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Football hopes to limit mistakes against Memphis
- WESLEY DOTSON
@WesleyDee23
Two muffed punts certainly led to Kansas football's (1-1) loss to Ohio on Saturday,but it wasn't the main issue.
Redshirt junior quarterback Montell Cozart looks for a receiver against Ohio on Sept. 10. Kansas will play Memphis on Sept. 17.
Missy Minear/KANSAN
While the Jayhawks hope to clean up their miscues in special teams this week when they travel to play the Memphis Tigers (1-0) on Saturday, they will also be looking for more production at the running back position.
To improve upon special teams play, Kansas coach David Beaty said on Tuesday during his weekly press conference that he will take over special team duties.
Junior wide receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez muffed two punts during the game. Both of them
"Obviously the one thing that really sticks out to most people, I've got an 87-year-old mother and the first thing she said was, 'Y'all got to hang on to that ball when they punt it to you,'" Beaty said. "Yeah, absolutely we do. We've got to do a better job of that and that's not okay."
came inside of Ohio's 30- yard line.
"We are all working very diligently to make sure that we get that solved, including me," Beaty said. "I'm taking over the returners and if it's going to happen, it's going to be my fault. That's why I'm doing it."
Still, arguably the toughest part of the game was the inability of Kansas to create an effective rushing attack.
The team ran for only 26 total rushing yards, and it is still unclear who will be the featured back this season.
"I'm trying to figure out who we are right now, because I know we're a lot better than what we showed Saturday in the run game," Beaty said. "We're probably somewhere in the middle and we need to continue to work on improving that to be honest with you."
Coach Beaty also described the Memphis defense as "strong" and an "attack-style defense."
Establishing a rushing attack against Memphis will be key for the Jayhawks. The Tigers gave up 110 rushing yards in their season-opening win against
Southeast Missouri State.
Another area of focus for the Jayhawks will be rush defense. The team gave up 329 rushing yards to Ohio and will be looking to improve on that this week.
"Eye control is going to be a major focus this week," Beaty said. "That's the way we're going to sure up our run game, being more physical and really doing a great
job of using our eyes and playing better with eye control. Particularly when you play a team that is a threat to be an option team. You've got to be disciplined."
Memphis ran for 110 yards against Southeast Missouri State. Running back Patrick Taylor Jr. ran for a team-high 86 yards, and he will be a focal point for the Jayhawk defense to
contain.
As tor quarterback play, Beaty said redshirt junior quarterback Montell Cozart will continue to get the majority of the snaps.
"It will be very similar. Be very similar," Beaty said. "Montell looked really good yesterday. He took a couple of big hits in that game. I was proud of him... But his passer efficiency rating is
way up there. His completion percentage is way up from last year."
Asked if sophomore quarterback Ryan Willis will continue to share snaps with Cozart, Beaty said "I'm not telling you that, sorry."
Kickoff at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m.
Kansas soccer faces tough tests over weekend
Jayhawk forward Grace Hagan fights with Colorado defender Joss Orejel in an August 2016 game.
Andrew Rosenthal/KANSAN
SKYLAR ROLSTAD
@SkyRolSports
After Kansas soccer locked up a 3-0 win over University of Missouri-Kansas City Sunday evening, excitement for the Big 12 season, which is two
KUBUSFAIR
Kansas coach Mark Francis briefly mentioned
Kansas Union 5th and 6th FLOOR
weeks away, was palpable.
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his team was ready to roll into the long-awaited conference season. Last season, Francis' Jayhawks turned an average conference season into an unexpected runner-up finish in the Big 12 tournament. A return to the Big 12 final has been a clear goal of Francis' this season.
However, nobody's looked too far ahead. In fact, wins this weekend will look much more impressive than a successful conference season come NCAA
"Right now we're focused on the games this weekend," Francis said. "I've just been thinking about USC and Pepperdine. Those are going help us as much as beating some teams in our conference."
The task will be daunting, too. On Saturday, Kansas faces No. 12 USC, a team fresh off a 3-0 win over seventh-ranked North Carolina last weekend. On Sunday, the Jayhawks turn around to face the 25th-ranked Pepperdine Waves.
tournament time.
While Francis recognized the difficulty, it's not something the Jayhawks are incapable of doing. Kansas lost 2-1 to Minnesota in the first game of the season, a match Francis said Kansas should have won.
"The teams we've played have been good and we played very evenly with them," Francis said. "I don't think this [weekend] will be any different. Obviously we'll need to play well to beat either of those teams,
but that was the same case against other opponents we played."
Before facing Kansas on Sunday, Pepperdine will take on 11th-ranked UCLA on Friday. While USC is trending upward, Pepperdine comes into the weekend after drawing to Cal State Northridge and losing to No.5 Virginia.
The only losses for USC this season came early against Long Beach State and Santa Clara.
The Pepperdine match might be winnable for the Jayhawks, though that takes nothing away from what would be a big victory on Sunday. Pepperdine faced USC earlier this season and lost 3-0.
Kansas kicks off against USC at 5 p.m. CST on Friday and faces Pepperdine at 3 p.m. CST on Sunday.
- Edited by Christian Hardy
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