THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY GANSAN
kansan.com
15
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
COMMENTARY
Defense still wins trophies
When looking at the Kansas football team through the first five weeks of the season, it's not hard to pinpoint two of the main issues with this team: The defense is bad and the team, as a whole, is young.
The issues with youth are something that no coach can fix; time and patience are the remedies. The team's defensive woes, however, do not have a solution that can be so easily defined.
The defense has not only shown a lack of improvement throughout the course of this season, but it appears they have regressed in the quality of their play. The man in charge of that defense, defensive coordinator Vic Shealy, is catching a horde of concern for the defenses' 70-point performance on Saturday against Oklahoma State and throughout the season.
More of that concern should come from his comment during last Tuesday's weekly Kansas football press conference. As Shealy explained the difficulties of stopping the Oklahoma State offense, he was asked about the old cliché, "Defenses win championships." Before the reporter could even finish his question Shealy cut in, responding with the statement, "Not anymore."
That's not exactly a strong vote of confidence on the state of defenses in college football from a man that oversees the worst defense, statistically, in FBS football. When looking at college football championship teams since 2004, all but one of the championship winners have had a defense that ranks in the top six in either points allowed per game or yards allowed per game. The past eight years of championship football at the college level prove the exact opposite of what Shealy said. Defenses do, in fact, lead to championships.
A different mindset from Shealy might be a start, as something that has to change for this defense to move forward. It's not a good sign if the defensive coordinator doesn't believe it's up to his side of the ball to win any kind of championship.
Now, whether Vic Shealy deserves to be fired over what has transpired over the course of the season plays a different tune. He entered the position under very adverse circumstances, replacing the well-known Carl Torbush suddenly during the middle of the summer. Shealy did not have the opportunity to oversee his defense, one that he would soon be held responsible for in spring practice.
Shealy also sits in as the fourth defensive coordinator to come through the program in many years. Firing Shealy and bringing in a fifth defensive coordinator in five years would not, in any way, help the consistency or unity of the defensive unit. And the schedule in which Shealy has faced thus far has been brutal. After Oklahoma on Saturday, he'll have faced three of the country's top six offenses in six weeks — a task that would not be easy for any coach, anywhere.
It doesn't look promising for Shealy, but he has six weeks left for his defense to show improvement before he may be searching for a new job.
Edited by Stefanie Penn
And maybe he should look into that old adage that, "Defense wins championships," with another cliché, "History tends to repeat itself," and if Kansas football ever wants to elevate its status to a championship level, history says that it will have to start with defense.
Morris twins' mother honored Angel Morris received first ever "Life Saver Award"
Coach wants team to love defense
Henrickson compared mentality to a relationship and wants players to buy in Page 10
SNITCH SNATCHED
The Kansas quidditch team lifts up sophomore seeker Aaron Pope after he snatched the snitch to win the Midwest Cup. The team went undefeated in all six games.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
UNDERDOG CROWNED
HANNAH WISE
hwise@kansan.com
FISHERS, Ind. — The Kansas quiditch team entered this weekend's Midwest Cup tournament as a relative unknown. Unranked by the International Quiditch Association, the Jayhawks did not expect to advance to the second day.
Six matches later, the Jayhawks remained undefended and were crowned the Midwest Cup Champion.
"Kansas was amazing," said IQA commissioner Alex Benepe. "They've sort of come out of nowhere recently."
The team entered the field of 18 teams Saturday morning and swept Bowling Green State University (190-10), University of
Michigan (100-40), and University of Minnesota (150-0). The Kansas seekers snatches the snitch in all three day-one matches. The Jayhawks finished the first day tied for first place with Michigan State University at 390 points each.
Kansas was seeded third in bracket play on day two, just behind Michigan State and the University of Pittsburgh. The Jayhawks had to wait more than half the day to play, but practiced, watched other matches and cheered on competitors to keep their energy levels up.
On Sunday, the Jayhawks first faced off against No. 59 Ball State University, handing the BSU Cardinals their first loss of the season.
In an extremely aggressive game, medics were called twice to
enter the field. Despite the rough play, the match continued until the snitch runner and the seekers returned to the field. Kansas defeated BSU 110-90 when the BSU seeker snatched the snitch to end the game.
Next, Kansas competed against undefeated No. 10 Michigan State University. The Spartans' higher level of experience was evident from the beginning of the match as they showed off an organized play style.
"I am literally just on an adrenaline rush after winning," Caldwell said.
However, the Jayhawks responded to the challenge by staying within two quaffle scores of the Spartans, and the teams were tied at 70-70 when the snitch runner re-entered the pitch.
After chasing the snitch through the Indiana cornfields
and back onto the pitch, junior Nick Caldwell, Kansas' seeker in the game, used his quickness to turn the snitch runner around and grab the snitch hanging from the runner's backside.
With that victory, the team reached the championship round and faced the University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, a Big East school, lacked the support from other midwest teams that Kansas had.
The Jayhawks gathered together to sing the "Rock Chalk Chant" while other Big 12 teams joined
Caldwell's snatch put the Jayhawks up 100-70 and ended the match.
in Kansas traditions by waving the wheat and cheering "Midwest, Midwest." One bystander yelled, "Because Pitt isn't even from the Midwest!"
The snitch took off to begin its run. The teams waited until the proms up signal was given and the match began.
Pitt took the lead early putting up 30 points before Kansas could respond. Caldwell and Kansas chaser sophomore Tyler Amble led the Jayhawk offense with carefully placed passes around the tall Pittsburgh keeper guarding the hoops.
The crowd cheered when the snitch runner and the seekers re-entered the pitch. Kansas was
SEE QUIDDITCH 18
FOOTBALL
Player to team: 'show up or shut up'
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
The stage won't get any bigger for Kansas during the 2011 season.
When the sun sets in Lawrence this Saturday night. Memorial Stadium will just begin to come to life. The Jayhawks will be playing under the lights at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, against the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, with ESPN2 airing the game to a national audience.
The bigger stage and opponent for Kansas increases the responsibility of the players to hold up their end of the bargain this week — a task that won't be easy, especially after the Jayhawks 70-point debacle at Oklahoma State Saturday.
OSU's senior wide receiver Hubert Anyiam gets pushed out of bounds at the one yard line by Knasas' junior cornerback Greg Brown during the first quarter. The defense struggled to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone and lost 70-28 as a result. "We couldn't get them out of their rhythm like we talked about," said coach Turner Gill during a post game interview.
But one player had a simple for message for how the team could take responsibility.
CHRIS NEAL/KANSAN
"Primetime 8 p.m. versus OU, show up or shut up," junior safety Lubbock Smith wrote on the a wall in the team's meeting room, responding to the added pressure this week.
"It's a matter of trying to separate the boys from men," Smith said. "We play against OU this Saturday. They're number three in the country, either you're going to show up, or you're going to shut up."
He said he did not want to call out any particular players when writing the show up or shut up comment, because if they lose, they all lose together. Individual mistakes on the field are understandable, but this week people are really going to see if they are pushing forward and trying to win, Smith said.
Smith said he chose not to write about forgetting the Oklahoma State game, because the game is
one they cannot forget. He said he looks at failure as a chance for opportunity and that this team has an opportunity to see if they really want to play and be a great competitor or just go through the motions.
Senior linebacker Steven Johnson said that the writing on the wall has been a rallying call this week for the team to stay positive.
"We're staying positive as a group and it's hard to do that after the past couple of weeks," Johnson said. "When you stay positive, anything can happen. You don't want to go negative 'cause then everything will go downhill."
For the layhawks, the Sooners provide an intimidating challenge. They bring in the sixth-best total offense in the country, with a defense that allows 15.6 points per game.
"It's a great challenge for us, we're looking forward to it. It's one of the top offenses in the nation and they have some of the nation receivers in
the nation," said Tyler Patmon, a senior defensive back.
Just as Smith preached about the opportunity the Jayhawks have in the matchup against the daunting Sooners, coach Turner Gill did not
"It's human nature to get excited about playing good football teams." Gill said. "We always talk
deny the excitement that comes along with playing a top football team during "Prime Time"
about how you only get a few opportunities, so you better make the most of them. This is another opportunity for us to try and make the best of"
1