6B
GAME DAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2008
KU KICKOFF AT A GLANCE
The Jayhawks will look to win their 13th straight home game when they play host to Colorado on ESPN2. It's the Jayhawks' first home game on ESPN or ESPN2 since they played host to TCU in 1995. Kansas has won six straight day games and is 21-2 in their last 23 games at Memorial Stadium.
25th
scoring offense (35.2 pda)
6th
BYTHE NUMBERS
passing offense (347 ypq)
96th
rushing offense (118.6 ypg)
38th
scoring defense (18.8 ppq)
KEEP ON ROLLIN'
84th
passing defense (227.6 ypq)
17th
rushing defense (95.2 ypg)
PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior
Junior tailback Jake Sharp. Sharp started the first three games of the season and had only 61 yards rushing. He topped
Sharp
that on Saturday, rushing for 79 against the Cyclones. He also had 107 receiving yards including a 67-yard touchdown that started the Kansas comeback.
QUESTION MARKS
Is Kansas already thinking about Oklahoma? Mangino refused to let his players look ahead last season, taking a one-game-at-a time mentality throughout. If that's the case again, Kansas should be focused and ready for a big victory.
Will Todd Reesing have another big game against Colorado? Some of Todd Reesing's best games as a Jayhawk have come against the Buffaloo. His redshirt was burned when he came in after halftime two years ago to help the Jayhawks rally for a 20-15 victory.
KANSAS VS. COLORADO 11:30 a.m. Saturday, MEMORIAL STADIUM, ESPN2
Can the Jayhawks have another good day rushing?
4-1, 1-0 Big 12
OFFENSE
After struggling to find any sort of a running game, Jake Sharp broke free for 186 all-purpose yards including 79 on the ground to help the comeback against Iowa State. Coach Mark Mangino said that Angus Quigley and Jocques Crawford will continue to get carries but that Sharp is now the team's featured back. Meanwhile, junior wide receiver Kerry Meier is fifth in the nation with 44 receptions.
Meier
DEFENSE
The pass rush and pass defense continue to be obvious points of concern for Mangino and his staff. Kendrick Harper returned from an injury at cornerback but looked less than 100 percent against Iowa State. The Jayhawks need to find a way to pressure the quarterback more so that he doesn't have all day to find an open receiver.
Harper
SPECIALTEAMS
The Jayhawks rank dead last, 119th out of 119, in kick return yards. Mangino attributes that to teams kicking the ball away from preseason All-American Marcus Herford, but also said that Herford needs to improve. The Jayhawks also allowed Iowa State to recover an onside kick, something Mangino said was corrected and won't happen again.
Herford
COACHING
Instead of yelling and cussing in the locker room at halftime down 20-0, Mangino instead decided to calmly rally his troops and use positive motivation to get them fired up. It worked as the Jayhawks dominated the second half and completed the comeback for the victory. Mangino has kept his players focused on Colorado, refusing to let them look ahead to next week's game against Oklahoma.
MOMENTUM
It's probably not a good time for Colorado to be traveling to Lawrence to play the Jayhawks. Kansas is coming off one of the best comebacks in school history and will be fired up from the start. They don't want to get behind like they did against Iowa State so expect the pedal to be on full throttle the entire game.
3-2,0-1 Big 12
OFFENSE
Quarterback Cody Hawkins has taken a step back in his second year at the helm. The sophomore is completing 59 percent of his passes and already has as many sacks (10) as touchdowns. Freshman duo Rodney Stewart and Darrell Scott have led the rushing attack, although Scott's ankle injury has limited him in the past few weeks. Colorado has played five freshmen
Hawkins
at various positions on the offensive line, which has led to Hawkins taking a lot of unnecessary hits.
Hypolite
DEFENSE
The linebacking duo known as Smarty Jones — Jeff Smart and Brad Jones — leads the Buffalooes defensive attack. Smart leads the team with 10.2 tackles per game, while Jones has seven tackles for loss, including three sacks for minus 25 yards. Senior free safety Ryan Walters anchors the secondary with 8.8 tackles per game, four linemen and two forward fumblers.
Senior defensive tackle George Hypolite was an All-Big 12 performer last year, and he leads the team with eight quar terback pressures this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Smith leads the team with 18 catches for 221 yards, and he's also one of the best kick returners in the conference. Smith has one 93-yard return for touchdown and he averages 29 yards per return. Smith also handles punt returns and averages 10.9 yards per return. Outside of Smith, Colorado's special teams are bleak. Kicker Aric
Goodman is 3-for-8 on field goals and punter Matt DIllallo has middle-of-the-pack numbers.
COACHING
-B.J.Rains
On Tuesday, coach Dan Hawkins and Colorado agreed to a deal that could extend his contract through 2012. The move proves that the Buffalooes administration has seen some positive steps despite his 11-18 record in Boulder. Hawkins' teams at Boise State were perennial over-achievers and last year his Colorado squad showed that same potential with a victory against Oklahoma. His team isn't good enough to contend for a Big 12 North title yet, but they are a legitimate threat in every conference game.
MOMENTUM
Colorado held the world in its hooves after a 17-14 overtime triumph of West Virginia four weeks ago. Since then, the Buffaloes have dropped a pair of ugly games. They surrendered a combined 77 points in back-to-back losses at Florida State and at home against Texas. The offense is in shambles and the defense showed that it couldn't stop a mediocre offense.
— Taylor Bern
@ KANSAN.COM
Kansan football writers will provide up-to the minute photos and blogs on Kansan.com
Jake Sharp
CU
KICKOFF
AT A GLANCE
Colorado's season could go either way right now. The Buffaloes started with a lot of momentum and a 3-0 record, but now they sit at 3-2 and will have to fight for six victories. Cody Hawkins is getting pressure from all sides and it's led to a less-than-productive start to conference play. For a team that once held college football by its Rocky Mountain oysters, there are suddenly a lot of questions.
BY THE NUMBERS
77th
72nd
scoring offense (24.2 ppq)
passing offense (205 ypg)
93rd
rushing offense (120.6 ypg)
75th
35th
scoring defense (26.4 ppg)
passing defense (182.8 ypq)
89th
rushing defense (171.4 ypg)
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Smith. Smith is a game-breaker in the mold of Dezmon Briscoe or Daymond
Smith
Patterson. He leads the team in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and both return categories. Smith averages 163.6 all-purpose yards per game and is a threat to break a big play every time he touches the ball.
QUESTION MARKS
Can Aric Goodman find some accuracy?
Colorado's kicker has been awful, hitting just 3-of-8 field goal attempts. Unless the offense is running on all cylinders, the Buffs will need Goodman to salvage a couple of drives with three points. Without an accurate kicker, Colorado likely won't be in the game entering the fourth quarter.
Can freshman Rodney Stewart make Kansas respect the run?
Ever since freshman running back Darrell Scott's injury a few weeks ago, Stewart hasn't been able to generate the same production he had early in the season. Stewart must be productive to make sure the Jayhawks don't blitz Cody Hawkins on every play.
BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Game
Time (CT) Channel
Saturday
No.1 Oklahoma vs. No.5 Texas 11 a.m. ABC
No.3 Missouri vs. No.17 Oklahoma State 7 p.m. ESPN2
No.16 Kansas vs. Colorado 11:30 a.m. ESPN2
No.7 Texas Tech vs. Nebraska 2 p.m. FSN
Texas A&M vs. Kansas State 1 p.m. No TV
Baylor vs. Iowa State 7 p.m. FCS
MEMORIAL STADIUM WILL ROCK IF...
Todd Reesing has another big game and Jake Sharp continues his strong play as the team's featured back. Kansas seems to have everything
going in their favor, so a strong Jayhawk effort should be plenty enough for the victory.
GALE SAYERS WILL WEEP IF...
The pass defense continues to struggle and allows Cody Hawkins to pass the ball up and down the field and keep the Kansas offense off the field. Colorado has lost two straight, but comes in fired up and ready for the upset.
TOP 25 TELEVISED GAMES
PREDICTION:
Kansas 31, Colorado 17
Game
Saturday
Time Channel
No. 4 LSU at No. 11 Florida 7 p.m. CBS
No. 6 Penn State at Wisconsin 7 p.m. ESPN
No. 8 USC vs. Arizona State 2:30 p.m. ABC
No. 9 BYU vs. New Mexico 5 p.m. The Mtn.
No. 10 Georgia vs. Tennessee 2:30 p.m. CBS
No. 12 Ohio State vs. Purdue 2:30 p.m. ABC
No. 13 Vanderbilt at Mississippi State 1:30 p.m. ESPN360.com
No. 14 Utah at Wyoming 1 p.m. The Mtn.
No. 15 Boise State at Southern Miss 7 p.m. CSTV
No. 20 Auburn vs. Arkansas 4 p.m. ESPN360.com
NO. 22 North Carolina vs. Notre Dame 2:30 p.m. ABC
No. 23 Michigan State at Northwestern 2:30 p.m. ESPN2
No. 25 Ball State at Western Kentucky 6 p.m. No TV