MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
HERN ILLINOIS 42
PAGE 7
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REWIND
HANNAH WISE/KANSAN
Kale Pick is congratulated by his teammates for his touchdown. It put the Jawhaws up 28-21 in the second quarter.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
CHRIS EHRUNSON/KANSAS Coach Turner Gill watches the play unfold during a late fourth quarter drive. The drive ended with the Jayhawks scoring a touchdown for the victory.
CHRIS BRONSON/KANSAN
Coach Turner Gill celebrates on the sidelines after scoring a late touchdown in the fourth quarter, putting the Jayhaws up 45-42 during Saturday night's game against Northern Illinois. Kansas is now 2-0 for the season.
MAX MIKULECKY/KANSAN
Sophomore running back James Sims makes a gain on Northern Illinois in the second half of the game. Sims was the leading rusher for the night.
"It was really emphasized by our position coach, Coach Beaty, he just told us to go out there and make plays because we are the playmakers of the team."
— Sophomore wide receiver D.J. Beshears
Quote of the game
Beshears
Game balls
1. Jordan Webb: Webb showed great poise in the pocket and was fantastic in must-convert situations, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Beshees. On many third and long plays, Webb would scramble outside the pocket, keep his eyes downfield and find a receiver for the first down.
2. Kansas running backs: Beshega gets the credit for the game winning catch, but that doesn't happen if all five Kansas running backs don't run hard all day, wearing down the Northern Illinois defense.
3. The offensive line: The offensive line gave Webb time to work to his third read on the game deciding fourth and goal and kept quarterback Jordan Webb upright most of the day. It also opened huge holes in the running game, helping Kansas convert 13-18 third downs and two for two on fourth downs.
Delay of games
1. Kansas defense: The defense will want to watch this tape once, then burn it. Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish picked apart the secondary all day long, completing 27-33 pass attempts for 315 yards and two touchdowns.
2. Kansas penalties: There is no individual culprit, but the Jayhawks made life hard on themselves with holding penalties negating touchdown runs and putting themselves into third and long situations. For the day the Jayhawks had nine penalties for 75 yards.
3. Turner Gill. Gill got the win, but made a questionable call in the second quarter when he chose to go for a long field goal instead of trying to convert on fourth-and-two, especially since Kansas picked up the first on the previous play, a fourth-and-one, only to have it negated by a holding penalty. Mueller missed the field goal, Northern Illinois got the ball and took its first lead of the game.
Play of the game
Notes
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb's touchdown pass to freshman receiver JaCorey Shepherd, where Shepherd leapt in front of a pass intended for junior wide receiver Kale Pick. Shepherd took the ball to the endzone for a 56-yard touchdown.
The glass is half full
The lajayhawk offense came to play. If it continues to move the ball like it has these past two weeks, it would be able to hang around with the big boys once Big 12 play rounds and might be able to pull off an upset here or there.
The glass is half empty
The glass is non empty If the defense doesn't drastically improve against the pass, it could be a long season for the Jayhawks. Once conference play rolls around the Jayhawks will see a heavy dose of the spread, and quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III and Brandon Weeden will have career days against the Jayhawks.
Biggest answer
The Jayhawks offense can perform under pressure and convert effectively on third down. It's still early in the season, but the Jayhawks have the 22nd best scoring offense in the nation. If they keep that up, they will find themselves hanging around with better teams in the fourth quarter.
Still questioning.
Can the Jayhawk defense defend the pass? It didn't look like it on Saturday. Harnish regularly completed long passes on third downs, and Northern Illinois only punted twice all day. If you take out the two Northern Illinois drives at the end of each half, Kansas stopped the Huskies only three times while allowing six touchdowns.
Looking ahead
Kansas travels to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech and try to earn Gill's first road victory. Georgia Tech will be hungry to avenge their 28-25 loss to Kansas in 2010 that duly its season and dropped it out of the top 25.
Good, bad, or just plain stupid
Mike Vernon's prediction of a three-point margin of victory was correct, but he undershot the final score with his 31-28 prediction and picked the wrong team. We'll chalk this one up as bad.
Final thoughts
It was good to see the stands fill up for the Jayhawks, and the most impressive part was the fact that the student section was still intact in the second half, something that has been unseen in recent years at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks offense could keep them in games, which might make a full student section a regular occurrence.
2011 MARWA AFRICANA LECTURE
September 14th | Woodruff Auditorium | Kansas Union
7pm
NAWAL EL SAADAWI
CREATIVITY & DISSIDENCE
Free and open to the public
Reception and Book Signing to Follow
Sponsored By
African & African American Studies, Kansas African Studies Center, the Langston Hughes Center, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Co-Sponsored By:
The Hall Center for the Humanities, The Center for Global & International Studies, the Departments of Anthropology, Communication Studies, Economics, English, Film & Media Studies, French & Italian, Geography, Political Science, Sociology, Theatre and Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies and the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center.