KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2010 / SPORTS
7A
KU KICKOFF AT A GLANCE
The Kansas football team travels to Waco, Texas to open Big 12 play against the Baylor Bears. It will be the second of four true road matchups this season for the Jayhawks, who lost to Southern Miss 31-16 in their last away game on Sept. 17. The Baylor offense is led by sophomore Robert Griffin III, arguably the best quarterback in the Big 12, and he should test a Kansas pass defense which has been very impressive so far this season.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior wide receiver Daymond Patterson person seems to have
Patterson see developed into the freshman quarterback Jordan Webb's favorite target
— his 22 receptions and 206 yards are both team highs. For
Patterson
the junior from Mesquite, Texas, the game will be a homecoming of sorts as he takes the field in his home state for the only time this season. Not only will Patterson have friends in the stands, but he is also familiar with many players on the Bears' roster. He should be extra-motivated this Saturday.
QUESTION MARK
How will the offense communicate on the road?
On their last road trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., the offense looked dysfunctional and unable to get a play called on the most critical downs in the game. Last Saturday against New Mexico State, the Jayhawks were able to conserve their timeouts and open up the offensive play book. This Saturday will be a true test to how this Kansas team will perform in hostile environments, both on offense and defense.
BY THE NUMBERS
1
In their three wins this season (vs. Sam Houston State, Buffalo, at Rice), the Baylor defense has allowed only one touchdown.
KANSAS AT BAYLOR 11 a.m., Saturday, FLOYD CASEY STADIUM, Waco, Texas, FSN
58-10
Final score the last time these two teams played (Oct. 13,2007).
BAYLOR BREAKDOWN
A quick glance at the Jayhawks and the Bears
KANSAS 2-2 (0-0 Big 12)
OFFENSE
with sophomore quarterback Kale Pick out due to a broken left fibula, the backup role falls into the hands of junior Quinn Mecham. Coach Turner Gill expressed has his concern that Mecham has not received a significant enough amount of reps during practice, but he said the third-stringer should be ready if called upon this Saturday. The
Mecham
performance of the offensive line will be critical against Baylor. Webb was not sacked against the Aggies last Saturday, but New Mexico State ranks last in the nation with no sacks.
DEFENSE
The Kansas pass defense ranks sixth in the nation and has held opponents to less than 60 percent completed passes this season. However, the lack of a pass rush continues to be the glaring hole in the defensive unit. Senior defensive end Jake Laptad has been almost invisible this season and the Jayhawks were unable to get a single sack against
Laptad
New Mexico State. If the Jayhawks are to make noise during Big 12 play this season, it will be because their more experience defense contained the new look, run-first Big 12.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The kickoff coverage squad allowed four returns of 40 or more yards Saturday against the Aggies, putting their defense in a tough spot over and over again.
COACHING
Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush is concerned about containing Griffin, but said the team would be foolish to focus all its attention on the sophomore quarterback. "Schematically, you need to understand if you make a miss on Griffin, instead of being a 10-yard gain it is going to be a touchdown or a long play," Torbush said. "You can not just
Torbush
sit there and worry about him. If you put three or four guys on him they have wide receivers that can take it to the house in one on one situations."
MOMENTUM
Both teams are coming off big wins against lesser opponents, but Kansas may have the momentum because they have grown more than the Bears since the first week of the season. All you can ask from a first year coach is progress throughout a season, and Gill delivered that last week. Regression would kill any momentum and good will the Jayhawks have built up in their two home wins this season.
Matt Galloway
BAYLOR 3-1(0-0 Big 12)
BIG JAY WILL CHEER IF...
OFFENSE
The Bears are led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin received numerous awards after his freshman campaign, which included starting every game but the first for Baylor. He was named first-team freshman All-American and Big 12 Freshman of the Year by Sporting News and Rivals.com. He suffered a season-
Griffin
ending injury in the Bears third game last year and is looking to establish himself among the Big 12 elite again this year. He has already thrown for 971 yards and eight touchdowns, making Baylor 36th overall in pass yards per game this season. Griffin, also quick on his feet, has three rushing touchdowns.
DEFENSE
Taylor
The Baylor defense has dominated three of the four games they've had this year. They've allowed only 16.8 points to opponents, which ranks 30th in FBS. Senior defensive tackle Phil Taylor, one of five returning defensive starters, was chosen to the All-Big 12 second team by Sports Illustrated and is ranked as the 10th best defensive tackle prospect in college football
The Jayhawks get their first road win and upset the favored Bears in Waco. Anything short of a win would be a disappointment for a team that looked to be clicking on all cylinders last week. Behes needs at least 10 total touches, and if Kansas controls the ball as well as they already have under Webb, they could pull one out in their only visit to the Lone Star State.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Freshman place kicker Aaron Jones had a busy week last Saturday in Baylor's 30-13 win against Rice. He made three of four field goals attempted and kicked three extra points. On the season, he's made eight of ten field goals, including two 48 yard field goals. Senior punter Derek Epperson is averaging 44.8 yards per punt this season. He is rated the nations second best punter by Phil Steele and has been twice been an All-Big 12 selection and once an honorable mention All-America punter.
COACHING
The Bears are led by third year coach Art Briles. Briles came to Baylor in 2007 after being the head coach at the University of Houston from 2003-07. Although his record at Baylor is only 8-16, he is generally perceived to have laid a solid foundation at the school which will lead to future success.
Briles
MOMENTUM
Baylor started the season off winning its first two games against Sam Houston State and Buffalo by a combined score of 68-9. They were beat by 35 points against a talented Texas Christian University team but bounced back with a 17 point victory last week against Rice. Baylor will be playing a tough schedule that includes every other Big 12 South team and will surely be looking to capitalize on opportunities against the weaker Big 12 North teams.
BABY JAY WILL WEEP IF...
Max Vosburgh
Last week's stomping of New Mexico State was a mirage. If the Jayhawks lose and begin Big 12 play 0-1, the fan base could lose interest very quickly. After all, many Jayhawk fans already have an internal clock counting down to basketball season. The worst possible scenario would be if fans stop caring when the Jayhawks lose. In sports, apathy is worse than frustration.
BU KICKOFF AT A GLANCE
Baylor is 3-1 on the year. Its lone defeat was an embarrassing performance against TCU Sept. 18 which they lost 45-10. Besides that game, they have won decisively. Kansas will be looking to start Big 12 play with a win but unfortunately its schedule pits them against a Big 12 South team that isn't looking to waste any opportunities in weeks they aren't playing the tough Big 12 South teams. The Bears should be able to handle an inconsistent Jayhawk team, but in a somewhat close game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior wide receiver Kendall Wright
Bavlor's quarterback will be
alting it a lot against Kansas and his main target has been junior wide receiver Kendall Wright. The 5'10" receiver has 1,632 career receiving yards
Wright
and 11 touchdowns. Last week against Rice, he had seven receptions for 106 yards and a touchdown.
QUESTION MARK
How will Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III do against a Kansas secondary that has been surprisingly efficient against the pass?
The Jayhawk secondary has only given up an average of 128.5 pass yards per game against opposing quarterbacks. Griffin has averaged 242.75 pass yards per game so far this year, over 100 more yards than what the Jayhawk defense has given up. Griffin will be the most talented quarterback Kansas has faced this year and will be looking to have a big game in the Big 12 opener.