GAME DAY 5 North Dakota State (3-8 in 2009) OFFENSE North Dakota State has returning letterwinners at all 11 positions on the field, including quarterback Jose Mohler, Mohler, a sophomore, started four games for the Bison last year. He faced stiff competition for the starting job from redshirt freshman Brock Jensen, but was able Mohler brock jensen, but was able to hold onto the inside track and win the starting job. Sound familiar? The good news for North Dakota State is that they return eight of 11 starters on defense. The bad news is that they weren't very good in 2009. The Bison allowed 361.5 yards per game and opposing offenses posted over DEFENSE Junior tight end Tim Biere Evans 28 points per game. Preston Evans, junior middle linebacker, returns after leading the team with 96 tackles last season. SPECIAL TEAMS The Bison connected on just seven of 14 field goals as a team last year. Then they lost their top kicker, Ryan Jastram, who hit just one of his four attempts, will take over the kicking duties for North Dakota State. The return team for the Bison is a bit unproven, with two freshman deep to return kicks. Jastram COACHING North Dakota State is led by Craig Bohl, who played at Nebraska with Turner Gill, graduating a year before Gill left the program. Bohl has posted a 52-25 record with the Bison, including a 3-3 mark against FBS teams. In his only game against a Big 12 school last year, Bohl and the Bison fell to Bohl MOMENTUM Bohl and the Bison fell to Iowa State The Bison have won nine of their last 10 season openers, but fell last season to the Cyclones in game one. They don't come in on anything resembling a hot streak after finishing last season at 3-8. North Dakota State is picked to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this year. er if... Tim Dwyer big. With a home date looming on Sept. 11, the occup against a FCS school, day would instill confidence eling from last year's ff. no shortage of excuses nach, thin at linebacker, in the Missouri Valley Foot- will be a disastrous start worst opponent. keep if... tion: Dakota State 17 Offense BISON STARTING LINEUP
Pos.NameNumberYear
QBJose Mohler3So.
FBLee Vandal46Sr.
RBD.J. McNorton8Jr.
WRTitus Mack6Sr.
WRWarren Holloway81Jr.
TELandon Smith84Sr.
TMichael Arndt52Sr.
GJoe Lund73So.
CAustin Richard63Jr.
GTy Beckius68So.
TPaul Cornick78Jr.
KRyan Jastram33Jr.
Pos. Name Number Year DE Coulter Boyer 92 Jr. DT Matthew Gratzek 70 Sr. DT Leevon Perry 69 Fr. DE Scott Stoczynski 98 Jr. OLB Matt Anderson 48 Sr. MLB Preston Evans 44 Jr. OLB Brandon Jemison 56 So. CB Freddie Banks 13 Sr. SS Cyrus Lemon 36 Sr. FS Daniel Eaves 7 Jr. CB Brendin Pierre 2 So. P John Prelvitz 19 Sr. Defense PLAYER TO WATCH The Bison should be easy picking for the Jayhawks Saturday. Kansas isn't favored to do any damage in the Big 12, but the sixth-place team in the Missouri Valley is a different story. Unless new running back D.J. McNorton can far exceed the success of his predecessor Pat Paschall — who ran for well over 1,000 yards in his senior campaign — the Bison will be nothing short of Jayhawk fodder by the time the final bell sounds. AT A GLANCE All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2010 The University Daily Kansan Sophomore quarterback Jose Mohler Just like Kale Pick, Mohler emerged as the starter after the completion of last season. He started the last four games last season and showed the capability to run. He's had time to improve his 59.7 percent passing in the offseason. Mohler is a bit of a dual threat with his ability to run and pass, so the Kansas defense will be tested early. weather.com QUESTION MARKS WEDNESDAY 86 66 Can North Dakota State ruin Turner Gill's debut? The Bison won't win. But they may rain on Gill's parade if they can keep it close for a half or more. If North Dakota State is within double digits as halftime rolls around, Jayhawk fans will have plenty of reasons to be nervous about the upcoming season. If Kansas is rolling at the intermission, things may just be looking up for the recently downtradden program. THURSDAY 77 61 Scattered t-storms Afternoon t-storms BY THE NUMBERS Points that North Dakota State's Ben Woodside scored against the Kansas basketball team in the 2009 NCAA Points that North Dakota State's football team averaged last season 37 North Dakota State's record in it's last 10 season openers. The loss came last season to Iowa State. DAILY KANSAN YR/KANSAN Freshman election preview An introduction to the candidates for freshman student senate. Elections are Tuesday and Wednesday. Partly cloudy INDEX HIGH TODAY'S WEATHER Classifieds...6B Crossword...4A Cryptoquips...4A Opinion...5A Sports...1B Sudoku...4A THE WAVE SEPTEMBER 3,2010 In Saturday's season opener against North Dakota State, the Kansas football team played without names on the back of their jerseys for the first time since 1981. For junior tight end Tim Biere, that may have been a blessing in disguise. Biere dropped three passes, all on third down, and fumbled his only two receptions as North Dakota State stunned Kansas 6-3 at Memorial Stadium. "That wasn't Tim out there," said freshman quarterback Jordan Webb. "He is a great player. He is definitely one of the best tight ends I've ever seen or been around. But we're going to keep going back to him." Junior receiver Daymond Patterson approached Biere in the locker room after the defeat. Patterson said he knows if the Jayhawks are to rebound from this defeat, their tight end cannot have hangover from one of the worst games for a Jayhawk in the program's history. "I told him to keep his head up," Patterson said. "We know those are plays he will make more times than he doesn't. To tell you the truth, I'm not even worried about the game Tim had tonight. He is going to Biere's first fumble came on his first reception of the season in the third quarter. The second fumble cost the Jayhawks (0-1) one of their final drives as Biere lost possession near midfield. finished 13-for-22 with 138 yards and an interception. "We never really got our chemistry on offense." Pick said. "Everybody had their moments and everybody had rough points in the game. As a unit, we just didn't click" Webb produced mixed results in his brief time on the field, going 6-for-11 but getting sacked twice. While Webb was expected to see some playing time, the move was an outright benching of a player the coaching staff decided was the man two weeks ago. The Jayhawks allowed only two field goals to the Bison (1-0), but their offense could only put senior kicker Jacob Branstetter in position for three attempts of their own. Branstetter put the Jayhawks on the board first with a 25-yard field goal but would later miss from distances 53 and 42 yards. Gill was uncommitted "I need to watch the videotape so I can see a lot more details." Gill said. "You have to hope that you score more than three points, not to take away from North Dakota State." Ohm was uncommitted on naming a starter for next Saturday's home matchup with Georgia Tech. "You have to hope that you score more than three points, not to take away from North Dakota State" TURNER GILL Coach Angus Quigley and freshman DeShaun Sands struggled, failing numerous times in short yardage situations. In fact, the leading rusher would end up being Patterson, who finished 63 yards rushing on three carries and 66 yards receiving on six catches. "The coaches try to get you a ball in a lot of different ways, trying to make the offense unpredictable," Patterson said. "I definitely expect to see more carries going forward." The defense was able to limit the Bison to a 3.1 yard average gain per play and a 2.3 yard average per rush, but the pro- mance was wasted by the offense's struggles. The six points were the fewest allowed in a Jayhawk loss since they fell 6-3 to Texas Christian University on Sept. 22, 1962. Edited by Roshni Oommen "We have to get better." Springer said. "We can't give up six points." While the defense made their tackles and prevented the big play, senior linebacker Justin Springer still sees room for improvement. teams shine Gill: Defense game outperforms offense; special teams play big role in game. SEE MORE COVERAGE IN THE FOOTBALL REWIND ON PAGES 4-5B CAMPUS Help for parents and students who can't let go BY GARTH SEARS gsears@kansan.com Students who are living away from their parents for the first time face a tough transition now — only the second full week of the semester — from family life to that of an independent student. For some, that means liberty from cautious or even overbearing parents. For others, it means a tough time away from the people who have surrounded them since birth. "It's nice, but honestly, I miss them," Olivia DeWitte, a freshman from Luray, said about her parents. "Back home, if I had car problems or needed something, they could come help me. Now, they're three hours away. It's kind of a struggle." Though others exist, the extreme change to college can be one of life's most important. "Any transition in life will affect your well-being, your relationships, and your performance," said Omri Gillath, assistant professor of psychology. "Especially if you move a long way to college, you will be torn from your social network, away from your family, away from support and love. You'll have to make new friends, and deal with all the challenges of college." The transition isn't limited to students. Parents can have a difficult time learning to let go and embracing a new relationship with their children. "You might be able to physically take your student to class, but you can't make them be engaged in the classroom," said Jane Tuttle, associate vice provost for student success. "All along we've learned you can't make a baby walk before they want to. That's a hard lesson for parents to learn." PARENTAL HELP HOTLINE IS AVAILABLE Are your parents having problems adjusting to your move to Lawrence? They can use these hotlines if they are concerned. Phone hotline: 785-864-5872 E-mail hotline: parents@ku.edu Tuttle, who coordinates the parent services program at the University and is a parent of a college student herself, emphasized that every situation - given the variables of family economics, the distance between parents and children, and other factors — is SEE PARENTS ON PAGE 3A A