6B
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GAME DAY
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2008
ATAGLANCE
KU KICKOFF
The Jayhawks will play their fourth straight day game when they host Texas Tech in the 96th annual homecoming game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN and will feature a pregame flyover by the KU Air Force ROTC. Kansas can move to 3-1 and stay atop the Big 12 North standings with a win.
BY THE NUMBERS
(2008 averages and national rank)
24th
24th scoring offense (33.86 ppq)
6th
passing offense (335.43 ypg)
84th
rushing offense (125.43 ypg)
47th
47th scoring defense (21.86 ppg)
99th
passing defense (250.43 ypg)
29th
rushing defense (109.71 ypg)
PLAYER TO WATCH
Jocques Crawford. After struggling to see the field at running back, Crawford was given a chance at kick returner against Oklahoma and
Crawford
made the most of it. Crawford's first career kick return went for 42 yards and coach Mark Mangino has indicated that he will again be returning kicks against Texas Tech.
QUESTION MARKS
Can the Kansas secondary slow down Texas Tech? The Texas Tech offense comes in as the fifth highest scoring team in the nation and will provide another steep test for the Kansas secondary. After giving up the fifth most yards in the history of the school to Oklahoma, can they rebound and play better against Texas Tech? If not, it may be another long day for Kansas fans.
Can Kansas keep the streak alive? The Jayhawks have won 13 straight games at Memorial Stadium — the fourth longest active home winning streak in the nation — but haven't played a ranked team at home since the beginning of that streak when they played the then No. 25 Iowa State Cyclones in 2006.
KANSAS VS. TEXAS TECH 11 a.m. Saturday, MEMORIAL STADIUM, ESPN
HOMECOMING SHOWDOWN
Two high-powered offenses will trade shots
Kansas
5-2, 2-1 Biq 12
OFFENSE
Sophomore Dezmon Briscoe is quickly becoming one of the top wide receivers in the nation. Briscoe set the school record in both catches and yards against Oklahoma last Saturday, with 12 catches for 269 yards and two touchdowns. Add in Kerry Meier, Dexton Fields and Johnathon Wilson and the Kansas receiving corps has to be considered one of the best in the nation. They will need a big game on Saturday, as will running back Jake Sharp, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past two games.
Briscoe
DEFENSE
Coming off one of the worst statistical games in the 118-year history of the program, the Kansas defense will face another stiff challenge against Texas Tech. Cornerback Kendrick Harper struggled once again to contain his receiver and allowed the Oklahoma offense to put up the fifth-most yards against a Kansas defense in school history. Justin Thornton
and Darrell Stuckey continue to play well at safety, and they will need another big game if they expect to slow down the high-powered Tech offense.
Harper
Coach Mark Mangino called the Jayhawks' performance on special teams against Oklahoma the best that they had been all season. Jocques Crawford took over for Marcus Herford at kick returner and returned his first career kick return for 42 yards. Alonzo Rojas has kicked at least one pount of 50 or more yards in three straight games, including a 77-yarder
SPECIAL TEAMS
Rojas
against Iowa State. Jacob Branstetter has been solid at field goal kicker and will have the advantage over a walk-on kicker from Tech who was chosen from the stands.
COACHING
The only questionable coaching move by the Kansas coaching staff was benching Jake Sharp in the third quarter of the Jayhawks' 45-31 loss to Oklahoma last week. Sharp had just rushed for 58 yards on four carries and pulled
Kansas to within seven at 31-24 with a 17-ya TD run, but didn't appear in the Jayhawks' next three series — all of which ended in punts. Moving Jocques Crawford to kick retainer and several starters to special teams seems to have worked out well for the coaching staff.
Even though the Jayhawks are coming off a 45-31 loss to Oklahoma, they gained confidence by realizing that they could hang with the No.4-ranked Sooners.Having the game in Lawrence will surely fire up the Jayhawks, who have won 13 straight games at home. Homecoming weekend and a pregame flyover will surely have the Jayhawks pumped up for this one as well.
MOMENTUM
OFFENSE
7-0,3-0 Big 12
Texas Tech's offensive prowess over the years is well documented, but this version of coach Mike Leach's spread offense may be the most lethal yet. Quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree are each considered one of the best in the nation at their positions. Crabtree has 103.4 yards per game and 12 scores, and Harrell has completed 70
percent of his passes and scored 28 total touchdowns. The biggest difference in this year's team is the suddenly relevant running game. Shannon Woods and Baron Batch have teamed for 893 yards and 12 touchdowns.
DEFENSE
Williams
The Red Raiders allow 351 yards per game, which puts them in fourth in an offense-heavy Big 12. The problem is that almost 260 of those yards come via the pass, which means they're susceptible to teams that can air it out, which almost every conference team does. Defensive end Brandon Williams is a 6-foot-5 terror who has eight tackles for loss. Texas Tech's
secondary is experienced but they haven't been tested much this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
B. J.Rains
Matt Williams was a fan who won a free month's rent with a 30-yard field goal. Now, he's Texas Tech's starting kicker. Besides that situation, the Red Raiders have a decent special teams unit. Senior receiver Eric Morris is a solid punt returner, averaging 11.6 yards per return. On kick returns, LaRon Moore and Jamar Wall each average more than 20 yards per return.
Morris
COACHING
Mike Leach is a pretty strange guy, but he's proven himself to be a great coach. He first developed the spread offense at Kentucky in 1997 and since then his offenses have been among the best in the nation. Defense and a running game generally fall to the wayside on Leach-run teams, but a team that can score 50 points at any time is always dangerous. Leach preceded Mark Mangino as offensive coordinator at Oklahoma.
MOMENTUM
Some say that Texas Tech hasn't proven anything yet, but all the Red Raiders can do is play the teams on their schedule. Thus far they've done that and come out victorious every time. Tech needed overtime to dispose of Nebraska two weeks ago and stranded with Towsa & M in
the first half, but 7-0 is all you need to know. This game starts a brutal four-game stretch, but this team is built to handle it.
Taylor Bern
@ KANSAN.COM
See live updates and photos from the game at www.kansan.com.
TTU KICKOFF
AT AGLANCE
This is the last game against a Big 12 North team for Texas Tech. The Red Raiders have already disposed of Kansas State 58-28 and edged Nebraska in overtime 37-31. Texas Tech is known for its ridiculous offensive numbers, but now it has a more balanced attack Quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree still run the show, but coach Mike Leach now has a pair of running backs who make Tech even more dangerous.
BY THE NUMBERS
(2008 averages and national rank)
5th
1st
5th scoring offense (45.9 ppg)
passing offense (418.4 ypq)
rushing offense (138.6 ypg)
68th
43rd
103rd
scoring defense (21.1 ppg)
passing defense (258.6 ypg)
12th
rushing defense (92.4 ypg)
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore running back Baron Batch. Taking advantage of defenses dropped back to protect against the pass. Batch has
Batch
led Texas Tech's suddenly super running game with 491 yards. He averages 7.6 yards per carry is second only to Crabtree with 105.9 all-purpose yards per game. Batch has five total touchdowns this season.
QUESTION MARKS
Will Texas Tech avoid costly penalties? The Red Raiders are the most penalized team in the Big 12, averaging 8.7 per game. It hasn't caught up with them yet, but it's only a matter of time before they incur a big penalty at the wrong time.
Will Matt Williams make a kick? Williams' amazing story of D-II transfer to lucky student to Texas Tech kicker comes full circle on Saturday. Will he be the guy to fix the Red Raiders' woeful kicking game?
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT) Channel!
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 6 Oklahoma State
No. 4 Oklahoma at Kansas State
No. 8 Texas Tech at No. 23 Kansas
No. 15 Missouri vs. Colorado
Baylor at Nebraska
Texas A&M at Iowa State
Saturday
2:30 p.m. ABC
11:30 a.m. FSN
11 a.m. ESPN
5:30 p.m. FSN
11:30 a.m. Versus
6 p.m. FCS
MEMORIAL STADIUM WILL ROCK IF...
The Kansas defense can slow down Texas Tech enough to allow Todd Reeing and company to win the shootout. Expect a high-scoring game as both teams rank in the top 20 in passing and bottom 20 in pass defense.
TOP 25 TELEVISED GAMES
GALE SAYERS WILL WEEP IF...
The defense gives another poor performance and allows Texas Tech to put up record breaking numbers like Oklahoma did last week. If the Texas Tech offense has a field day, it will be a quiet exit for Jayhawk fans as they leave Memorial Stadium.
PREDICTION:
Game
Kansas 42, Texas Tech 39
No. 2 Alabama at Tennessee 6:45 p.m. ESPN
No. 3 Penn State at No. 9 Ohio State 7 p.m. ABC
No. 5 USC at Arizona 9:15 p.m.
No. 7 Georgia at No. 13 LSU 2:30 p.m. CBS
No. 10 Florida vs. Kentucky 11:30 a.m. ESPN360.com
No. 14 TCU vs. Wyoming 5 p.m. The Mtn.
No. 16 South Florida at Louisville 2:30 p.m. ESPN360.com
No. 17 Pittsburgh vs. Rutgers 2:30 p.m. ESPN360.com
No. 18 Georgia Tech vs. Virginia 2:30 p.m. ESPNU
No. 21 Brigham Young vs UNLV 1 p.m. The Mtn.
No. 22 Northwestern at Indiana 11 a.m. Big Ten Network
No. 24 Minnesota at Purdue 11 a.m. ESPN Classic
No. 25 Florida State vs. Virginia Tech 2:30 p.m. ABC
Time Channel