8
GAME DAY
It loing, up hawks.
Texas similar teams countr averag per gar but potent utilize North bound forwar should Thomas for Jeff
Elij
Johi
seriou
up. Br
minut
no lor
Jo
AT A GLANCE
their athle trans John every but J and s shot linei sibiit
Oklahoma State has been one of the best teams in the Big 12 all season. They come to Lawrence at 9-1 and are in sole position of first place in the Big 12 South.The high powered spread attack of the Cowboys will be testing the Kansas secondary all day.
Chris Harris: Harris will more than likely have the privilege of covering wide receiver Justin Blackmon. Blackmon has dominated opposing
PLAYER TO WATCH
cornerbacks all year, catching 84 passes to go along with his 16 touchdowns. If Kansas wants to win its final game of the year, Harris will have to shut down Blackmon as much as possible.
Will the two quarterback system work?
Turner Gill hinted that Jordan Webb will play, but will playing two quarterbacks work for the dormant offense? It can't get much worse than last week's performance.
BY THE NUMBERS
QUESTION MARKS
3 The Oklahoma State offense is third in the nation in scoring.
27 The number of touchdowns Cowboy quarterback Brandon Weeden has thrown this season.
Kansas (3-7)
OSU is ranked tenth in the BCS standings, the second highest team the Jayhawks has played all season.
10
THE WAVE NOVEMBER 19,2010
OFFENSE
Turner Gill announced Tuesday that Quinn Mecham will start Saturday, but hinted that backup Jordan Webb might play as well. Webb hasn't played since being knocked out of the Texas A&M game Oct. 23. Besides the final 11 minutes of the Colorado game,the offense has struggled during Big 12 play, averaging only 15 points per game.
Mecham
DEFENSE
Carl Torbush's defense improved vastly last weekend against Nebraska. The team only gave up 20 points to the Huskers, 17 points under their season average. They will be tested on Saturday, as the Cowboy offense is third in the nation in scoring with 45 points a game.
Torbrush
SPECIAL TEAMS
Once again, D.J Beshears had another huge game in the special teams department last week. Beshears tallied 139 return yards on five kick returns and has proven to be one of the few bright spots for the stagnant Jayhawk offense.
Beshears
COACHING
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy is in his sixth year in Stillwater and has a record of 45-28 with two bowl victories. Gundy has taken the Cowboys to a bowl game each of the last four seasons. Kansas coach Turner Gill is 3-7 in his first year with the Jayhawks.
Gill
Sophomore wide receiver D.J. Bes away from two Nebraska defen opening kickoff of the Jayhawk of the Cornhuskers. Kansas suffered loss of the season, falling to Nebra
MOMENTUM
— Kory Carpenter
All the momentum Kansas had from the Colorado victory died last week in Lincoln, as the Jayhawks lost to Nebraska 20-3. After losing to Nebraska on Oct. 23, the Cowboys have won three in a row and look to possibly sew up the Big 12 South on Saturday.
JAYHAWKS STARTING LINEUP
Offense
Defense
Pos. Name Number Year
QB Quinn Mecham 8 Jr
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
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
Big Jay will
... The Jayhawks offense can we need for touchdowns this week field goals won't keep you in the like Oklahoma State's.
Baby Jay wil
... The 20 seniors on the Kansas This season has been anything a win on their final game in Me nice sendoff.
Predic
The Kansas defense has struggled all season. Oklahoma State's spperback Brandon Weeden and I are better than anyone this def Jayhawk offense should be abl in the end it won't be enou
Oklahoma State
Can
foul trouble?
THE UNIVERSITY [
Morris
With Jeff Withey healthy, this is less of a concern than it was in the preseason, but when Markieff Morris had to sit with two early fouls against Valparaiso, it made frontcourt depth an issue for the rest of the first half. There aren't enough bodies in the Jayhawk frontcourt to withstand serious foul trouble, and the Mean Green led the nation in free throws made per game last season. If two of the Jayhawks bigs get into foul trouble, Mario Little could be forced to spend some time in the frontcourt, which offers opponents a size mismatch in their favor.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"I never expect to lose here. This is the best home-court advantage in the country. Coming in here and getting those chills before the game, I definitely don't expect to lose here."
Robinson
Markieff Morris, junior center
Markieff has unquestionably established himself as the best rebounder on this Jayhawks team (with an honorable mention to Thomas Robinson off the bench). His 14 boards per game are just one shy of what Marcus and Robinson are averaging combined. Markieff played just five minutes and pulled down three boards in the first half against Valparaiso because of foul trouble, but had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the second half alone.
SIXTH MAN
Thomas Robinson, sophomore forward Robinson is getting almost as many minutes as the starters (or more, in the case of Releford) with 20 per game. It's hard for Self to keep him off the floor, as he has the ability to be a double-double player, even off the bench. Self has taken to playing both Morris twins and Robinson at the same time, creating size mismatches at the three and four against most teams. Robinson gets a fourth star for the first time.
Thomas Robinson, sophomore forward
George Odufuwa, senior forward
Odufuwa was named to the Sun Belt's preseason All First-Team. He is currently averaging 10.5 points and 13 rebounds per game. He is averaging 35 minutes per game as well. A season ago, Odufuwa averaged 11.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. He started 32 of North Texas' 33 games.
George Odufuwa, senior forward
Marcus Morris
SIXTH MAN
Dominique Johnson, senior guard Johnson is averaging 16.5 points off the bench this season in 31 minutes. Johnson may crack the starting lineup if his play continues. However, having two 5-foot-10 guards in the lineup makes the Mean Green very small in the frontcourt. Johnson is North Texas' best three-point shooter. He is currently 8-13 on the season. He was one of four players to average double figures (11 ppg) last season.
Tim Dwyer
— Mike Lavieri
compared with North Texas. The Mean Green caught the attention of the Jayhawks last season when both teams played in Oklahoma City for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. North Texas lost to Kansas State 82-62.The Mean Green entered the tournament with an 11-game winning streak, but had it snapped by the Wildcats. North Texas hung with Kansas State for the first 10 minutes until Kansas State pulled away. The games against Texas Tech regained Kansas' attention if it was lost during the NCAA Tournament.
HEARYE, HEARYE
"He was truly a pioneer at North Texas because he showed that you could have success here. His willingness to share his experiences helped in my transition to North Texas. I have fond memories of him, and he will be sorely missed."
— North Texas coach Johnny Jones on legendary Mean Green coach Bill Blackey, who passed away on Oct. 26, according to a news release.
FRIDAY BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Teams
Time (CT)
Texas vs. Pittsburgh 6 p.m.
Texas A&M-International at Texas A&M 7:00 p.m.
Nebraska vs. Davidson 2:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin at Texas Tech 7:00 p.m.
ALLEN FIELDHOUSE WILL ROCK IF...
BABY JAY WILL BREAK DOWN AND CRY IF...
Kansas allows Josh White to do what he did to Texas Tech light up the scoreboard in a stunning Mean Green upset. White is excellent against Big 12 competition, but there's a difference between a team picked to finish in the middle of the pack, and a team ranked No.6 in the country.
The team ties the school record for consecutive wins in the building with 62. Marcus Morris said he "can't, can't, CAN'T" lose a game in his home building, so he may have a little extra fire with the streak on the line. If he does, look out North Texas. He could go for 30.
SCHEDULE
Prediction:
Kansas 98, North Texas 64
Date Opponent TV Channel Time
Nov. 23 Texas A&M-CC Jayhawk TV 7 p.m.
Nov. 26 Ohio Jayhawk TV 7 p.m.
Nov. 27 Arizona Jayhawk TV 7 p.m.
Dec. 2 UCLA ESPN2 9:30 p.m.
14