THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
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CHEER IF ...
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The Jayhawks came in 13 tries
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shout a victory to
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughian@kansan.com
FOOTBALL GAMEDAY PREVIEW
PAGE 13
2-1 (0-0)
SPECIAL TEAMS
BY THE NUMBERS
Dave Doeren is in his second season as the coach of Northern Illinois. Doeren has coached football at the college level for 17 years. As an assistant coach of five different programs prior to joining Northern Illinois, he helped coach his teams to eight bowl games and two national championships. Doeren was the linebackers coach under former Kansas coach Mark Mangino.
STARTING LINEUP
COACHING
Sophomore Tommylee Lewis takes care of the kick-return duties and senior Perez Ashford hand the punt-return duties. Neither team has shined nor made an impact in the return game so far this season. Junior kicker Mathew Sims has made one kick out of two attempts so far this season. The biggest unknown will be whether or not Doeren is comfortable in Sims' ability to make long-range field goals. In Sims' career, he has made 70 percent of his field goals with his longest being a 44-yarder in two different games.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS ING LINEUP
6 bowl appearances since 2000
18 returning starters for Northern Illinois.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Dating back to October 3rd, 2009, Northern Illinois has won 16 consecutive home games. With Kansas currently riding a 16-road game losing streak, including games played at neutral locations, the fans at Huskie Stadium could play a role in helping the home team win. But of course, Doeren has to coach his team to be ready and will use the winning streak at home as motivation.
Senior wide receiver Martel Moore is doing what he can to impress scouts before his time at Northern Illinois is over. Moore's receptions, yards and touchdowns have gone up each game. Moore elevated Northern Illinois over Army in their 41-40 win when he snagged seven receptions for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
MOMENTUM
AT A GLANCE
Northern Illinois has been up and down so far this season. In the three games they have played, the amount of points scored and given up varied from each game. The Huskies are not something Doeren outlined when taking over in his first season as the coach. A win over a Big 12 team would motivate Northern Illinois and give them some bragging rights in the Mid-American Conference.
OFFENSE
Junior quarterback Jordan Lynch has a big responsibility for Northern Illinois against a Kansas defense that is tied for first in the nation in takeaways. He flourished last week against Army when he threw four touchdown passes, finding three different receivers in the end zone in a high-scoring match. Lynch also led the team in rushing yards with 125 yards from 13 carries with a touchdown on the ground. With 68 percent of the passes and rushes from Lynch last week, Northern Illinois offense will need to rally around him against Kansas.
Pos. NAME No. Year
QB Jordan Lynch 6 Jr.
HB Leighton Settle 23 Jr.
FB Rob Sterling 47 So.
WR Martel Moore 1 Sr.
WR Tommylee Lewis 10 So.
TE Jason Schepler 87 Sr.
RT Ryan Brown 78 So.
RG Aidan Conlon 61 Fr.
C Andrew Ness 55 Fr.
LG Jared Volk 77 Jr.
LT Tyler Loos 75 So.
K Mathew Sims 99 Jr.
The 4-3 base defense that Northern Illinois runs has a lot of room to grow. The Huskies conceded 846 rushing yards this season in just three games. Doeren, a former defensive assistant before joining Northern Illinois, has preached to his defense all week that they need to stop the run. Pierson, Sims and Cox are capable of breaking through the defense and finding the end zone if the Huskies give them a lane to follow. The Huskies have only one game where they have caused turnovers and hope they can give senior quarterback Dayne Crist some problems to get more takeaways.
DEFENSE
Pos. NAME No. Year
DE Alan Baxter 90 Sr.
DT Ken Bishop 93 Jr.
DT Nabal Jefferson 99 Sr.
DE Sean Progar 95 Sr.
OLB Jamaal Bass 6 So.
MLB Victor Jacques 40 Sr.
OLB Tyrone Clark 36 Sr.
CB Rashaan Melvin 11 Sr.
CB Demetrius Stone 19 Sr.
S Dechane Durante 21 So.
S Jimmie Ward 15 Sr.
P Ryan Neir 18 Sr.
Sophomore running back Tony Pierson and junior running back Taylor Cox have highlighted the biggest strength Kansas has. With the rushing game being held to high standards, Northern Illinois needs senior defensive ends Alan Baxter and Sean Progar to step up at the defensive line. Co-defensive coordinators Jay Niemann and Ryan Nielson need to implement a game plan for the Huskies defense to limit the Jayhawks on the ground in order to give them a good chance to win.
QUESTION MARKS
Can Northern Illinois stop the Jayhawks ground attack?
BABY JAY WILL
WEEP IF ...
Northern Illinois successfully stops the run. Army rushed for 486 yards last week and scored a half-dozen touchdowns on the ground. The Huskies must come up with a game plan to stop the rushing attack Kansas will bring in, especially with junior running back James Sims returning for the Jayhawks.
FOOTBALL
Big 12 predictions for the week ahead
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousougian@kansan.com
Bye week: #12 Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Iowa State
15 Kansas State 3-0 (0-0) at
6 Oklahoma 2-0 (0-0)
Kansas State and Oklahoma are the first two ranked Big 12 opponents to go head-to-head and square off in what should be a game for all Big 12 fans to keep an eye on. Oklahoma has received a lot of exposure from the national media, but Kansas State has climbed its way up in the top 25 rankings.
Both teams have showcased high-scoring offenses. The Sooners have averaged 46.5 points per game this season, while the Wildcats have averaged 46 points per game and scored 103 points in their first two games combined.
Oklahoma senior quarterback Landry Jones started slow in the season opener but has had a strong running game to lean on. Junior running back Damien Williams rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns as the Sooners scored eight on the ground against Florida A&M two weeks ago in their last game.
Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is thrilled to see what senior quarterback Collin Klein has done on the field to help the Wildcats get off to a 3-0 start. Klein has thrown for over 600 yards in three games and completed over 70 percent of his passes, throwing the football to where only his receivers can make the play. Klein has also been busy on the ground with 210 rushing yards while leading the team in touchdowns with four.
Neither team has given up more than 21 points per game. Both defenses will be tested, but it will be Oklahoma's defense standing tall in the end. The Sooners have only given up six third downs in two games. With Kansas State going on the road, Klein must carry over his versatility to give his team a chance to win.
Oklahoma wins, 35-21
Maryland 2-1 (0-0) at #8 West Virginia 2-0 (0-0)
West Virginia dominated its first two games and have been led by senior quarterback Geno Smith. He has completed 88 percent of his passes while throwing nine touchdowns on the season. He has yet to throw an interception or take a sack on the year. Maryland has allowed
at least 21 points in their last two games, giving the Mountaineers' offense a perfect opportunity to score a lot of points in this game. However, with a chance of rain, Smith may end up handing the ball off more than he has this season. With a strong supporting cast, there is a chance Smith could prove that he can play in any condition and continue to make a case for himself as the next Heisman Trophy winner.
West Virginia wins, 41-10
Virginia 2-1 (0-1) at #17 Texas Christian 2-0 (1-0)
After shutting down Grambling State and scoring 56 points to start off a new year, TCU struggled to find the end zone against Kansas in its first Big 12 conference match.
Junior quarterback Casey Pachall still has the best quarterback rating in the nation, but he wants to rebound after being responsible for three of the four fumbles committed by the Horned Frogs. All four fumbles occurred inside the 25-yard line.
Luckily for TCU's offense, coach Gary Patterson was pleased with the defensive effort to hold Kansas to only two field goals. TCU will have an opportunity to turn things around against an inconsistent Virginia team that gave up 56 points to Georgia Tech.
TCU wins, 45-13
Baylor 2-0 (0-0), in 2000
Monroe 1-1 (0-0)
Baylor coach Art Briles is content with what he has seen from senior quarterback Nick Florence. Florence has lifted the Bears this season by throwing for 653 yards and seven touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Terrance Williams and junior wide receiver Tevin Reese have been more than serviceable receivers for Florence.
But Louisiana-Monroe is 1-1 after both of their contests were decided by three points in overtime. They stunned Arkansas but fell to Auburn, giving up 31 points in each game. Louisiana-Monroe will give Florence a test, and by the time this game is over, Baylor's offense will have a lot to learn before kicking off conference play against West Virginia.
Louisiana-Monroe wins, 35-24