12A the university daily kansan friday, november 7, 2003 sports JAYHAWKS 5-4 STATS This season PASSING Name Comp Att. Yards TD INT Whittemore 187-117 1883 15 2 Barmann 25-37 294 4 1 Luke 6-9 92 1 2 Nielsen 8-12 33 0 0 RUSHING Name Yards Carries Avg TD Green 715 147 4.9 5 Randle 400 64 6.3 2 Whittimore 365 89 4.1 7 Barmann 45 15 4.0 1 RECEIVING Name Catches Yards TD Gordon 35 505 4 Green 31 368 1 Simmons 30 682 6 Rideau 29 420 5 PUNT RETURNS Name Yards Number Avg Gordon 298 21 14.2 PUNTING Name Yds Punts Avg Ansel 1227 30 40.9 ON THEM Kansas coach Mark Mangino on his team regaining focus this week against Nebraska following two losses "We have to do everything in our power to not let them get back on track. Everybody is looking forward to this game. For some reason, the KU kids love to play Nebraska. I guess there have been some good games in the past here at Memorial Stadium and our kids are looking forward to the game." KANSAS PLAYERS TO WATCH Freshman quarterback Adam Barmann showed the savvy of a seasoned veteran in his sparkling debut at Texas A&M. Barmann needs to prove consistency, and don't think for a second that Nebraska will let up on him...sophomore tailback Clark Green could be the conference's most underated player. Green is on pace to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark in rushing, but more importantly needs to continue to average over four yards per carry to ease the pressure on Barmann. The Kansas defensive line has been severely underperforming lately. If the team wants any chance of beating the run-based Nebraska Cornhuskers, the line must step up. That goes for the linebackers as well. North | | Conf. | Overall | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Nebraska | 3-2 | 7-2 | | Kansas State | 3-2 | 7-3 | | Missouri | 2-2 | 6-2 | | Kansas | 2-3 | 5-4 | | Colorado | 1-4 | 3-6 | | Iowa State | 0-4 | 2-6 | South Kansas Schedule | Date | Opponent | Result | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Aug. 30 | Northwestern | L 20-28 | | Sept. 6 | UNLV | W 46-24 | | Sept. 13 | @Wyoming | W 42-35 | | Sept. 20 | Jacksonville St. | W 41-6 | | Sept. 27 | Missouri | W 35-14 | | Oct. 11 | @Colorado | L 50-47 (OT) | | Oct. 18 | Baylor | W 28-21 | | Oct. 25 | @Kansas State | L 42-6 | | Nov. 1 | @Texas A&M | L 45-33 | | Nov. 8 | Nebraska | | Nov. 15 | @Oklahoma State | | Nov. 22 | Iowa State | |
Conf.Overall
Oklahoma5-09-0
Texas4-17-2
Oklahoma State3-27-2
Texas Tech3-26-3
Texas A&M2-34-5
Baylor1-43-6
TOMORROW'S GAMES Texas A&M at No. 1 Oklahoma, 11 a.m. Missouri at Colorado, 1:30 p.m. Kansas State at Iowa State, 1 p.m. Texas Tech at Baylor, 2 p.m. No. 11 Texas at No. 22 Oklahoma State, 6 p.m. WHEN/WHERE: 2:30 tomorrow, Memorial Stadium TELEVISION:Fox Sports Net, Channel 51 KANSAS VS. NEBRASKA RADIO:90.7 KJHK HOW THEY COMPARE Kansas comes into tomorrow's game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers with a slight limp after losing its last two games and three of its last four. It doesn't help that this year's Nebraska team is much stronger than last year, and that Kansas hasn't defeated Nebraska since 1968. Despite all of those negatives, the Jayhawks have a legitimate opportunity to knock off the Huskers this year. Nebraska doesn't have an offense, but has a strong defense. Kansas has the opposite. The leaky sieve that OFFENSIVE ADVANTAGE: Kansas Adam Barmann lived up to the hype for one week against the biggest crowd the team has played against all season by accounting for over 300 yards total offense in front of 68,000 fans at Kyle Field. Now he has to try and find consistency and prove he can do it every week. Nebraska has a tougher defense than Texas A&M, and it should make for a tougher game for Barmann. He could be the key for the game, as Nebraska's defense has struggled against mobile quarterbacks in both of its losses this season. Both Brad Smith of Missouri and Vince Young of Texas had big rushing games in those victories. Clark Green has been one of the Big 12's most consistent running backs, while John Randle laces his Nikes with TNT and is really starting to play well. Green ran for a 48-yard touchdown on a screen pass, while Randle caught a 39 yard deep ball from Barmann for a score. Charles Gordon made a spectacular leaping catch at the goal line last week. Gordon, Mark Simmons and Brandon Rideau make for a solid receiving corps. The offensive line has played well all season, rarely allowing sacks while boosting a strong running game. Nebraska is still a running team. That running game is bolstered by speedy quarterback Jammal Lord and running backs Josh Davis and David Horne. All three average just over four yards per carry, while Lord is the leading rusher. Lord is not a effective passer, so stopping the Huskers and forcing them into third and long is key. was last week's Kansas pass defense shouldn't be a problem this week as Nebraska doesn't throw the ball well. It all adds up to what should be a fine Big 12 Conference football game that could go to either team. The Kansas defense struggled last week against Texas A&M, allowing 547 yards of total offense. The defense has been inconsistent this season, but has succeeded when it can focus on the run and not have to worry about the pass, like the Missouri and Baylor games. The linebackers are all fast and get to the ball extremely well That could cause a lot of problems for a one dimensional offense. DEFENSIVE ADVANTAGE: Nebraska Nebraska's defense had been a liability until this season, when it became the strength of the team. The linebackers are among the best in the nation led by Demorio Williams, Barrett Ruud and T.J. Hollowell. Williams may be the Big 12's defensive player of the year at this point. The defensive line is strong against the run, and frees up the linebackers to make plays. The defensive backs are talented, with Josh Bullocks, Fabian Washington, Pat Rickets and Lornell McPherson. Bulkloops leads the nation in interceptions with eight. When the defensive line is on, the defense gets much better. Safety Tony Stubbs is quietly having a strong season. Johnny Beck continued his kicking woes when he missed an extra point against Texas A&M. That miss opened the door to Jerod Brooks, a short range kicker that Mark Mangino said will definitely see playing time tomorrow. Curtis Ansel is a solid punter, while the Jayhawks have struggled the last two weeks on returns. Nebraska's David Dyches is a consistent kicker who has Adam Barmann not only succeeded because of talent, he succeeded because he was well prepared. Kansas rarely enters a game not prepared, and this could be a golden victory for a coaching staff that struggled through COACHES: Push SPECIAL TEAMS: Nehraska much of last season. hit every extra point this year and hits almost 70 percent of his field goals. Kyle Larson may be the best punter in the Big 12. The punt returners and kick returners are average at best. The Jayhawks will be fired up in this one and will be ready to go thanks to great coaching. Just last season Nebraska fans were calling for Frank Solich's head. The offense appeared ancient, and the coaches decided the defense wasn't worthy of the title Blackshirts. Solich stepped back, delegated more duties and found coordinators that could get the job done. The defense is back to Nebraska standards and the offense, while still not creative, is getting the job done. X-FACTOR: Intimidation Kansas always seems to come out intimidated against Kansas State, but the same is not always true about Nebraska. Although Kansas hasn't won in 35 years, several of the games have been close, with the most recent close game being in 1999. If Kansas comes out strong in this one, they have a great chance to win. The closer the game is late, the better the chance the Jayhawks have. If they come out intimidated like they have the past few years though, this one could get ugly fast. BOTTOM LINE: Kansas The Jayhawks will keep it close for most of the game and should come out with the victory. Nebraska doesn't have the offense to put Kansas away, so unless Kansas gives the ball away with turnovers, it have a great shot. Expect the Kansas defense to rebound from the Texas A&M loss with a vigor and play extremely well. And the Kansas offense should score just enough points against the Nebraska defense to eke out the victory. The goalposts will again fall into Potter's Lake and the Jayhawks will celebrate bowl eligibility on through tomorrow night. Compiled by Kevin Flaherty HUSKERS7-2 STATS This season PASSING Name Comp Att Yards TD INT Lord 54-103 791 4 5 Dailey 9-14 117 2 2 PASSING RUSHING | Name | Yards | Carries | Avg. | TD | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Lord | 628 | 150 | 4.2 | 9 | | Davis | 534 | 126 | 4.2 | 2 | | Horne | 424 | 101 | 4.2 | 4 | | Ross | 139 | 36 | 3.9 | 1 | RECEIVING Name Yards Catches TD Herian 383 17 2 Pilkington 210 14 1 LeFlore 123 13 1 Fluellen 117 6 2 PUNT RETURNS Name Yards Number Avg Davis 214 23 9.3 Ross 62 6 10.0 Name Yards Punts Avg Larson 2138 47 45.5 PUNTING NEBRASKA PLAYERS TO WATCH Senior quarterback Jammal Lord is the team's leading rush, but often throws terrible passes. He is more of a scrambler than an option quarterback...Senior running backs Josh Davis and sophomore David Horne both possess outstanding speed and quickness...Sophomore tight end Matt Herian has wide receiver speed at the tight end position...Senior linebacker Demorio Williams may be the Big 12's best defensive player. He is in the Big 12 top ten in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks, forced fumbles and fumbles recovered...Ballhawking safety Josh Bullocks is the only sophomore on the Thorpe semifinalist list...Junior linebacker Barrett Ruud is a tackling machine...Senior punter Kyle Larson has boomed an 80 yard punt this season...Nebraska used to have household names on their offensive line when the Huskers would dominate with their running game. Now Nebraska struggles, and its top line player is named Incognito — ironic? INTERESTING FACT: It must be the spaeches. Nebraska owns the odd numbered quarters. In the first and third quarters, Nebraska has outscored opponents 168 to 37. In the third quarter, the Huskers have been especially dominant. The Huskers have only allowed two field goals all season while racking up 88 points in the third quarter. If a team can survive that third quarter, Nebraska struggles in the fourth quarter, allowing more points than it scores. SCHEDULE | Date | Opponent | Result-Score | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 8/30 | Oklahoma State | W-17-7 | | 9/6 | Utah State | W-31-7 | | 9/13 | Penn State | W-18-10 | | 9/25 | @Southern Miss. | W-38-14 | | 10/4 | Troy State | W-30-0 | | 10/11 | @Missouri | L-41-24 | | 10/18 | Texas A&M | W-48-12 | | 10/25 | Iowa State | W-28-0 | | 11/1 | @Texas | L-31-7 | | 11/8 | @Kansas | | 11/15 | Kansas State | | 11/28 | @Colorado | | PROBABLE STARTERS OFFENSE WR 2 Ross Pilkington LT 51 Richie Incognito LG 78 Mike Erickson C 79 Josh Sewell RG 71 Jake Andersen RT 68 Dan Vill Waldrop TE 11 Matt Herian WR 10 Mark LeFlore or 28 Isaiah Fluellan QB 5 Jammal Lord IB 1 Josh Davis or 9 David Horne FB 4 Judd Davies DEFENSE LDE 5 Bernard Thomas NT 59 Ryan Bingham DT 66 LeKevin Smith RDE 88 Trevor Johnson BUCK 2 T.J. Hollowell MIKE 3 Barrett Ruud WILL 7 Demorrio Williams LCB 3 Fabian Washington FS 20 Josh Bullocks SS 14 Daniel Bullocks RCB 28 Pat Ricketts or 1 Lornell McPherson SPECIAL TEAMS P 19 Kyle Larson PK 27 David Dyches H 29 Kellen Huston DS 92 Lane Kelly KOR 1 Josh Davis 22 Cory Ross PR 1 Josh Davis 3