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| Source: KU Sports |
Jordan Webb not only played well enough to go toe-to-toe with stud NIU quarterback, Chandler Harnish, he played well enough to beat him. Harnish, a fifth year senior, shredded the Kansas secondary all night, but Webb out-dueled him with a clutch, game-winning 6 yard TD pass on 4th down with just seconds left in the game.
The Jayhawks recaptured a 45-42 lead and ultimately held on in a week two barn-burner, in what could have been confused as the KU Relays Track Meet-- 87 points were scored and nearly 1100 total yards were racked up. If not for Turner Gill’s excellent time-management late in the game, Harnish may have drove the length of the field to defeat the Hawks, sending the young team to Atlanta, Georgia at 1-1. Instead, the mood is sky high as the Jayhawks look to tangle with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets next week, and there is a feeling that this team is headed in the right direction, fast.
The Jayhawks recaptured a 45-42 lead and ultimately held on in a week two barn-burner, in what could have been confused as the KU Relays Track Meet-- 87 points were scored and nearly 1100 total yards were racked up. If not for Turner Gill’s excellent time-management late in the game, Harnish may have drove the length of the field to defeat the Hawks, sending the young team to Atlanta, Georgia at 1-1. Instead, the mood is sky high as the Jayhawks look to tangle with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets next week, and there is a feeling that this team is headed in the right direction, fast.
Week 2
Box-Score Courtesy of: KU Athletics
Northern Illinois (1-1) vs. Kansas (2-0)
Date: Sep 10, 2011
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Northern Illinois... 7 14 14 7 - 42
Kansas.............. 7 14 14 10 - 45
Animated Drive Chart brought to you by Gameday Depot.
During fall camp, KU coaches spoke fondly of Webb’s improvement in accuracy and toughness, to partner with his innate arm strength. All of that was displayed yesterday, but it was his decision making that really displayed the marked improvement ( The 2010 Jayhawks do not win that game last night, folks). With the game on the line Webb looked off his first and second options, wide receivers Kale Pick and Chris Omigie, and fired a pinpoint strike to his safety valve, D.J. Beshears, who made a fantastic play in powering across the goal-line. The days of Webb staring down his primary receiver and showing his hand are over; Webb is going to take this team somewhere.
But for as well as Webb played this Saturday, Kansas cannot afford to sacrifice James Sims’s carries. With the help of competition from a talent-stocked stable of tail-backs, Sims’s looks as if he has also improved noticeably. A strong Freshman campaign is only a taste of what is yet to come, and Sims’s, statistically, has proven to be a vital piece in Jayhawks winning ballgames.
Courtesy of espn.com, take a look at Sims’s game logs:
James Sims Game By Game Stats
Season:
2010 GAME LOG
|
RUSHING
| |||||||||||
DATE
|
OPP
|
RESULT
|
ATT
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
| ||
9/4
|
Did not play or did not accumulate any stats.
| |||||||||||
9/11
|
17
|
101
|
5.9
|
26
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
| ||||
9/17
|
20
|
74
|
3.7
|
21
|
0
|
2.0
|
2
|
0
| ||||
9/25
|
16
|
115
|
7.2
|
13
|
2
|
24.5
|
30
|
0
| ||||
10/2
|
14
|
39
|
2.8
|
12
|
0
|
30.0
|
30
|
0
| ||||
10/14
|
10
|
23
|
2.3
|
5
|
0
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
| ||||
10/23
|
5
|
23
|
4.6
|
12
|
0
|
4.3
|
7
|
0
| ||||
10/30
|
19
|
60
|
3.2
|
11
|
0
|
2.6
|
8
|
1
| ||||
11/6
|
20
|
123
|
6.2
|
28
|
4
|
5.5
|
18
|
0
| ||||
11/13
|
9
|
24
|
2.7
|
5
|
0
|
1.0
|
1
|
0
| ||||
11/20
|
17
|
78
|
4.6
|
24
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
| ||||
11/27
|
21
|
82
|
3.9
|
25
|
1
|
4.0
|
4
|
0
| ||||
Season:
2011 GAME LOG
|
RUSHING
| |||||||||||
DATE
|
OPP
|
RESULT
|
ATT
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
| ||
9/3
|
19
|
104
|
5.5
|
30
|
1
|
0.0
|
0
|
0
| ||||
9/10
|
26
|
110
|
4.2
|
15
|
2
|
24.5
|
39
|
0
| ||||
If you pay close attention to the first three categories you may see a pretty striking trend. For starters, in all 5 of KU’s wins, Sims rushed for over 100 yards. In those 5 games he has also rushed the ball 16 or more times. In games he rushed the ball 15 times or less, KU lost: North Dakota State, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas A&M, and Nebraska. Granted, other variables such as costly turnovers and atrocious quarterbacking can stray the raw data, but generally speaking, when Sims’s does not get his carries, KU does not win, and doesn’t even compete for that matter.
There can be several explanations as to why there is such an obvious trend. Specifically, on 4th down and 1 late in the fourth quarter on what would be the Hawk’s game winning drive, Sims’s pounded out a tough 2 yards. It was a crucial play, but it was especially impressive because Dave Doerhen, the Huskies Head Coach, loaded the box for a goal-line stand. Sims faced that loaded box for a large part of the 4th quarter and his numbers did not diminish. Sims can be relied upon for a steady 3-5 yards every play, and he is a great complement for the burners. The Jayhawks have captured lightning in a bottle with Darrian Miller, Tony Pierson, and Brandon Bourbon, and Sims is the thunder that makes for a very potent 1-2 punch. Sims’s continued to move the chains and in essence, was the best player for the Jayhawks defense.
As the Jayhawks pounded the ball with number 29 and moved the sticks, the clock continued to melt, and the defense stayed off the field… thank Heavens. Most importantly, Chandler Harnish and the explosive NIU offense were forced to sit and wait. Sims forced NIU’s hand on defense when they called for more men in the box, and Webb exploited them for big gainers. When Big-12 play rolls around it will be especially important for KU to win the Time-of-Possession battle in order to keep gunslingers Landry Jones, Brandon Weeden, Robert Griffin III, and Ryan Tannehill off the field. Sims was the answer last night, and he has been the answer all along.
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