma or Texas, but Baylor. Not to mention the combined 94-14 score against State and Minnesota.
But it isn't just the losing. No, it's the weekly embarrassments. Short of the galaxies aligning just right, giving up a combined 111 points to Kansas State and Baylor shouldn't be acceptable for any team in the Big 12.
The Big 12 is tough. Real tough, but it can't what he was getting into when he signed on at Kansas. Not that he would ever make excuses, either. He's too much of a class-act for that. But unfortunately being a stand-up guy and a successful football coach don't always go hand in hand.
Now as year two nears the halfway mark, two schools (Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State) have already set numerous school records on the Kansas defense. Oklahoma State pulled its starting quarterback in the second quarter to get his backup some game time. That rarely happens against the McNeese States of the world, let alone in a Big 12 conference game. Unfortunately for fans, the Big 12 schedule is just picking up.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN 0.5 in the Pin 12
The KU defense gets caught off guard during an attack by Missouri during last night's match at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. Kansas lost three sets to one. It is now 12-6 and 0-5 in the Big 12.
MATT GALLOWAY
MART BALLETTON
galloway@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_vball
The volleyball team traveled to Columbia, Mo., yesterday looking for answers after a winless start to Big 12 play. Despite strong individual performances, the team may have left the Show-Me State with more questions than answers.
A late surge came up short for the slumping jayhawks (12-6.
0-5) as they fell to the Tigers (15-
7, 2-4) in four sets, 21-25, 24-26,
25-20, 26-28.
"It's a pretty significant disappointment," coach Ray Bechard said. "We had a sustainable lead in game four, had a lot of great volleyball game in the end, but we couldn't make enough plays to win at the end. It's becoming a bit of a reoccurring theme."
After dropping the first two sets, the Jayhawks rallied to win the third in decisive fashion. The
team went on a four point run that was capped off by a set-winning block from junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree.
With their backs against the wall, the Jayhawks jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth set. However, the Tigers would hang around long enough to put together a 9-1 rally to take the lead, 21-20. The Jayhawks were still in a position to win the set twice, serving up 24-23 and 25-24, but the Tigers would dig themselves
out of the holes. The decisive kill from Missouri freshman outside hitter Emily Wilson went wide, but the line judge ruled that a Jayhawk had touched it on the way out. The Tigers would outdig the Jayhawks for the game, 65-55.
Bechard said the team has to develop a killer instinct when they serve for the match point. He said that maintaining a consistently aggressive mentality is a challenge.
"It's like being at the free thrown line down one with one second left," Bechard said. "It's different than it is with 10 minutes left, but you have to go through the same mechanics, same thought process, and you have to get the same result."
The Jayhawks got eight aces including two from three sepat rate players. But the team also
SEE VOLLEYBALL PAGE 6
FOOTBALL
Weak defense improving in practices
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_Fball
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 Oklahoma State fans that 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.
4
Kansas was a 27-point victory against Louisiana Lafayette.
Kansas actually scored one more point than Oklahoma State has allowed on average all season. The biggest margin of victory the Cowboys had before
The week before, Kansas scored 34 points against Texas Tech. Those 34 points should have put Kansas on track to win 20 games that week. Of every team that scored more than 34 teams 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."
r x
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
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
Vol
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.
— Edited by Aiexandra Esposito