ANSAN
14
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2012
PAGE 5B
EE/KANSAN Dayne Crist
LEE/KANSAN
lie Weis
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OKLAHOMA STATE 20
N LEE/KANSAN s to stop himoma State
REWIND
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Senior quarterback Dayne Crist surprises Oklahoma State players by running the ball in a play Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Coach Weis took Crist out of the game in the fourth quarter after a scoreless first three quarters, after which the Jayhawks scored two touchdowns, but lost to the Cowboys 20-14.
Defense improves in OSU game
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughian@kansan.com
Despite Oklahoma State being ranked first in the nation in scoring coming into Saturday's game, Kansas held the team to a season-low of 20 points. The defense entered the game with the mindset of making sure the Cowboys would not score a lot of points.
Oklahoma State traveled to Memorial Stadium with an offense equipped with fire power. The Cowboys were hoping to run the score up on Kansas, like they have all season against other teams. In the end, the Jayhawks defense limited the Cowboys and prevented them from getting excessive with their scoring.
One of the biggest keys for Kansas was back stopping Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle, who had more than 100 rushing yards in each of the four games before playing Kansas. The Kansas run defense kept him in check all game long. Randle rushed for only
80 yards and averaged a 2.8 yard per carry average, the lowest for him all season.
"I thought that they were very solid today," coach Charlie Weis said of the defense. "They stopped the run pretty well. We gave up a couple of chunks, but they really kept us alive into the fourth quarter and gave us a chance to win. I'm really proud of their performance today."
In the first quarter, Randle got the call to run on fourth-and-one at the Kansas 16-year line. Safety Bradley McDougald and linebacker Darius Willis brought Randle down for no gain. Kansas' defense built momentum early on after forcing Oklahoma State to turn the ball over on downs. It was also the first time this season that Oklahoma State reached the red zone and did not score.
Kansas was forced to go to the locker room late in the first quarter for an hour and 19 minutes due to lightning. The defense kept its composure during the intermission and played consistently. In addition to scoring only 20 points, Oklahoma State converted on only seven of 17 third downs and had 371 total yards.
"As a defense, we played pretty well," linebacker Huldon Tharp said. "We gave up a couple of big plays here and there, which as a defense we were trying to limit Oklahoma State because that is what they make their living on. There were some mistakes, but overall, I'd say it's our best performance this year."
With Weis making the switch to put in freshman quarterback Michael Cummings, the team began getting into a rhythm in the fourth quarter. As Cummings put Kansas back in the game with a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Jimmy Mundine, the defense was more motivated to return to the field and stop Oklahoma State's offense.
"A lot of guys had a killer-instinct look in their eyes," safety Bradley McDougald said. "We just knew we
were going to get a stop and get the offense back the ball."
Despite coming up short, the Jayhawks defense feels good about its performance and hope that eventually, the entire team can come together and find the win that it was close to earning on Saturday.
The defense returned to the field and forced a three-and-out to keep Oklahoma State's offense on the sideline. The Kansas defense watched the offense return the favor after a 30-yard touchdown run by James Sims, making it a sixpoint game.
However, Oklahoma State managed to keep the ball after Kansas was called for roughing the punter late in the fourth quarter.
"We'll take the positives out of here and try to build on that," Tharp said. "Ultimately, fix the negative stuff. There are things to clean up still, but good effort overall by the defense."
Edited by Brittney Haynes
OFFENSE
Before Michael Cummings took over the offense in the third quarter, Dayne Crist completed only 10 of 22 passes, and James Sims had only rushed for 45 yards. By the end of the fourth, Sims had gained nearly 100 more. If Kansas continues to play like it did after the QB switch, the grades will keep climbing.
Grade: C+
DEFENSE
Grade: A
There is a reason Kansas was in a position to win, and it didn't have to do with a personnel change. Dave Campo's defensive corps played one of its best games to date, holding Joseph Randall — the Big 12's leading rusher averaging seven yards per carry — to just 80 yards on 29 rushes. The defense also snagged its 14th takeaway of the season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Grade: D+
Kansas went 0-5 on converting fourth downs, which isn't as concerning as the fact that coach Charlie Weis felt that his offense would have a better shot than his special teams five times. Sean Huddleston took over for Ron Doherty on punts and averaged 40.8 yards on five kicks.
COACHING
Self admittedly, Charlie Weis tried everything in the playbook. When he got to that point, Michael Cummings became the next option. It obviously wasn't an easy move for Weis to take out the quarterback he recruited, but it was a necessary one. Not to mention Dave Campo still doesn't get nearly enough credit.
Grade: B
SCHEDULE
*All games in bold are at home
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME
SEPT. 1 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE W, 31-17
SEPT.8 RICE L, 25-24
SEPT. 15 TCU L, 20-6
SEPT. 22 NORTHERN ILLINOIS L, 30-23
OCT. 6 KANSAS STATE L, 56-16
OCT. 13 OKLAHOMA STATE L, 20-14
OCT. 20 OKLAHOMA TBA
OCT. 27 TEXAS TBA
NOV. 3 BAYLOR TBA
NOV. 10 TEXAS TECH TBA
NOV. 17 IOWA STATE TBA
DEC. 1 WEST VIRGINIA TBA
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"KU was more physical up front in the run game than we were. It looked like over the last four years there have been certain games that we have played where we just looked bad. Today we just looked bad. We got our shoulders turned. We didn't get off on linebackers. Up front, they won the battle."
-Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy on Kansas' run defense
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
(Above right) Freshman linebacker Jake Love attempts to tackle his opponent during Saturday's game against Oklahoma State at Memorial Stadium.
(Above left) Freshman wide receiver Tire 'Parmalee dives to keep possession of the ball in Saturday's game against Oklahoma State University. The Jayhawks fourth-quarter comeback was not enough to pull out a win against the Cowboys. Kansas lost, 20-14.
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
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