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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GAMEDAY PREVIEW KANSAS
1-4(0-2)
BLAKE SCHUSTER
bschuster@kansan.com
OFFENSE
Jayhawk fans who have been looking for Dayne Crist to improve can now point to his first half against Kansas State. Crist went 14 for 22, picking up 146 yards and a touchdown against the seventh best team in the country. But those who say there is no growth can point to his two completions in five tries during the second half of the same game. Fortunately, the backfield trio of James Sims, Tony Pierson and Taylor Cox is getting harder to stop. The backs have gained more than 200 yards in consecutive games after rushing for 77-yards against TCU.
Pos. NAME No. Year
QB Dayne Crist 10 Sr.
HB Tony Pierson 3 So.
FB Trent Smiley 85 So.
WR Kale Pick 7 Sr.
WR Andrew Turzilli 82 So.
TE Mike Ragone 84 Sr.
RT Gavin Howard 74 Jr.
RG Randall Dent 64 Jr.
C Trevor Marrongelli 69 Sr.
LG Duane Zlatnik 67 Sr.
LT Tanner Hawkinson 72 Jr.
K Ron Doherty 13 Jr.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Junior halfback Taylor Cox runs past Kansas State defense during the second half of the game against the Kansas State Wildoats Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kansas fell to Kansas State 16-56.
DEFENSE
After having K-State score 59 points in each of their last two meetings with Kansas, the Jayhawks hold the Wildcats to 56 points — but that's not the improvement. Defensive coordinator Dave Campo has been slowly turning his squad into a competitive Big 12 defense — emphasis on slowly, but it's happening — and it shows. The Jayhawks have the 17th-ranked red-zone defense in the country. It's the big plays that's killing them.
Pos. NAME No. Year
DE Josh Williams 95 Sr.
DT Jordan Tavai 9 Jr.
DT Kevin Young 90 Jr.
RE Toben Opurum 35 Sr.
SLB Tunde Bakare 17 Sr.
MLB Ben Heeney 31 So.
WLB Huldon Tharpe 34 Jr.
CB Tyler Patmon 33 Jr.
CB Greg Brown 5 Sr.
SS Dexter Linton 23 Jr.
FS Bradley McDougald 24 Sr.
P Ron Doherty 13 Jr.
STARTING LINEUP
The biggest issue for Kansas is that whenever it starts to create momentum, it almost always comes in the first half — and is almost always gone by the second. It's going to take a complete game effort to start turning the season around.
AT A GLANCE
Wins are obviously the only true measuring stick, but the Kansas football team is at a crossroads. There has been noticeable improvement every week. Yes, there are still kinks to work out, but this is not the same Kansas队 Jayhawk fans have watched for the last two years. If Kansas continues to enter games with the same intensity and confidence that has been present every game this season, the Jayhawks will continue to improve. If they give up, reference last season for results. Don't stop now, boys.
COACHING
After calling two special teams play fakes on the same drive, Weis has made his mentality clear: win by any means necessary. Weis has stated that he has a deep bag of tricks and is not afraid to use them. With some of Kansas' tougher games still ahead, Weis will have to get more creative than normal.
Weis
PLAYER TO WATCH
Tony Pierson has been finding new and creative ways to get the ball. First it was in the backfield, then he started making some receptions and now he's become one of Weis' bigger offensive threats — if not the biggest. It'll be interesting to see how much Weis uses Pierson after he suffered an injury against K-State.
Pierson
SPECIAL TEAMS
Anyone want to be a kicker? Coach Charlie Weis has opened up the position, moving Ron Doherty down the depth chart and allowing Austin Barone to compete for Doherty's spot. If neither can get the job done Kansas fans may be in for a few more trick plays.
QUESTION MARKS
Kansas has been great on defense at times, but the biggest concern is allowing big plays. Will the Jayhawks be able to limit Oklahoma State to shorter yardage plays? And if they can limit plays, how long will it take before the defense gets tired?
But the biggest question of all is whether Kansas can make sure the team isn't mentioned alongside Savannah State for the rest of the Cowboys' season.
BABY JAY WILL CHEER IF
Kansas can stay competitive all four quarters. There aren't many who are expecting Kansas to pull this one out, but hanging with a powerful offense for the duration will send a message to the rest of the Big 12.
198
BY THE NUMBERS
Receiving yards by Tony Pierson this season.
100
Blake Jablonski's completion percentage
PREDICTION 45-
3
- Edited by Stéphane Roque and Laken Rapier
Number of recieving touchdowns Kansas has this year
7