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THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012
3
HE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
BIG 12 TEAM PREVIEWS
2011 RECORD:
2-10 (0-9 in Big 12)
KANSAS
RB Tony Pierson, RB James Sims, WR Daymond Patterson, DE Toben Opurum, OT Tanner Hawkinson
KEY RETURNERS:
KEY LOSSES:
LB Steven Johnson, TE
Tim Biere, WR Jonathon
Wilson, CB Isiah Barfield
TOP NEWCOMERS:
Notre Dame transfers quarterback Dayne Crist and quarter end Mike Ragone will be impact players right away for first year head coach
Charlie Weis, but they won't be the only first-year Jayhawks to ignite the offense. Running back Taylor Cox has moved up to number two on the depth chart and will look to provide a complementary bruiser to starter Tony
Pierson's burner.
OVERVIEW:
With its third coach in five years, Kansas and coach Charlie Weis look to build a program that can sustain success long after Weis' five-year contract expires. Weis has brought
in a bevy of transfers and junior college players in hopes of jolting the
Jayhawks on all sides of the ball, but the real challenge will be to bring in top recruits to fit the NFL-style coaching scheme that Weis, and defensive coordinator Dave Campo, brought to Lawrence.
KANSAS STATE
THEY SAID IT:
"We just lost 100 in a row. The least you'll have to worry about for our team is being overconfident." -Charlie Weis on the Jayhawks confidence level
Edited by Sarah McCabe
2011 RECORD:
10-3 (7-2 in Big 12),
AP 15th
KEY RETURNERS:
KEEP THEM SAFE
QB Collin Klein, WR Chris Harper, LB Arthur Brown, DE Meshak Williams, DB Nigel Malone
KEY LOSSES:
WR Sheldon Smith, OT Zach Hanson, DT Ray Kibble, De Jordan Voelker, LB Emmanuel Lamur
Offense rules the top of the Wildcats incoming class. Four of the top five recruits will help Bill Snyder score points, but no one will make a bigger impact than a recruit who will not be suiting up for Kansas
TOP NEWCOMERS:
State. Four-star receiver Marquez Clark, the 'Cats top freshman, failed to meet he required credits to enroll and has since transferred to
Central Oklahoma
OVERVIEW:
Coach Bill Snyder seems to only get better with age. Since returning to the Wildcats in 2008, Snyder has gone 23-15 — ten of those wins coming last season, seven in 2010 — and with dual threat quarterback Collin Klein primed for an emphatic senior season there's not much stopping Kansas State from reaching its third bowl game in as
STORY TO WATCH:
Can Bill Snyder continue
many years.
his success? Expectations for this Wildcat team are much higher than in recent seasons. The 22 rank in the AP poll means they're on the cusp of national attention and one bad loss away from
irrelevance.
THEY SAID IT:
"I'm too old to be surprised. At my age you've seen an awful lot of things take place over a period of time. Believe it or not, it's not my modus operandi to place expectations on young
performance level."
-Bill Snyder on if he was surprised by the maturation of Collin Klein
Edited by Sarah McCabe
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington Redskins running back Roy Helu runs with the ball during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday, Aug. 29, in landover, Md.
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FOOTBALL
Backups coming through for 'Skins
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LANDOVER, Md. — On his first full day on the job as the kicker for the Washington Redskins, Billy Cundiff made three of four field goal attempts — and was booed for the one he missed — making him the only first-stringer to do something noteworthy in Wednesday night's 30-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The second-, third- and fourthteamers were vying for roster spots
Cundiff, signed Tuesday after the Redskins cut Graham Gano, converted from 39, 27 and 22 yards and got some grief from the crowd when he sliced one wide right from 46. The 2010 All-Pro, who joined Washington just two days after being released by the Baltimore Ravens, launched five of his six kickoffs for touchbacks.
With head coaches Mike Shanahan and Greg Schiano resting nearly all of their offensive and defensive starters, the teams gathered before a modest crowd and proved that the backups from one consensus last-place team can beat the backups from another consensus last-place team, for whatever that's worth.
JIM CORE
NFL replacement referee said after checking an instant replay during
a game
ahead of Friday's mandatory cuts, while the starters are already looking ahead to the regular season openers on Sept. 9.
Roy Helu Jr and Evan Royster, who both might have a shot as the Redskins' starting running back job because of injuries, returned from alliments of their own to account for all three of Washington's touchdowns. Helu ran for 90 yards and two scores after missing two games with sore Achilles, while Royster ran for 44 yards and a TD after missing last week's game with a right knee.
No. 2 overall draft pick Robert Griffin III was declared the Redskins starting quarterback before training camp, so the Heisman Trophy-winner ran with the other first-treamers on the field before the game. He then watched fourth-round selection Kirk Cousins play into the third quarter and complete
Meanwhile, first-year coach Schiano took the backup theme to the extreme by using his reserve long snapper, a decision that became apparent when Zack Pianato sent a bouncer to the punter at the end of Tampa Bay's first offensive series. Pianato had two other low snaps, showing he's no threat to unset regular snapper Andrew Economos.
The Redskins decided to go with Cundiff before he had even practiced with the team, judging him off his body of work with the Ravens and figuring it to be an upgrade over Gano, who missed an NFL-high 10 field goal attempts last year — five of them blocked. However, Cundiff struggled with long-distance kicks last year, going 1 for 6 on 50-plus.
of 17 passes for 222 yards and an interception. Jonathan Crompton, signed earlier in the day after being cut Monday, finished the game.
Brett Rattliff, third on the depth chart behind Josh Freeman and Dan Orlovsky, played the entire game for the Buccaneers and was sacked five times. He completed 14 of 30 passes for 164 yards and three interceptions.
The game had other moments that showed why these players won't likely be featured when the games count for real. Cousins and Ratliff threw interceptions on consecutive plays. Washington receiver Brandon Banks lined up as running back on a fourth-down play and dropped the handoff. Tampa Bay had just 6 yards rushing through three quarters.
Replacement referee Jim Core contributed to the theme by checking a replay, announcing the call was upheld, then telling the crowd: "We'll look at it one more time."
Redskins running back Tristan Davis and cornerback Richard Crawford both left the game with right knee injuries.