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| KU Sports |
If you haven’t figured out by now, I am usually one
of two things after a game: mordant and bitter or Pollyannaish and aroused. More
times than not, I am mordant because KU has, honestly, lost quite a few games
in the past 2 and a half seasons. Comedy is sometimes the only remedy. But
tonight, despite its general sloppiness, was in fact a win, giving rise to an unreasonably
good-humored post.
Kansas needed close to every single one of the sixty
minutes to finally dispose of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits out of the
Missouri Valley Conference, 31-17. It doesn’t sound great rolling off the
tongue, nor while I peck at the keyboard, but Kansas is 1-0 on the new season
despite mediocre play. I’ll drink to that.
Charlie Weis is 1-0 despite going just 1-3 on fourth
downs and 5-17 on fourth downs. Dave Campo is 1-0 despite yielding a 99 yard
touchdown run by a guy named Zach Zenner. Dayne Crist is 1-0 despite missing
several receivers over the middle of the field and in the back of the end-zone.
Truth being: winning is the end-all be-all of this sport. Kansas won. Disaster
avoided.
By that same token, not many people remember K-State’s
first try out of the gate last season: a 10-7 nail-biter at home against
Eastern Kentucky. This year, they were tied with Missouri State, 9-9, with just
10:43 left in the third quarter. Granted, they scored six straight unanswered
touchdowns, but they were in a fight.
Crist in stature is something Kansas hasn’t seen in
a while. Crist in the pocket is something Kansas has seen. He’d be the first to
admit, his performance was borderline terrible. 17/36 for 169 yards, 1
touchdown on an acrobatic catch in the back of the endzone and just 1
interception! Jackrabbit defensive backs had touchdowns gift-wrapped with the
bubbles and everything, but dropped the ball on their way to the end-zone.
Crist was telegraphing his passes, and while he has great arm-strength, he
often overthrew his targets. Not a whole lot of touch to speak of.
But we’ve got
to remind ourselves that this is essentially a pre-season game. The NFL gets 4,
if that tells you how hard it is to get tuned up and play at that speed after
an off-season of minimal live practices. The Colleges don’t get a preseason, so
teams like Kansas really need gimmes before they hit the conference season.
Hey, KU is 1-0.
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| Source: KU Sports |
On the first play from scrimmage, Crist faked to
Pierson, faked an end-around to Patterson, and fired a 43 yard missile to Kale
Pick, right on the money. Tony Pierson took the next handoff for ten yards.
Kansas “matriculated” the ball down to the 17 yard line, but on 3rd
and 8, Crist overthrew an open Mike Ragone in the back of the end-zone. Ron
Doherty, who reportedly was playing with a pulled hamstring, missed the kick,
and what looked like a drive destined for 6, scored nothing.
Kansas stopped SDSU early on their first possession,
got the ball back, and drove a large part of the field, only to punt the ball
once again. The ball was downed at the one, thanks to great coverage, and the
Jackrabbits found their backs against the wall.
Kansas would string together a few more nice plays,
but would stall on fourth down. Crist missed several receivers over the middle
of the field, partly because of inaccuracy, partly because of his unforgiving
arm strength, and partly because the passes were dropped.
Finally, after Kansas stopped the Jackrabbits again,
Tony Pierson capped off a 47 yard drive with a 3 yard touchdown.
The second quarter was much of the same. Kansas
moved the ball, but couldn’t score (Taylor Cox fumbled inside the Jackrabbits
redzone. SDSU couldn’t move the ball, and Josh Williams made an acrobatic strip
and recovery on Zenner. Kansas did split the uprights before half-time, but
headed to the locker room with just a 3 point advantage.
South Dakota State struggled to move the ball for the better part of the second half. And as for Kansas, they continued moving the ball. Except they finally found the end-zone.
Tony Pierson found a crease, attacked it, and out ran the poor safety who face-planted during his unfruitful attempt to catch him. Later in the frame, Dayne Crist found Mike Ragone in the back of the end-zone on a 4th and goal, 24-7.
Kansas softened its coverage, and it showed. SDSU scored 10 unanswered trimming the lead to just 7, but Taylor Cox all but sealed the game with a 39 yard rush, followed by a 3 yard touchdown.
FULL SCREEN VERSION
Animated Drive Chart brought to you by Gameday Depot.
I’m not sure if it is
fair to do this, but I'm going to bless Kale Pick, once again, with the obligatory Kerry-Meier comparison. Not the Kerry Meier was just cut by the Atlanta Falcons, but the Kerry Meier that consistently found soft spot in Big 12 defenses. Pick caught several balls across the middle of the field, in traffic, and took a few
free shots from safeties and cornerbacks. But he held onto the ball. 5 catches
for 81 yards, including a 43-yard reception on the opening play from scrimmage.
Daymond Patterson is a welcome sight. But I feel like you really only need one of Patterson or D.J. Beshears on the field at a time. Sure, Crist air-mailed a few of his passes, but at some point, you just need to get more receivers with some length. Hopefully Josh Ford can catch passes as well as he can gun the punter and block kicks.
If you asked Joe Student who the tight-end is, he'd probably say Tom Beer. Well, it's actually Mike Ragone, but yes, he does kind of remind me of former Jayhawk Tim Biere. If Mike Ragone is a Tim Biere equivalent, then perfect. Kansas just needs solid play out of the tight-end position, and it was great seeing his first collegiate touchdown on Saturday.
The defense had its moments: dropped interceptions, missed tackles, blown assignments, but it had far less than it felt like. That's just what a 99 yard touchdown will do to you.
Josh Williams, Jordan Tavai, and Keon Stowers all looked very, very good. I think they bring some much needed explosion. SDSU's offensive line would pass a Big 10 eye test, and I think Kansas is a little better suited against the smaller, quicker linemen that they will see more of in the Big 12.
The linebackers sure looked like they could move from sideline to sideline, but their size is a bit concerning. Too often Huldon Tharp or Ben Heeney were simply overmatched by pulling guards or tackles that they couldn't make the tackle. We will have to keep a close eye on how they fare against Rice.
Greg Brown can swat a ball when he is in position. Too bad he rarely is. And as for Tyler Patmon, where do I begin. There is a reason that Mangino and even Gill, for that matter, played their corners leagues off the line of scrimmage: they can't cover. Dave Campo had Brown playing tight coverage, but Patmon was consistently 8-9 yards back. It's game one, but if this was any indication of how the season is going to go, get Nasir Moore and Greg Allen some minutes!
Lubbock Smith is a great player in practice, but there is something about when everything counts. He completely forgets how to play the game. Thankfully, Bradley McDougald makes up for his ineptitude. McDougald covered his half of the field, and half of Lubbock's. Not to mention, he leads the nation with 2 interceptions.
Austin Sumner threw interceptions on three straight possessions to end the game. He had four on the day. Josh Williams forced a fumble and recovered it. The special teams blocked two punts. That is 7 big plays on defense and special teams. Did we have 7 big plays on defense/special teams all last year?
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Charlie is right. You only get 12 guaranteed games. Kansas just won its first. Be happy. Savor it. Heck, they might just win another. 2-0 will get things rolling for the TCU game. If the stars align, the football gods may be kind to the Hawks. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. The Owls are coming to town. Bird fight.
South Dakota State struggled to move the ball for the better part of the second half. And as for Kansas, they continued moving the ball. Except they finally found the end-zone.
Tony Pierson found a crease, attacked it, and out ran the poor safety who face-planted during his unfruitful attempt to catch him. Later in the frame, Dayne Crist found Mike Ragone in the back of the end-zone on a 4th and goal, 24-7.
Kansas softened its coverage, and it showed. SDSU scored 10 unanswered trimming the lead to just 7, but Taylor Cox all but sealed the game with a 39 yard rush, followed by a 3 yard touchdown.
Animated Drive Chart brought to you by Gameday Depot.
Time of possession was pretty even, 32:04-27:56
Kansas, Kansas won the turnover battle 5-2, 263 rushing yards, allowed 204 (99
coming on one carry), and Kansas had more first downs 31-17.
As aforesaid, Crist's performance left a lot to be desired, but all in all, the offense looks pretty good. The wide-receivers had a few drops, but blocked well, the running backs were great in space and noticeably better at pass blocking. The left side of the line is all-caliber; however, the right side of
the line is all-question. There were several plays where if the right side of
the line could have held their blocks for just a second longer, then Pierson
would have gained 5+ more yards. Instead, they got knocked off their blocks and
Pierson was knifed down. Maintaining blocks is so key. Put a hat on a freaking hat, and most times the running back will have to make only 1-2 guys miss. Pierson can do that if he isn't swallowed up by the defense like a whale would a minnow.
Pierson was most effective, as always, on long,
stretch plays (particularly to that left strong side). When he went up the middle for 2 yards and a cloud of dust, it
usually ended up being just that: 2 yards and a cloud of dust, which we don’t
really want out of a 5’10”, 170 pound soaking-wet running back. James Sims
presence was missed; that is where he is best. He moves the pile an extra 1-2
yards on those power plays; Pierson does not.
Taylor Cox is not the fastest player on this football
team, but what makes him special is his initial burst. Brandon Bourbon is
probably the faster athlete in a 40 yard sprint, but Cox has him beat in the
first 5 yards. His acceleration from 0 is pretty impressive, and he was able to
hit holes faster because of it. He did cough up the ball once, but overall, Cox had
a very productive day on the ground, averaging 7.6 yards on his 16 carries, and
finding the end-zone late in the game. As for poor Brandon Bourbon, once Sims comes back from suspension, he could fall as low as 4th on the depth chart! It is a good problem to have, but not giving Bourbon a substantial amount of touches could be a mistake.
Daymond Patterson is a welcome sight. But I feel like you really only need one of Patterson or D.J. Beshears on the field at a time. Sure, Crist air-mailed a few of his passes, but at some point, you just need to get more receivers with some length. Hopefully Josh Ford can catch passes as well as he can gun the punter and block kicks.
If you asked Joe Student who the tight-end is, he'd probably say Tom Beer. Well, it's actually Mike Ragone, but yes, he does kind of remind me of former Jayhawk Tim Biere. If Mike Ragone is a Tim Biere equivalent, then perfect. Kansas just needs solid play out of the tight-end position, and it was great seeing his first collegiate touchdown on Saturday.
The defense had its moments: dropped interceptions, missed tackles, blown assignments, but it had far less than it felt like. That's just what a 99 yard touchdown will do to you.
Josh Williams, Jordan Tavai, and Keon Stowers all looked very, very good. I think they bring some much needed explosion. SDSU's offensive line would pass a Big 10 eye test, and I think Kansas is a little better suited against the smaller, quicker linemen that they will see more of in the Big 12.
The linebackers sure looked like they could move from sideline to sideline, but their size is a bit concerning. Too often Huldon Tharp or Ben Heeney were simply overmatched by pulling guards or tackles that they couldn't make the tackle. We will have to keep a close eye on how they fare against Rice.
Greg Brown can swat a ball when he is in position. Too bad he rarely is. And as for Tyler Patmon, where do I begin. There is a reason that Mangino and even Gill, for that matter, played their corners leagues off the line of scrimmage: they can't cover. Dave Campo had Brown playing tight coverage, but Patmon was consistently 8-9 yards back. It's game one, but if this was any indication of how the season is going to go, get Nasir Moore and Greg Allen some minutes!
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| Source: KU Sports |
Lubbock Smith is a great player in practice, but there is something about when everything counts. He completely forgets how to play the game. Thankfully, Bradley McDougald makes up for his ineptitude. McDougald covered his half of the field, and half of Lubbock's. Not to mention, he leads the nation with 2 interceptions.
Austin Sumner threw interceptions on three straight possessions to end the game. He had four on the day. Josh Williams forced a fumble and recovered it. The special teams blocked two punts. That is 7 big plays on defense and special teams. Did we have 7 big plays on defense/special teams all last year?
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Charlie is right. You only get 12 guaranteed games. Kansas just won its first. Be happy. Savor it. Heck, they might just win another. 2-0 will get things rolling for the TCU game. If the stars align, the football gods may be kind to the Hawks. But lets not get ahead of ourselves. The Owls are coming to town. Bird fight.
Predicted: Kansas 40, SDSU 21
Actual: Kansas 31, SDSU 17
On the Season: 1-0 (Kansas -9; Opponents -4)
Next week: Kansas 38, Rice 24
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