12A GAMEDAY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2006
KU KICKOFF
ATA GLANCE
Kansas ended its four-game streak, defeating Colorado last weekend. With three games left, the Jayhawks must win two of those three to qualify for a bowl game. Kansas' next two games against Iowa State and Kansas State will be its best chance to get six wins. A loss against either team will force Kansas to defeat Missouri in Columbia. With Iowa State being winless in conference play, this is the Jayhawks best shot to win a road game this season.
5 QUICK FACTS
7 — straight road losses, dating back to last season.
3-23 — Mark Mangino's record in road games.
3 — touchdowns accounted for by quarterback Todd Reesing against Colorado.
0 — touchdowns allowed by the Jayhawk defense against the Buffalooes.
115. 7 — Jon Cornish's average yards per game this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Quarterback Kerry Meier, Even though coach Mark Mangino hasn't named a starter for Saturday's game against Iowa
State, there's
Meier
State, there a chance fresh man quarterback Kerry Meier could return to the lineup. With Meier in as the starter, the offense
has been effective, especially running the football. Despite freshman Todd Reesing's performance last week, Meier gives this team the best chance to win. A healthy Meier should mean a second-straight victory.
QUESTION MARK
Who will start at quarterback?
No one knows who exactly will be in the starting lineup at quarterback, but the safe bet is either Kerry Meier or Todd Reesing. Based on experience and, if healthy, Meier gives Kansas the best chance to win its first road game of the season. Although Reesing looked impressive in one-half of play, its still uncertain if he'll be rattled on the road.
POSTSEASON PRESSURE Bowl hopes may ride on Saturday's game
KANSAS VS. IOWA STATE 1 p.m., Saturday, Jack Trice Stadium, 105.9 FM
Kansas
Offense
Kansas' quarterback carousel took another turn last weekend with the addition of Todd Reasing to the circus. No matter who starts, the Jayhawks must run the football. Senior Jon Cornish is having the best season a Jayhawk has had in a decade. Cornish must touch the ball — a lot. Use the running game to control the clock and keep the defense off the field. If Kansas can do that, look for the Jayhawks to get their second-straight win.
Defense
Kansas' defense faces an Iowa State offense that has been decimated by injuries at key positions. The Cyclones will likely be without starters at wide receiver and running back. Throughout the conference season, Iowa State's offense has struggled to score. Without his playmakers, the Jayhawks should force Cyclone quarterback Bret Meyer to make the plays himself. As long as Kansas can contain Meyer, its unlikely the backups should beat them.
Iowa State
Offense
Iowa State entered the season with preseason All-Big 12 quarterback Bret Meyer, a 1,000-yard running back in Stevie Hicks, a plethora of receiving options, and an offensive line that was returning four players with starting experience. Well, every level of the Cyclone offense has broken down in some capacity this season. The line allowed Meyer to get sacked five times in one game, six times in another, and seven times in a third game. While receiver Todd Blythe has put up some of the best stats in the Big 12, he missed last week's game with an undisclosed illness while Iowa State's other starting receiver Jon Davis will be out indefinitely because of a collapsed lung he suffered last week. Hicks is likely to miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery Tuesday. As for Meyer, well, he won't be receiving any postseason honors. With just 10 touchdowns in nine games — equaled by 10 interceptions — even Adam Barmann could challenge this all-conference quarterback for playing time.
It took a month, but Kansas finally got its first conference win of the season. The next big step is for the Jayhawks to stop their seven-game road losing streak. If Kansas hopes to qualify for a bowl game for the second-straight season, one of those two remaining wins will have to come on the road. The disappointing part about Kansas' road struggles is that the Jayhawks have blown leads in every loss. A win Saturday would set up the most important Sunflower Show down of the Mark Mangino era.
Momentum
Defense
State's offense is dreadful, but its defense is worse. The State surrendering 31 points per game, which is last big 12 by five points an outing. Shouldardless of which rearback(s) Kansas uses, he should have success against a secondary that is allowing 235 yards per game. Kansas running back Jon Cornish should have a field day as Iowa State is giving up nearly 150 rushing yards a game. Standing in Cornish's way will be an extremely talented linebacker corps. Alvin Bowen leads the nation with 12.9 tackles per game and teammate Tyrone McKenzie is close behind, averaging 11.3 per game, which is fourth in the country. The third member of the group is Jon Banks, who is averaging 8.7 tackles per game. If Iowa State pressures Kansas' quarterback(s), defensive tackle Brent Curvey will be the one getting in the backfield. He leads the team with 5.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for losses.
Dexton Fields
Momentum
On the bright side, all three of Iowa State's victories this season have come at home, but the Cyclones are in danger of losing three straight home games for the first time since 2003, when they lost five straight home games. Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, had been very kind to Iowa State in 2004 and 2005. The Cyclones went a combined 9-3 at home during those seasons. If nothing else, Iowa State is disciplined and has a dangerous punt return — although he's had few opportunities this season. The Cyclones are first in the Big 12, averaging only 34.8 yards in penalties per game while punt return man Ryan Baum is first in the conference and fifth in the country, averaging 17.3 yards per return. He's also run one punt back for a touchdown on only 12 attempts barely more than one return
ISU
KICKOFF
ATAGLANCE
Iowa State was a contender to win the Big 12 North if it could have survived its early conference schedule against Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas Tech in a five-week period. Iowa State failed, going 1-4 during that span, with their only victory coming against Northern Iowa, 28-27, between the Texas and Nebraska games. The Cyclones haven't won since and, at 3-6 overall and 0-5 in conference, are well on their way to finishing in the basement of the Big 12.
5 QUICK FACTS
5 — Iowa State is tied with Kansas for last in the Big 12 with a -5 turnover margin.
32.5 — Running back Stevie Hicks and wide receiver Jon Davis, who will be inactive tomorrow, have accounted for 32.5 percent of Iowa State's total offense.
100 The Cyclones have allowed 100 more points this season than they've scored, 279-179.
116 — Total tackles by linebacker Alvin Bowen, which is tops in the nation.
36,384 — The lowest attendance at an Iowa State home game since 2000, which came in 2004 when the Cyclones hosted the Jayhawks.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Wide receiver Todd Blythe.
Unlike his quarterback, Blythe has lived up to his preseason
Blythe
All-Big 12 billing. With 42 points scored, he's accounted for nearly 25 percent of Iowa State's points this
season. Blythe has been listed as Iowa State's No.1 receiver this week; so he should be back in the starting lineup.
QUESTION MARK
Can things get any worse for quarterback Bret Meyer?
Selected all-conference first team, Meyer has not performed up to par. His completion percentage is decent at 56.6, but he's thrown 10 interceptions. To make matters worse, his line isn't helping. He's being sacked more than three times a game and was sacked 11 times the last two games combined. Oh yeah, he'll be without his starting running back and one of his starting receivers on Saturday.
BIG 12 GAMES OF INTEREST
No. 18 Oklahoma (6-2, 3-1) at No. 21 Texas A&M (8-1, 4-1),
Saturday 7 p.m., on ONC
The marquee game of the weekend for the Big 12 features two teams fighting to keep their Big 12 Championship hopes alive. While Texas A&M controls its own destiny, Oklahoma needs to win out the rest of the season and get some help from Texas' remaining opponents.
Oklahoma was dominant on the road last week against a ranked Missouri team. After trailing 3-0 for most of the first quarter, the Sooners went on a 26-7 run. Allen Patrick continued to impress at running back, going over the century mark for the second time in as many starts.
No stranger to running the ball itself, Texas A&M enters Saturday's game averaging 213.7 rushing yards per game, good for first in the Big 12 and eighth in the country. Spearheading the Aggie running game is running back Jorvorskie Lane, who is second in the nation in scoring, averaging 11.3 yards per game.
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Missouri (7-2,3-2) at Nebraska (6-3,3-2), Saturday 11 a.m. on ABC
Missouri and Nebraska lost last weekend, dropping from the AP Top 25 poll, but one of them has to win this week and the winner will take the lead in the North and likely re-enter the Top 25 rankings.
Saturday will be Homecoming for Nebraska and former Cornhusker defensive end Mike Rucker is supposed to be in attendance to watch his little brother, Missouri tight end Martin Rucker. Unfortunately for Nebraska, it won't have the elder Rucker to harass Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel is second in the Big 12 and seventh in the nation with 289.9 total yards of offense per game.
The Tigers were held to a third of their average points per game against Oklahoma last week and won't get much of a break this week. Nebraska is only giving up two more points per game than Oklahoma and the Black-shirts will certainly have a chip on their shoulder after allowing 21 points in the fourth quarter of a 41-29 loss to Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State (5-3,2-2) at No. 4 Texas (8-1,5-0), Saturday 6 p.m. on TBS
Two weeks ago, Texas let Nebraska score 13 points and take the lead in the fourth quarter before the Longhorns pulled ahead in the final minute. Last week, Texas trailed Texas Tech 31-21 at halftime and didn't lead in the game until the fourth quarter.
When these two teams met last season, Oklahoma State became the first school to seriously threaten Texas' undefeated record, taking a 28-12 lead into halftime. Texas has the home field advantage this year, but the Longhorns haven't played with the same authority this season.
Facing a pass defense that ranks 11th in the Big 12 and 112th in the nation, Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid must get hot early and stay hot in the second half. Reid is leading the conference and is third in the country with a 177.4 pass efficiency rating. One reason why is wide receiver Adarius Bowman, who has 10 touchdowns this season and is the only Big 12 receiver averaging more than 100 yards per game.
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