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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, OCT. 20, 2016
KU, OSU a story of wildly different passing games
Then-freshman quarterback Ryan Willis looks down field against Iowa State in 2015. Willis was named Kansas' starter on Oct. 3.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
BRIAN MINI
@brianminimum
Kansas and Oklahoma State's passing offenses are at two very different places this point in the season. While the Cowboys are succeeding in the pass game, the Jayhawks are falling behind the rest of the Big 12.
During Tuesday's press conference, coach David Beaty described Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph as "as good of a manager as I've seen so far" and wide receiver James Washington as "one of more dynamic players in the conference."
"He had a nice day against us last year," Beaty said about the Cowboys' star wide receiver. "We have our work cut out for us again this year because he is a talented player."
Coming into the game, Oklahoma State's 350.5 passing yards per game is eighth in the NCAA.
The story is a little different for sophomore quarterback Ryan Willis and the Jayhawks' offense. Riddled by turnovers the first half of the season - the team is currently last in the NCAA with 22 turnovers - Beaty's evaluation of Willis' abilities is still ongoing. Beaty even left the door open for
another quarterback to take Willis' spot in the future.
"Now we have got a couple of games under his belt," Beaty said. "That's part of his evaluation as well, being able to continue to help grow him as well, and [redshirt freshman quarterback Carter Stanley] getting playing time the other day is
another piece of his evaluation. If we were playing well at the quarterback position you guys wouldn't be asking me these questions."
Interceptions were a problem in 2015 for Willis, but they're even more apparent this year. Even in Willis' best performance since Rhode Island, a 348-
yard passing game against TCU, he still threw three interceptions to zero touchdowns.
A theme for Kansas football this season has been building on strong practices and in-game performances. For Willis, it's been about moving on from those games.
"I need to bounce back from it, not dwell on it," he said. "I'm going to move forward."
The story has been almost the polar opposite for Rudolph in 2016.
With 13 passing touchdowns, the NFL prospect has kept Oklahoma State afloat this season. When
the Cowboys' defense gave up 38 points to Pittsburgh, Rudolph responded with 540 yards and two touchdowns, leading the team to 45 points.
In his last game against Iowa State, Rudolph threw for four touchdowns, one more than Willis has thrown for this entire season.
"We're going to have to find a way to quit being self-inflicted groups," Beaty said. "We have really improved in the area of penalties and not hurting ours in that area. Turnover margin has been atrocious and last in the country. You're not going to win many games when you turn the ball over eight times in two weeks or four times in a week."
Willis' interception issues haven't been lost in Beaty's evaluation. The second-year coach talked at length about the problem of "self-inflicted wounds."
Aside from turnovers, Beaty also stressed the importance for the offense to "utilize our running backs in the passing game," and said that the offense needed to get junior tight end Ben Johnson more involved.
If Kansas' passing offense is going to reach OSU's level, however, it's going to need to start with Willis, Beaty's go-to sophomore play caller.
Brew: Big 12 stronger than ever
First of all, the Big 12 is a Power Five conference for a reason. It contains some of the best schools in the nation when it comes to collegiate sports. For basketball, it has schools such as Kansas and West Virginia, for football Oklahoma and Texas, and for baseball TCU and Oklahoma State are within the top 20. It can't be said that the Big 12 is a weakening conference when it is represented at the top level of several of America's favorite sports.
▶ SHAUN GOODWIN
@ShaunGoodwin96
The smallest Power Five conference will be unchanged following Monday's decision by the Big 12 board of directors. Complaints can be heard once again about how the conference is weakening and unstable in light of this decision.
Much of the screaming and shouting about the Big 12 weakening tends to mostly be focused on football and the fact that it is so small compared to the other four power conferences. Naturally, a person would look to favor a larger conference, leading to more games to play and more teams competing. But, in a smaller conference, each game means that much more. One slip-up can be the difference between a title and falling just short of glory.
Secondly, the amount of money that the Big 12 brings in — along with the others in the Power Five —
If this kind of money does not indicate power and security, I don't know what does. As indicated by the expansion talks, there are many schools that would do anything to be a part of the Big 12 — the "dying conference."
completely dwarves that of the smaller conferences such as Big East and Mountain West. From a span ranging from 2014 to 2025, it is estimated that the Power Five will be bringing in, on average, $91 million annually per conference to split between its teams. Compare this to the average of $17.25 million annually that will be split between schools in the Big East or Mountain West.
Lastly, the Big 12 shows no signs of slowing down or giving up on the football front. For the first time since 2010, the Big 12 will once again hold a championship game. This game alone will bring in an extra $30 million to the conference. Not only that, but it will bring back a sense of competition to the conference that it has lacked in recent years.
Even the bottom-feeders in the conference, such as Kansas, are shaping up to be a formidable force within a few years. It's already starting to show signs of improvement in some facet, and as the weaker teams in the conference become more competitive, it can only go up from here.
Soccer takes on important weekend
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
"The season is always like that, it always goes so fast," Kansas coach Mark Francis said. "I'm trying to reiterate that to the kids, to make the most of the opportunities right now, because you don't have too many left."
In Big 12 soccer, with only one match against each conference opponent the conference season goes by quickly.
The Kansas team doesn't have many opportunities to lock up a top position in the Big 12,but it does have some strong chances.
Currently in fourth,
Kansas - at 3-1-1 in Big 12 play - faces No.24 Baylor and Oklahoma this weekend. Kansas starts with Oklahoma, which is a spot in front of Kansas in conference with a 4-2 record. The Jayhawks will travel to Norman, Okla., to take on the Sooners.
They turn around Sunday to face the Baylor Bears, who stand in second in the Big 12 with a 4-1-1 record.
Clearly, it's a big weekend for Kansas to make a statement in the Big 12. Francis acknowledged the similarities between Kansas and the two opponents.
"They're very similar," Francis said. "They're both going to be good games
and I think either team can win the game. All of our Big 12 games have been like that, somebody on the day making a big play and somebody capitalizes."
Last season. Kansas came away with two wins over Baylor. The first was thanks to a game-winning header goal from Parker Roberts with five seconds remaining during the regular season. The next was a victory over the Bears in the Big 12 Tournament.
Oklahoma is an improved team since last season. The Sooners spent the first few weeks of the season ranked in the top ten, but has since dropped out of the Top 25 and is only receiving votes to be
ranked. However, the team is No. 9 in RPI.
They also received a week off between then and now. Francis said his team benefited from some time to rest.
After a difficult week that included a 1-0 loss to West Virginia and a 1-1 home draw to Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks are still receiving two votes to be ranked.
"It's nice, too, coming off a weekend off, you're not training this week having recovered from two games, you're training after having a weekend off," Francis said.
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Ashley Hocking/KANSAN
Junior goalie Maddie Dobyns of Kansas City, Mo., performs a goal kick during a game against Oklahoma State on Oct. 9. Ashley Hocking/KANSAN
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