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12A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GAME DAY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2005
Kansas to face video game-like offense
Kansas offense its best defense
BY RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolaianni@kansan.com
KAMSAN STAFF WRITER
After three games and three victories for the Kansas football team, the Jayhawks will face their first stiff challenge of the year tomorrow against the No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The Jayhawk offense could end up being their best defense tomorrow. The longer the offense can stay on the field, the fewer opportunities the Texas Tech offense will have to score points. Much of that will begin with senior quarterback Brian Luke.
Jayhawk fans will have their first opportunity to see how the team will perform against top competition.
"We definitely need to eat up some of the clock by running the ball and completing the ball through the air," Luke said. "Like every game we want to score as many points as we can and the more points we score puts us in that much better a situation."
Last season, the Jayhawks blew a 30-5 lead, losing late in the fourth quarter on a 70-yard touchdown run by Red Raider running back Taurean Henderson, and lost 31-30.
Although the team has not dwelt on last year's loss, senior wide receiver Mark Simmons said he thought the loss was in the back of every player's mind.
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino said he thought his defense played well in the game, and the loss had more to do with a lack of offense.
The Jayhawks, throughout the offseason, discussed playing four complete quarters and not losing the close games that they lost last season.
Kansas vs. Texas Tech 6 p.m. Saturday, Jones SBC Stadium
The offense may be an important part of the whole if the Jayhawks are going to be successful tomorrow, but the main concern has to be with the Red Raider offense.
The Red Raiders have scored 199 points in just three games thus far and are led by quarterback Cody Hodges, who has passed for 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Mangino said despite the potent offense that Texas Tech had, Kansas was not approaching this game any differently.
"We are going to play defense the way that we play defense all the time." Mangino said. "We are not making any special preparations for this offense. They execute well so you have to play good, sound, assignment and fundamental football, and that is what we plan to do."
The Jayhawks are hoping to stop the passing attack by putting pressure on Hodges and playing tight coverage in the secondary. Much of that will come with cornerbacks Charles Gordon and Theo Baines.
Edited by Patrick Ross
The Kansas offense may have to be the team's best defense tomorrow if they want to stop Texas Tech. Expect Kansas football coach Mark Mangino to run the ball often to try to take time off the clock. While the rushing attack had a lackluster game against Louisiana Tech, Kansas will need to regain the form it had in the opening two games where it rushed for over 200 yards in each game. Senior running back Clark Green will likely get the tough yardage and junior Jon Cornish will look to use his speed to get into the open field. Senior quarterback Brian Luke needs to be efficient and not throw interceptions for the Jayhawks to succeed. Mangino said he wanted to get more receivers involved in the offense, which struggled in the first half against Louisiana Tech. If Kansas gets off to a slow start, the game may be over by halftime, because it is clear how quickly Texas Tech can score points.
The Kansas defense will be under a lot of stress tomorrow, specifically in the team's secondary. The Jayhawks will see four and five wide receivers on the field on nearly every play. Kansas' secondary has been a point of concern this season. The secondary has given up nearly 250 passing yards per game. Junior cornerback, and pre-season all-America, Charles Godron has yet to record his first interception. Gordon certainly will have his chances tomorrow. The defense has stressed pressure on Texas Tech quarterback Cody Hodges all week. The defensive line will also need to get its hands up to knock down passes. The talented Kansas linebacker corps may not have the luxury of blitzing very often and will likely drop back into coverage to protect against the pass. If the secondary steps up and the defensive line gets to Hodges, which are both huge ifs, the Jayhawks could be in good position for the upset.
COACHES
Texas Tech
The Jayhawk special teams unit has been the most impressive unit this season. Sophomore place kicker Scott Webb has converted all his field goal attempts and his kickoffs have mainly resulted in touchbacks. Webb's accuracy has been a pleasant surprise for a Kansas team that had previously struggled in the kicking game. The kickoff and punt coverage team has been impressive as well, tackling returners deep in their own territories. The team's kick returners have averaged more than 20 yards per return and Gordon is averaging more than 10 yards per punt return. The Jayhawks will need to play mistake-free football on special teams if they want to win tomorrow
Mangino said the KU defense would not plan any differently than it usually did against the high-powered Red Raider offense. Unless Kansas presents different looks at the potent Texas Tech offense, it may be a long day for Kansas. Mangino and Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach coached together at Oklahoma and understand each other's coaching styles. Mangino has efficiently used the first three games to have certain players emerge as starters, such as Luke and Cornish. Mangino will need to mix it up on defense and establish a strong running game tomorrow.
-Ryan Colaianni
Texas Tech leads the Big 12 Conference in scoring offense, pass offense and total offense. The Red Raiders have two of the best receivers in the conference. Junior wide receiver Robert Johnson leads the conference in receptions with 19 and ranks second in the conference with 350 yards. Junior wide receiver Joel Filani has 198 yards in the first three games and has 12 receptions for the season. During quarterback Cody Hodges' first three games as a starter, he threw 12 touchdowns and only one interception. Hodges is averaging 372 yards per game. The experienced offensive line is also having a good year, protecting Hodges and giving him plenty of time to throw.
DEFENSE
The defense often gets overlooked at Texas Tech because of the high-scoring offensive attack. However, the defensive unit, once one of the worst in the conference, is turning around. It ranks in the top half of the conference in total defense and pass defense. If there is an area where Tech has to improve, it's stopping the run. Tech ranks ninth in the conference in rush defense and has allowed 341 rushing yards in just three games against Sam Houston State, Indiana State and Florida International. The defense got a boost last weekend when senior safety Vincent Meeks returned to the lineup after serving a two-game suspension after getting arrested in the off-season. Meeks has nine interceptions in his career and compiled 61 total tackles last season. Also, defensive end Keyunta Dawson is a force on the defensive line. Dawson has nine tackles in the first three games and one sack.
SPECIALTEAMS
Sophomore kicker Alex Tricla will handle the kicking duties this weekend. Tricla has attempted two field goals and has made one of them. A year ago, Tricla converted seven of 13 at 34 yards, Junior punter Alex Reyes ranks sixth in the conference so far this season in punt average with 43.5 yards per punt. Last season Reyes had
39 punts and averaged just over 42 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Danny Amendola is the team's punt returner. He averages 12.6 yards per punt return.
COACHES
Coaches: Mike Leach is in his sixth season as head coach at Texas Tech and has led the team to a bowl game in each of his first five years, includ-
Holiday Bowl victory last year. Before becoming head coach at Texas Tech, Leach served as the offensive coordinator at Kentucky. Leach is a with quarterbacks adjust to his offense
Oklahoma and genius in working and getting them to
Under Leach, Tech's best conference record came last year and in 2002 when the Red Raiders went 5-3. This season, Tech will look to beat that, and compete for the Big 12 South Division.
Daniel Berk
Kansas to meet powerful offense
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SWITCHWRITER
The Kansas defense will have its hands full this weekend, taking on one of the most potent offensive attacks in the country.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders enter the game with 199 points scored in just three games, which leads the Big 12 Conference.
In years past, Tech had been known as a passing team, which it still is, but this season the story for the Red Raiders has been their running game.
Taurean Henderson, senior running back, broke the school record for touchdowns last week, finding the end zone for the 55th time in his career. In the first three games, Henderson has rushed for 267 yards and has scored seven times.
"He's probably the most underrated back if not in the country in the Big 12," Cody Hodges, senior quarterback, said. "He can run, pass and block the blitz. I have a lot of confidence in him making big plays."
Henderson's statistics are even more impressive, considering he has yet to play a full game this season. The Red Raiders have defeated each of their first three opponents by more than fifty points, including a 80-21 beating of Sam Houston State.
Hodges compliments Henderson in the backfield, leading the Big 12 in total offense. The senior from Hereford, Texas, has already thrown for more than 1,000 yards, and is Texas Tech's fourth starting quarterback in the last four years. Texas Tech football coach Mike Leach said he has been happy with Hodges' season so far, but knows this weekend will provide a test for him.
"They did a good job stopping us and slowing us down and getting ahead," Leach said. "The biggest things we need to do are move the football and take care of it."
Kansas will not only have to overcome Tech's offensive attack, it will also have to deal with the road environment. Hodges said he thinks homefield advantage will play a factor in the game.
"We have one of the greatest venues in the Big 12 and our fans and the atmosphere really gives us an advantage," Hodges said. "We need to carry the momentum from the first three games into conference."
Texas Tech enters the game ranked No. 13 in the country in the coaches poll and No. 16 in the Associated Press poll. The No. 13 ranking is the highest-ranking for a Red Raider team since 1977.
Edited by Erick R. Schmidt
VIEW FROM PRESS ROW
Kansas offense must put pressure on Texas Tech to skirt loss
It was this time a year ago that Mark Mangino committed the biggest coaching errors he has made during his tenure as the Kansas football coach.
While holding a 30-5 lead against Texas Tech, in the second quarter, he failed to convert a needless two-point conversion and abandoned his running game.
KELLIS ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
game. The Jayhawks ran the ball on just 17 of their 51 offensive plays in the second half, and though that would normally be a respectable balance, the Red Raiders took advantage of the extra time this strategy allowed to come back and win the game 31-30.
Last year, with John Randle and Clark Green sharing the load at running back, the rushing game was Kansas' most effective offensive weapon. Yet, Mangino put the game in the hands of then sophomore quarterback Adam Barmann.
Of course, Kansas could have lost the game even if Mangino had opted to run and the Jayhawks had not turned over the ball. The question now is: What has Mangino learned since last year?
Texas Tech is one of the toughest teams in the country to keep down; it has already put up 80 points against Sam Houston State this season. But when Kansas had a 25-point lead, it should have adjusted its game plan to make it as difficult as possible for a team that scores as quickly as Texas Tech to come back.
The Jayhawks scored zero points in the second half and Barmann threw two interceptions, which gave Texas Tech good field position and enough time to take advantage of it.
But when Kansas had a 25-point lead, it should have adjusted its game plan to make it as difficult as possible for a team that scores as quickly as Texas Tech to come back.
"What have I learned? Don't
keep down; it has already put up 80 points against Sam Houston State this season.
That means running the football. Doing so eats up the clock, decreases the chance of turnovers, and keeps the ball away from the opponent's offense as long as possible.
Texas Tech is one of the toughest teams in the country to
"The more points we score the better, because they have shown that they can put up a lot of points." Luke said. "For most guys who played in last year's game, it is a reminder that we need to play all four quarters."
Senior quarterback Brian Luke offered a better assessment of how Kansas needs to adjust.
let them score, and hold them down." Mangino said.
Kansas is a 17.5-point underdog, so doing so may be difficult.
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Texas Tech played such a weak non-conference schedule that Kansas' slate of Florida Atlantic, Appalachian State and Louisiana Tech looks like murderer's row by comparison.
Texas Tech played Florida International and two Division AA teams, Sam Houston State and Indiana State. The Red Raiders obliterated those teams by 53, 59 and 56 points, respec-
But in reality, Kansas has a few factors in its favor.
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It did during the first half of last year's game, and if it happens again Saturday, we could see just how much Mangino values extra points and time of possession this time around.
tively, but the Jayhawk defense is so much stronger than those teams' that it might catch the Red Raiders off guard.
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- Robinett is an Austin, Texas,
senior in journalism. He is
Kansan sports editor.
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