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Volume 125 Issue 31
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COMMENTARY Out with Crist, change needed now
Monday, October 15, 2012
Weis found his spark plug in redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Gummings.
Cummings completed five of his 10 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. He led the team on two touchdown drives, and with the help of junior running back James Sims, the offense exploded, gaining nearly 160 yards in the fourth quarter.
For a moment, the Kansas football team looked like it had some magic. The team stormed back from a 20-point deficit to cut Oklahoma State's lead down to six. Sadly, a roughing the kicker penalty caused the game to be over, and Kansas lost 20-14.
With the offense hardly posing a threat to the Oklahoma State defense in the first half, coach Charlie Weis had to make a switch. Senior quarterback Dayne Crist just wasn't leading the team down the field efficiently.
But, hope is not lost.
"He had great composure, he was having fun, and he put us in a position to win the game," Weis said on Cummings' performance. "It's something we are going to have to seriously look at."
Cummings did something Saturday that Dayne Crist hasn't been able to do: He put Kansas in a position to win.
And Weis is absolutely right.
Just think for a minute. Crist threw an interception against Rice to allow them to be in great field position. Crist couldn't lead the offense against TCU after the defense caused four turnovers. And Crist couldn't hit a wide open Kale Pick for a touchdown against Northern Illinois.
But he doesn't possess a trait that Cummings has: mobility.
On the other hand, Cummings was able to lead the offense back into the game. Sure, he overthrew sophomore running back Brandon Bourbon on a crucial fourth down, but he posed a threat that Crist can't.
Dayne Crist is 6 feet 4 inches and has been playing college football in the past five years. He's also a standard size for a quarterback and has a decent arm.
Sure, Cummings isn't a traditional quarterback with his 5-foot-10-inch frame. He doesn't even have the experience like Crist. But with his agility and speed, the defense has to treat him differently.
Edited by Brittney Haynes
Crist would stand in the pocket, and when no one was open, he would either take a sack or be too slow to make the first down.
Dayne Crist was brought here to Kansas to be the next big quarterback. Now that the idea hasn't worked, it's time for a change. Out with the old and in with the new.
When Cummings was in the game, he would bounce outside the pocket, causing the Oklahoma State defense to react to him. Even when he handed the ball off to the running backs, the defense had to make sure that he didn't have the ball because he poses a threat.
黄
COMEBACK KID
Soophomore tight end Jimmav Mundine rolls into the end zone to give the Jawhaws their first touchdown of the game on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Kansas lost to Oklahoma State 20-14.
TARA RRYANT/KANSAN
RISE OF THE REDSHIRT
Freshman quarterback builds momentum in fourth quarter, but not enough for a victory
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
It wasn't a smooth change right away. Cummins first series included the quarterback rushing for negative 17 yards.
But late in the third quarter of Kansas' 20-14 loss on Saturday to Oklahoma State at Memorial Stadium, Crist's time ran out.
Dayne Crist bad time. Time in the pocket, time of possession and time to make Charlie Weis as well as Jayhawk fans think he could be the starting quarterback.
With Kansas trailing by 20 and still without any points, coach Charlie Weis pulled his fifth-year senior quarterback in favor of a redshirt freshman who's only playing time occurred last week at Kansas State during the blowout where several backup players were used.
With Crist in the midst of his fourth game with a completion percentage of less than 50 percent and after gaining just 137 yards against Oklahoma State, it was redshirt freshman Michael Cummings' turn to lead the Jayhawk offense.
"I had dialed up the call sheet already." Weis said of the quarterback change. "I was grasping for what can I get to get going. If you don't have much inventory left on the call sheet, the one thing you have going for you is you can change the personnel."
Oklahoma State keyed in on the freshman and left him with little to go except backwards. Yet it was all forward progress after that. Progress with the offense, progress with Cummings' passes and progress with the game that was suddenly up for grabs.
After that first series, Weis realized that the tempo he set was set too slow for his new signal caller. Instead of having Cummings adjust to him, Weis chose to adapt to him.
With the change in tempo, the freshman that was trying to take it one play at a time began moving the chains in an uncharacteristic fourth quarter for the lajwhacks.
Before Saturday, Kansas had been outscored 43-13 in the final period this season. Against Oklahoma State, and with Cummings behind center, the Jayhawks began to reverse that trend.
Cummings marched the Jayhawks 44 yards down the field before connecting with sophomore tight end Jimmay Mandine on a 21-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to put Kansas on the board.
"The first touchdown we had in the fourth quarter is really when we started building momentum." Pick said. "Once we made a few
After the first touchdown, senior wide receiver Kale Pick said things began to click for the otherwise incept offense.
plays it started to snowball."
Kansas was still far from a comeback, but with a defense that held the big 12's leading rusher Joseph Randle to just 2.8 yards per
"This was a big turnaround for us. We just came together and wanted to finish the game strong."
JAMES SIMS, RUNNING BACK
carry, it didn't seem impossible.
After kicking off to the Cowboys, the Jayhawks forced a three-and-out that set Kansas up at their 27-yard line.
With more than nine minutes left on the clock, there was plenty of time for Kansas to climb back into the game.
But the Jayhawks only needed 42 seconds and two rushes by junior running back lames Sims to score their second consecutive touchdown.
The first run went for 28 yards. The second, which came after a fifteen-yard penalty on the Cowboys, went for 30 yards and to the back of the end zone.
After three quarters and an hour and 19-minute rain delay earlier in the game
Kansas was down by just six points.
"The last couple of games we really didn't show up in the fourth quarter," Sims said.
"This was a big turnaround for us. We just came together and wanted to finish the game strong."
The Jayhawks could have finished stronger. Cummins only commanded one more drive, and it stalled near midfield after a failed fourth down conversion.
Kansas' defense would come up strong again, stopping the Cowboys at their 46 yard line with just over two minutes left.
But on the ensuing punt, with the Jayhawks set to get the ball back, the Kansas special teams unit was called for roughing the kicker, a 15-yard penalty that gave Oklahoma State a first down that clinched the victory.
In a fourth quarter where the Jayhawks could have used a little more time, they turned to a freshman quarterback who made the most of it, and who may be seeing more playing time in the future.
"I think Mike played pretty solid," Weis said. "He put us in a position to win the game. It's something we are going to have to seriously look at."
Edited by Andrew Ruszczyk
BASKETBALL
'Late Night' showcases new players
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
Instead, he calmly walked to center court and addressed the 16,300 fans filling the arena. He also got to see the unveiling of the Jayhawks' 2012 Final Four banner, the second of his tenure at Kansas.
After leading the Jayhawks to the National Championship game last April, Bill Self didn't need to ride in on a motorcycle to reassure the at-capacity crowd at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday during the 28th annual "Late Night in the Phop" about this year's team.
Despite returning three starters from last year's squad, this year's team still
"Even though rosters change at Kansas, expectations don't,"self. said."So enjoy the process; hopefully, by February, it will start kicking in."
has plenty of questions surrounding the upcoming season. Most of these revolve around the large batch of freshmen — including Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor, who both redshirted last season — and what they are expected to contribute to the team.
"It hasn't really changed as a general statement, but the statement is curved." senior Elijah Johnson said of Self's message to the team. "Sometimes you have to say it differently for different ears, but it's always the same statement overall. We work hard and we don't settle."
In the scrimage portion of the evening, seniors Johnson, Travis Releford and Jeff Withey led the Crimson team to a 36-28 victory over the Blue team.
Johnson led all players with 11 points and made three of his six 3-point attempts. Withey, a double-double machine last season, nearly matched that
feat again with 10 points and seven rebounds in the 20 minute-game.
The Blue team, composed mostly of freshmen, started keeping pace with the Crimson squad, but couldn't keep up with it the whole 20 minutes.
"I think they were all nervous." Self said of the freshmen. "But I think that's good. Get it out of their system."
Perry Ellis, playing for the Crimson squad, and McLemore and Trayler playing for the Blue squad, led the newcomers with six points apiece.
Self remarked at how impressed he was by the event's turnout, which was so high that some fans had to be turned away at the door.
"Nobody's got it as good as we do right here in Lawrence, Kan." Self said.
— Edited by Joanna Hlavacek
TYLER BIERWIRTH/KANSAN
Freshman guard Ben McMorel attempts a 3-point shot during a team scrimmage against the Crimson team at "Late Night in the Phoee" at Allen Fieldhouse last Friday.