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GAME DAY
AT A GLANCE
Kansas is still winless in the Big- 12 after bad losses to Baylor and Kansas State. With Texas A&M also sitting at 0-2 in conference play, one team's losing streak will be snapped Saturday night while the other will be firmly in the Big-12 cellar.
Pick
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sophomore quarterback Kale Pick: Well, maybe. The sophomore quarterback hasn't seen the field since suffering a leg injury in mop-
QUESTION MARKS
up time against New Mexico State. He has returned to 100 percent this week and coaches have stated he could get playing time against the Aggies if the offense is still stagnant.
Will either the offense or defense step up this week?
Neither unit has played well the last two games as the team has lost by a combined 114-14. Texas A&M has shown they can give points on defense. Can Kansas' secondary stop Aggie quarterback Jerrod Johnson?
Kansas (2-4)
THE WAVE OCTOBER 22, 2010
The Kansas offense has been non-existent the last two games against Baylor and Kansas State, only putting up 7 points in each game. KU is also last in the Big 12 with only 17 points per game. Coaches hinted this week that back up Kale Pick could see the field this Saturday.
OFFENSE
Pick
DEFENSE
The defense has also looked bad in conference play. They opened the conference schedule giving up 55 points to Baylor and topped that performance in the Sunflower Showdown, surrendering 59 points
Laptad
to Kansas State. Supersion Jake Laptad needs to get the defensive line together. The unit has zero sacks through six games.
SPECIAL TEAMS
DJ Beshears has been a rare spark on special teams. The sophomore kick returner has given the team good starting field position all season. The unit is currently third in the Big 12 in kick returns with an average of 23.7 yards.
Beshears
COACHING
The Jahawks have looked uninspired in the thumpings handed down by Baylor and Kansas State and fans are openly questioning whether or not Turner Gill can get the job done. Another bad loss will have him on a hot seat just halfway through his first season.
Gill
MOMENTUM
Whatever momentum Kansas has right now is not a good kind.The Jayhawks are struggling to compete with middle of the road Big 12 teams. Texas A&M was expected to compete for the Big 12 title before the season started, but has gotten off to an 0-2 start in the league.Both teams are playing with their backs against the wall,but A&M has at least looked competitive in losing.
-Kory Carpenter
Freshman Joradn
JAYHAWKS STARTING LINEUP
Offense
Pos. Name Number Year
QB Jordan Webb 2 Fr.
RB Angus Quigley 22 Sr.
WR Johnathan Wilson 81 Sr.
WR Bradley McDougald 24 So.
WR Daymond Patterson 15 Jr.
TE Tim Biere 86 Jr.
T Tanner Hawkinson 72 So.
G Sal Capra 59 Sr.
C Jeremiah Hatch 77 Jr.
G Trevor Marrongelli 69 So.
T Brad Thorson 76 Sr
Defense
Pos. Name Number Year
DE Quintin Woods 93 Sr.
DT Richard Johnson, Jr. 97 Jr.
DT Patrick Dorsey 92 Jr.
DE Jake Laptad 91 Sr.
OLB Drew Dudley 49 Sr.
MLB Justin Springer 45 Sr.
OLB Steven Johnson 52 Jr.
CB Isiah Barfield 19 Jr.
SS Olaitan Oguntodu 44 Sr.
FS Lubbock Smith 1 So.
CB Chris Harris 16 Sr.
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Predi
Texas A&M
FO
Jayhawks to fight Aggies for conference win
Freshman Jordan Webb passes downfield during the third quarter of Kansas game against in-state rival Kansas State at Memorial Stadium Thursday night. The Jayhawks will attempt to earn their first conference in 10 games.
THE UNIVERSIT
BY KORY CARPENTER
kcarpenter@kansan.com
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
For Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman and Kansas coach Turner Gill, it's a long way from the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Sherman was the Green Bay Packers coach for six seasons, and he hired Gill as the Director of Player Development in 2005. After meeting Gill, Sherman was immediately impressed.
"I felt he could relate well to the players and coaches," Sherman said. "He is full of integrity."
Five years later, the two coaches are in the Big 12 Conference, Gill in his first season with the Jayhawks and Sherman in his third with the Aggies.
Both teams have struggled through the first half of the season and both are still looking for their first conference win. The Aggies started the season strong with three consecutive wins, but have dropped the last three, including conference losses to Oklahoma State and Missouri. Kansas has faced similar adversity, dropping the last two games by a combined score of 114-14.
Terry played a large part in the upset of Georgia Tech, recording five tackles in the 28-25 Kansas win. His absence the last three games has been noted, as the Kansas defense has given up an average of 43 points per game.
"He's still having trouble. He won't be ready for this ballgame," he said.
"We'll have to make the decision next week if he's able to go or not."
Freshman safety Keeston Terry will miss another week with a leg injury he suffered in the second half loss to Southern Miss. Gill confirmed the decision after Wednesday's practice.
if those performances are repeated Saturday night in Memorial Stadium, Homecoming week for KU fans might end on a sour note,
Texas A&M senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson has ruled the air for the Aggies this season. He's averaged 43 passes a game, including a staggering 62 attempts in the loss to Oklahoma State. Johnson is also second in the Big 12 in total offense, second only to Baylor's Robert Griffin III. However, Johnson is capable of making bad decisions. His nine interceptions so far this season are more than he threw all of last season.
as the Aggie offense is 10th in the nation in passing yards per game with an average of 305 per contest.
On offense, Kansas has failed to put up double digits in Big 12 play, only scoring 14 points the last two games. Freshman quarterback Jordan Webb is in his first season running the Jayhawk offense, and it has shown recently. After starting his season with only one interception in four games, he has thrown three in the last two losses.
The three straight losses by the Aggies could be a sign of hope for Jayhawk fans. However, last week Kansas State came to town after an embarrassing loss as well. All they did was put up 460 yards of offense while beating the downrodden Jayhawks 59-7.
Gill said he wants to have the lead early to call a trick play like a reverse or half-back pass, but that obviously hasn't been the case the last two games.
"We always have some plays like that in the game plan," he said. "It's just about finding an opportunity to execute them."
With the offense struggling to score points, Gill didn't rule out the idea of calling a few trick plays Saturday night.
Saturday's loser will be 0-3 in the
Edited by Abby Davenport
Big 12, with big games still remaining in conference for each squad. Texas A&M still plays Oklahoma and Texas while the Jayhawks have yet to play Nebraska or Missouri. A win by either team would give the respective squad much needed momentum heading into the second half of the season. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
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Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry.
How do people expect the Jayhawks to win when they lose the winningest player in program history, a big man who bailed anybody out on defense and a versatile scorer?
It's what coach Bill Self calls "Kansas Math"
It's the same thing Martin does, but in Manhattan.
It's addition by subtraction. It's not like the NBA where guys can play for the same team from their rookie season to retirement. Guys come and go their first year or stay for four, but in the end they will be replaced.
On paper Kansas State looks like the favorite,but Martin lives in reality and winning on paper doesn't cut it for him.
His main goal when he became the coach was to win the Big 12 Championship. He has yet to do that because Kansas has won it the last six seasons.
Martin says that this is Kansas conference because of its dominance.
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"Nobody has beat them on the floor, which is where you decide who wins," Martin said.
This is true. Since the 2007-2008 season, when Martin was hired as the Wildcat coach, Kansas has a 42-6 record. Kansas State is 30-18.
But Self does not live in the past.
He thinks it's difficult to win a national title and it's even more difficult to repeat. He is hungry for another title.
He doesn't look at the preseason polls either. When asked about receiving two first-place votes, he had no idea that Kansas received two votes.
I don't think coaches really care about preseason polls and awards. They don't mean anything if the team isn't cutting down the net in April.
Edited by Abby Davenport
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