Volume 125 Issue 16
kansan.com
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
COMMENTARY Defense forces four turnovers
PLEASING PERFORMANCE
Heading into Saturday's Game against TCU, chances were slim for the Kansas football team to pull off the upset.
After the debacle against Rice, this was the game where the Jayhawks could have lost control of their season. But that never happened.
This team showed something that was not seen at all last year; toughness, and the will to compete the entire game.
Edited by Laken Rapier
If those two things happen, then a road win isn't out of the question for Kansas when it travels to Northern Illinois late this week.
Yes, TCU did gain 487 yards of offense on the lajhawk defense, but that wasn't the number that mattered most. There was another num ber that meant much more: four.
Four was the number of turn-overs the Jayhawks were able to force the Horned Frogs to commit.
ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN
Kansas had shown the ability in its first two games to force fumbles and grab interceptions. But this was a different situation.
TCU is an efficient offense that uses original formations, making it a challenge for any defense to create opportunities for its offence.
Yet, somehow the Jayhawks managed to force four turnovers, a majority of which created by the their star defensive players will to never give up.
The defensive intensity that we saw Saturday must continue and the offense has to figure out some sort of consistency.
Sure there was the play where the ball rolled past TCU junior quarterback Casey Pachall's legs almost into jayhawk territory before senior defensive tackle Josh Williams recovered it. However, the other turnovers had more to do with defensive force.
The fact is that the defense created turnovers; just not in an ideal area of the field. They displayed a bend-dont-break style of defense, which a team cannot rely on all year to be successful.
Whether it was senior safety Bradley McDougald forcing two separate fumbles, or senior defensive tackle Toben Opurum making a last-second hit to propel the ball into the end zone, forcing a fumble of his own and a touchback.
Despite all the turnovers, the offense still has to put points on the board when given opportunities.
Playing TCU's stout 4-2-5 defense made a difference, but when opportunities are given you can't settle for field goals or no points at all. That's why the defense isn't the main concern for this team going forward.
If the offense cannot find a consistent rhythm throughout the game, being competitive will not happen.
The running game is there, but we only saw sophomore Tony Pierson and junior Taylor Cox combine for twenty carries.
The most effective part of the offense was abandoned and the passing game took over in the second half. All facets of the offensive game must work together.
So as the Jayhawks prepare for their first road game of the year, it's clear what needs to happen for a victory.
DEFENSIVE SURPRISE
Coach Charlie Weis talks with a referee during Saturday's game at Memorial Stadium against Texas Christian University.
Junior cornerback Tyler Patton and freshman cornerback Trey Williams tackle TCU sophomore wide receiver Brandon Carter during the match against TCU Saturday afternoon. Kansas was defeated by TCU 6-20. TCU had six total tackles.
TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Turnovers show defensive promise despite lack of offensive reward
FARZIN VOUSOUGHIAN
fvousoughian@kansan.com
The preconceived notion going into Saturday's game was that Texas Christian University would open up their first Big 12 game with a blowout win over Kansas. But the jayhawks defense limited TCU's high-powered offense to 10 points in the first half and trailed by only four points going into halftime.
Kansas coach Charlie Weis was pleased with how his defense played as they slowed down TCU junior quarterback Casey Pachall and the rest of the offense. The Jayhawks defense finished by giving up 20 points, and leaving the offense plenty of opportunities to cut into the deficit.
Weis said that every turnover was a bie play.
"At least three of them that I can recall were in the scoring zone," Weis said.
"That's keeping points off the board and that's why at the end there's still a chance."
"Just watching the work that we put in all week, I'm not surprised that we were able to compete."
But Kansas did not take advantage of those four takeaways, and struggled to move the football on offense. Regardless of the situation, the defense battled and surprised people with their ability to keep pace with TCU's offense.
Even with a top 25 team coming into Lawrence,rankings and media praise was the last thing on the mind of every Jayhawk.
"I feel like everybody has to just believe that we can compete with whoever they put out on the field," senior defensive end Toben Opurum said. "For me it's just another team in a different color. I don't look at it as 'this is a top 25 team' or 'that's the best quarterback.' That's not what matters to me. What matters is what we do on our队."
Kansas allowed 487 yards of total offense in Saturday's loss. TCU had no problems moving the football on Kansas until the red zone, where the Horned Frogs turned the ball over four times.
"When you get into that red zone situation, that is a time where as a defense you have to step up the most because you don't want to give up a touchdown," senior defensive end Josh Williams said. "At that point, your back is, literally, against the wall and you have to play harder."
Kansas has collected 12 takeaways on the season. While they are encouraged by being one of the best teams in the nation in forcing turnovers, Opurum feels that even after giving TCU a hard time, the defense still has room for improvement.
"As a defense, we took steps forward," Opurum said. "But it's obviously not enough with them scoring 20 points. We've got to keep them under what our offense does. If our offense scores six points, we've got to keep them under that. That's just the mind-set anyone is going to have on defense."
DAVE CAMPO defensive coordinator
Prior to the start of the season, defensive coordinator Dave Campo stressed the importance of creating turnovers and giving the offense a chance to take over the field and score.
With a dozen turnovers under the defense's belt, the team has done what Campo has emphasized the most, and he
wants to keep preaching what they are doing well.
"He told us to keep playing as hard as we are playing and we are bound to win some games coming up," said sophomore linebacker Ben Heeney. "If we keep forcing turnovers, we're going to be good."
Even though the defense was not rewarded for their fumble recoveries, they remain optimistic and feel that things will come together if they continue to fill their holes.
The Jayhaws know that after Saturday, teams won't take them as lightly as they did before. The rest of the conference may still have the same mindset that they can beat Kansas, but it won't be as easy as they thought.
Campo has coached his players to a point where they can't feel disappointed if they perform well but don't finish with a win.
"Most of the guys on this team, they have a lot of confidence in themselves and confidence in what we do. Just watching the work that we put in all week, I'm not surprised that we were able to compete and I think I speak for everybody on the team."
- Edited by Andrew Ruszczyk
FOOTBALL
Defensive coordinator impresses
Even with a three-time Super Bowl champion offensive coordinator calling out the plays for Kansas, it's not Charlie Wei that Northern Illinois coach Dave Doren is most fearful of on the Jayhawk's coaching staff.
That honor is bestowed upon the lavhawk's defensive coordinator.
"Dave Campo is one of the best secondary coaches in college and pro football," Doeren said on a teleconference Monday. "It's the defense and the special teams where you see the most improvement. They have guys who know what they're doing and they are
With Kansas tied with Alabama and Mississippi State for the most turnovers in the nation at 12, it's not an invalid claim. Even Weis has given his praise, noting that turnovers became infectious among his defenders.
putting their kids in really good positions."
It's also helped keep the Jayhawk's defense poised on long drives.
"We've given up a lot of yards, but we've been very good at forcing turnovers and we've been good in the red zone." Weis said. "That's a really big bend but don't break mentality."
Weis
With the completion of their three-game suspensions, junior
running back
James Sims
and junior
long-snapper
Justin Carnes
return to the
Jayhawks line-
up.
Last season
against Northern Illinois, Sim played a significant role in Kansas' comeback victory against the Huskies at Memorial Stadium.
Sims, last season's leading rusher, was expected to have the bulk of Kansas' carries, but a suspension for driving under the influence cost him three games to start off the year.
Sims finished with his most productive game of the season, 110 yards, and two touchdowns on the ground, to complement 49 receiving yards.
With the emergence of a strong backfield, junior running back Taylor Cox and sophomore running back Tony Pierson, Sims number of
"That was a game we gave away in my opinion," Doeren said. "A lot
After going down 21-7 early in the first half Sims rushed for two touchdowns en route to a 45-42 Kansas victory that Doeren remembers all too well.
of times when you lose a football game the team that you're playing beats you. It's really tough when you beat yourself and we beat oursest last year."
Even though Doeren isn't too worried about the Jayhawk's offensive coordinator, but he does have his qualms with the Kansas backfield.
"Their running backs are very skilled," Doeren said. "They are much better than they were a year ago. We know we're going to have to play a lot better to be in this game."
touches will vary, all the backs may suffer as a result. Yet Sim's return is a positive for any Jayhawks fan, and a tricky situation for Weis.
Edited by Whitney Bolden
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