Dugan Arnett’s KU football notebook

By Dugan Arnett     Oct 28, 2009

Jayhawks still struggling in first half

Whatever the reason for the Kansas University football team’s early-game struggles this season — unfamiliar defensive looks, turnovers, nerves — things need to improve.

And quickly.

That was the message coach Mark Mangino issued during his meeting with the media Tuesday afternoon, three days after the Jayhawks were held to a season-low six first-half points in a 35-13 loss to then-No. 25 Oklahoma.

“We’re doing everything we can to prevent it,” said Mangino, whose team will take on Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. “We’ve studied this thing inside and out. We’ve just got to make plays early in the game. There’s no reason for making as many mistakes early as we have early in the last couple ballgames.”

Despite featuring what is currently the nation’s 10th-ranked scoring offense, Kansas has managed just nine first-quarter points in three Big 12 Conference games this season.

A good deal of the trouble has been the offense’s struggle with turnovers. The Jayhawks have turned the ball over a combined five times in the first half of their last two games, including three against the Sooners that led to two OU touchdowns.

“We just have to avoid early mistakes that put our defense in tough situations,” offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. “And that’s what’s really happened the past couple weeks, is some early mistakes that put us in tough situations defensively.”

At the same time, Mangino assured that Kansas wouldn’t significantly alter its approach going forward.

“I’m not going to make any drastic changes in anything that we do, because our offense has proven for the last few years that they can play well, they can put up numbers, win a lot of games,” Mangino said. “We’ve hit a couple rough spots here, that’s the way I see it.”

Veteran players taking on lesser roles

In an attempt to correct some of the Jayhawks’ recent defensive woes, Kansas coaches have been forced to utilize players a little earlier than they might have liked.

Freshmen Lubbock Smith and D.J. Beshears have figured prominently into the team’s secondary rotation in recent weeks, and the result has been diminished roles for some of the program’s proven veterans, at least two of whom — defensive backs Justin Thornton and Daymond Patterson — have lost starting roles during the midseason reshuffling.

“We had some upperclassmen that we had counted on to be full-time players, and what we’re finding is maybe some of those upper-classmen are more effective as part-time players,” Mangino said. “And that’s what we’re seeing. Less reps, and it’s less thinking, more playing, not putting them in tough spots, not making it too difficult for them.”

Branstetter enjoying recent hot streak

Though the 57-yard field goal booted by KU placekicker Jacob Branstetter in Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma might have raised Mangino’s eyebrows a bit, the coach has no intentions of making 60-yard attempts a regular occurrence.

“I’ve always had confidence in him, but I’m not going to budge that his range, when there’s no wind factor involved, is around 48, 49 yards,” he said. “But when you have a 15 mile-an-hour gust of wind behind you, I’ll give him another 10 (yards). He proved that he can do that.”

At the same time, the junior from Lawton, Okla., is currently locked into the best stretch of his college career. In the team’s past two games, he has connected on all five of his field-goal attempts, including kicks of 42, 43 and 57 yards — the last of which tied for the fourth-longest kick in school history.

Dugan Arnett’s KU football notebook

By Dugan Arnett     Oct 20, 2009

KU not fooled by Sooners record

The Oklahoma football team might be down by its own lofty standards — struggling to a 3-3 record to start the year and having dropped to No. 25 after losing two of their last three games — but Kansas University coach Mark Mangino is far from comfortable heading into the teams’ 2:30 p.m. matchup Saturday in Lawrence.

Despite their unimpressive record, the Sooners have lost their three games by a total of just five points, including one-point setbacks to then-No. 20 BYU and current No. 8 Miami in games OU was without — at least in part — all-American quarterback Sam Bradford.

“We’re not fooled at all by their record,” Mangino said during Monday morning’s Big 12 coaches teleconference. “Anybody that looks into that and thinks they’re not a really good football team really doesn’t know college football.”

Buffaloes’ Hansen a longtime Reesing fan

Having long looked up to KU quarterback Todd Reesing, Colorado sophomore signal-caller Tyler Hansen considered his team’s 34-30 victory over the Jayhawks a particularly thrilling event.

Looking very Reesing-like in his efforts, Hansen racked up 209 yards of total offense and two touchdowns in just his third career start last Saturday, and afterward, according to the Longmont (Colo.) Times-Call, made it a point to track down Reesing following the game to praise his play.

“I went up to him and was like, ‘Hey, man, I just want to say that was awesome,’ and I said, ‘I really look up to you,'” Hansen told the paper, adding that he hopes to develop into the same type of player Reesing has been in his three years as the Jayhawks’ starter. “He didn’t say anything back, because he was really frustrated, but I just wanted to get that out because I really do look up to him.”

KU-Texas Tech game to air on ABC

The Jayhawks Oct. 31 matchup with Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas, will begin at 2:30 p.m. and be televised by ABC, the Big 12 Conference announced Monday.

The game will mark KU’s second straight appearance on ABC, following Saturday’s game against Oklahoma in the same time slot.

Dugan Arnett’s KU football notebook

By Dugan Arnett     Sep 15, 2009

Onyegbule earns defensive honor

Kansas University defensive lineman Maxwell Onyegbule was named the Big 12’s co-defensive player of the week, the conference announced Monday.

The senior from Arlington, Texas, headlined an impressive performance from the team’s defensive line in Saturday’s 34-7 victory over UTEP, finishing with two sacks, a tackle-for-loss, a pass breakup and six total tackles against the Miners.

He shared the award with Texas defensive tackle Lamarr Houston.

Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts was selected as the Big 12 offensive player of the week, meanwhile, and Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant was named special-teams player of the week.

Lewis still Blue Devils’ starting quarterback

Despite the emergence of red-shirt freshman Sean Renfree, who came off the bench to complete seven of eight passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in a come-from-behind Duke victory last weekend, Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe said this week that senior Thaddeus Lewis is still the team’s starting quarterback.

“Thad will be our starting quarterback,” Cutcliffe told GoDuke.com on Monday. “He fought all fall long (through) some issues trying to stay at practice. He missed a lot of practice. He was one of the guys with the flu, and then he came up with an ankle (injury).”

With the exception of Saturday’s performance — he completed just five of 16 passes for 60 yards before being replaced with Duke trailing Army, 10-7 — Lewis hasn’t played terribly this season. He has thrown for 410 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in two games this season, but Cutcliffe said that Renfree most likely will play as a backup against Kansas on Saturday in Lawrence.

“Thad is our quarterback,” he told the Web site. “But we are certainly not going to be afraid to play Sean.”

Duke working through kicking woes

Until the Blue Devils correct their recent kicking struggles, Cutcliffe has decided to pick his starting kicker on a week to week basis.

So far this season, two Blue Devils kickers — Nick Maggio and Will Snyderwine — have combined to go 0-for-3 in field-goal attempts, and Cutcliffe told GoDuke.com that is the reason he’s hesitant to name a permanent starter.

“I would like to do that,” he said of naming a permanent starter. “I don’t like to be wishy-washy. But for obvious reasons, we have been working through this.”

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