11 a.m., Armon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas — Game-time forecast: 59 degrees, cloudy, 0 percent chance for rain, winds 8 mph from the southeast — TV: FOX Sports 1
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1 . Boykin in the middle
During last year’s near upset of the Horned Frogs, the Jayhawks recognized that TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin was not nearly as effective or accurate in hitting intermediate passes. So KU did what it could do to keep him in the pocket and encourage him to make those throws. It nearly worked, and Boykin and company escaped with a 34-30 victory. While that plan of attack surely will be looked at again, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said it was not as simple as doing the same thing and hoping for similar positive results. “They’ve continued to evolve and have developed a few more weapons,” Bowen said. Still, because he’s so dynamic as a runner and with the deep ball, the emphasis of KU’s defense will be to keep everything in front of it and fly to the football.
2 . Be efficient, not fast
During last week’s upset of TCU, 10th ranked Oklahoma State ran less than half as many plays at the Horned Frogs yet still threw up nearly 500 yards of offense and won by 20. Four TCU turnovers contributed greatly to that, but the Cowboys also were extremely efficient when they had the ball, gaining 8.6 yards per play while holding TCU to 6 yards per snap. Most of OSU’s damage came through the air so KU freshman Ryan Willis, provided he gets good protection, may have a chance to put up good numbers.
3 . Kick-start Kinner
After rushing for 270 yards on 43 carries during his first two weeks as a Div. I player, junior running back Ke’aun Kinner struggled to just 114 yards on 50 carries during the next six weeks. Injuries and an increase in the talent level of the competition created most of the problem, but after last week’s 13-carry, 69-yard rushing day that included one catch for 40 yards, the KU coaching staff believes the real Kinner is back, and the offensive game plan will be designed with him in mind. His ability to hit big plays and keep the chains moving not only keeps KU’s offense on the field — and TCU’s offense off the field — but also would help take some of the pressure off Willis.
On the first play last week in Austin, Texas, the Longhorns attacked KU junior Marnez Ogletree through the air and hit Kansas with an 84-yard touchdown. The big play set the tone for the night and put the Kansas defense on its heels. With or without leading receiver Josh Doctson, whose status for today’s game is up in the air because of a wrist injury he suffered in the loss to Oklahoma State, the Frogs have more than enough weapons to make life miserable for the KU secondary. The one guy who figures to get a lot more work if Doctson can’t go is true freshman KaVontae Turpin, a 5-foot-9, 152-pound wideout who ranks first nationally among freshmen with a 16.4 yards-per-touch average. Turpin caught seven balls for a career-high 107 yards last week, and his 462 yards receiving are the most by a TCU freshman since Josh Boyce finished 2010 with 646. “They’ve got one of the fastest dudes I’ve ever seen, the Turpin kid,” KU coach David Beaty said. “That kid can fly. They’ve got a bunch of ways they can hit you, a bunch. I think you have to find a way you pick to slow them down and then try to react to some of the other stuff, because you can’t stop all of it. You have to manage it.”
1. Late in last week’s loss at Texas, your son, Keaton Perry, threw the first touchdown pass of his college career. What was that moment like for you?
It was obviously a really neat, cool thing, but, from the coaching side of it, and having been with him before, that was just kind of routine. But deep down inside, that was awesome. After the game, I couldn’t wait to hug him, I just didn’t want to do it out there in front of everybody.
2. You spent a good chunk of your life in the Fort Worth area coaching high school football and, most recently, at TCU. What are the emotions like for you heading back there this week?
It’s gonna be real emotional. Coach is one of my best friends. We talk weekly, we wish each other good luck, and he has a hammock at his house, and we used to sit out there and talk, and I told him I might come over and lay on the hammock. He said, ‘Not till after the game.’ It’s gonna be neat. When you’ve lived somewhere for 40 years of your life, it’s always fun going back.
3. TCU coach Gary Patterson is known as a defensive mastermind. What aspect of Patterson’s coaching chops impresses you the most?
Nonstop tenacity of wanting to be great. People talk about wanting to be really good, but once he walks through that office door, it’s like that every day during football season. His tenacity of wanting to be great every single snap is pretty neat.
Nick Krug4. The coaching staff has talked a lot about getting better every week. What’s one clear area in which your cornerbacks have gotten better this season?
You go from the very first game to, now we’re playing the best receivers in the country, and we’re playing them hard, they’re there for balls, they’re playing balls and they’re stopping some of the best guys. You want these kids to develop, and that’s what I’m trying to do.
5. You have inside knowledge of the TCU program and have seen firsthand what makes the Frogs work. So what’s the recipe to beat these guys?
Honestly, we want to win, but our thing is little victories, and when you’re playing against great teams, you’ve gotta have little victories. We’re playing against a guy who’s a Heisman Trophy candidate, and we just have to go out there and try to get better for years to come and find anything positive you can take out of the game.
KU’s final road test of the 2015 season brings the Jayhawks their final opportunity to put their road losing streak to bed. KU entered the season having lost 33 consecutive games away from Lawrence, and that number has climbed to 37 with losses at Rutgers, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Texas. If KU can’t get a win today in Fort Worth, the Jayhawks will take a 38-game road losing streak into the offseason and won’t get their next crack at snapping it until Week 3 of the 2016 season, Sept. 17 at Memphis. The fact that it’s an angry and talented TCU team standing in the way does not bode well for the Jayhawks, who will treat today’s game like they’ve treated all of the rest this season — as an opportunity to get a little better every half, every quarter and every snap.
Nick KrugKU run game vs. TCU run D — edge: TCU
KU pass game vs. TCU pass D — edge: TCU
TCU run game vs. KU run D — edge: TCU
TCU pass game vs. KU pass D — edge: TCU
Special teams — edge: TCU
No. 5 Texas Christian Horned Frogs (8-1 overall, 5-1 Big 12) at Kansas Jayhawks (3-6 overall, 1-5 Big 12)
2 p.m. Memorial Stadium – Game-time forecast: 31 degrees, 45 percent chance of snow, 10 mph winds out of the southeast – TV: FOX Sports 1
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Keys for Kansas
1. Keep QB Trevone Boykin in check
The TCU junior leads the Big 12 and ranks fourth nationally at 360 yards of offense per game. He is averaging 299 passing yards and 61 rushing yards per game and is vying to become just the third quarterback since 2009 to average 300 yards passing and 50 yards rushing in a single season. Heisman Trophy winners Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel were the other two. “The guy truly is gifted with his athletic ability, speed, change of direction, all of that,” interim KU coach Clint Bowen said. “He has a cannon for an arm. He plays with a spark about him. He has the appearance of one of those guys that’s having fun playing the game.” The best way to make Boykin’s day less fun is to try to contain and confuse him while playing sound coverage in the secondary so he has nowhere to go with the ball when the rush closes in on him.
2. Match physicality
The Jayhawks saw it firsthand against Baylor and paid for it. So it remains to be seen if they’ll be ready for the physical nature of the TCU offense, which greatly resembles that of the Bears. “I tell anyone that will listen, that is the most underrated thing about both of (those) teams,” Bowen said. “Both of them physically beat you up. People get confused with open style of offense and the tempo and automatically think that this is a gimmick-type offense or a pass-first offense, when in reality they’re a run-first offense and a very physical run team. TCU’s line plays very well. They’re a knock-you-off-the-ball-type mentality. If they can do that the whole game, that’s actually their preference.”
3. Take advantage of the weather
It’s supposed to be cold, and there’s a strong chance for snow during today’s game. That can only help Kansas, which has practiced in frigid temperatures all week and is more used to those types of conditions than the TCU roster, which includes 79 Texans. Bad weather almost always benefits the underdog because it levels the playing field and eliminates clear advantages in skill, speed and scheme. Instead of relying as heavily on those assets, teams often try to focus more on survival, and the game slows down and becomes a slugfest, which would give KU a much better shot at hanging in there.
Nick KrugMega Matchup: TCU rush offense vs. KU front seven
The Horned Frogs are 71-4 when rushing for at least 200 yards in a game under Gary Patterson and are averaging 227 yards per game on the ground. TCU features four players who have rushed for 100 yards in a game this season, including junior Aaron Green (5-11, 202) who has topped the 100-yard mark in two of the past three games. B.J. Catalon is the better-known name in the TCU backfield, but Green has been a breakout star this season. He leads the team with 549 yards and an impressive 8.7 yards-per-carry average. Boykin and Trevorris Johnson are the other two TCU ball-carriers who have cracked the 100-yard mark in a game this season, and that kind of depth figures to make linebackers Ben Heeney, Jake Love and Courtney Arnick, along with the entire KU defensive line, even more critical for KU’s chances.
5 Questions with Senior WR Nick Harwell:
1 . It has been a long two years, with a lot of losses and one a year of sitting out, but are you glad you came to Kansas?
“I am. Oh, yeah. I’ve grown to love all these guys. They took me in as if I was family since the first day I got here, and they’ve shown me nothing but love and supported me in everything I did.”
2 . You hear a lot of guys who’ve played here say they’re a Jayhawk for life, but does that feeling hold up for a guy who’s only been here a couple of years?
“Yeah, that’s definitely real. This place has taken care of me, and I just feel like I’m right at home, and I’m really comfortable here so I feel like I am a Jayhawk for life.”
3 . What has been the toughest part about being at Kansas and with this program?
“Probably still being away from home (Missouri City, Texas). Whether you’re 19 hours away or 12 hours like now, being away from home is always the toughest part. But I don’t complain too much.”
4 . You’ve talked about coming here because it was a bigger stage, and now you’re about to play the No. 5 team in the country today. Is that feeling everything you thought it would be?
“These are just experiences that a lot of football players can’t say they got. Not everyone can say, ‘I played the No. 4 team in the nation, I played the No. 5 team in the nation,’ and for you to play Baylor one week and TCU two weeks later, both Top-10 teams, it’s just unbelievable. It’s that big stage. The lights are on, and it just gives you a chance to show everyone what you can do.”
5 . The offense finally got going a little more against Iowa State, throwing up a season-high for yards (514) and points (34). Can this offense be like that the rest of the way?
“I feel like we can. We put up 17 points in the first quarter against a Big 12 team, and that just shows, if we play with confidence, we can score points. I feel like we have turned that corner, and this just gives us something to build on the next games and next seasons.”
Jayhawk Pulse
Many believed last week’s Iowa State game was the Jayhawks’ last true chance at a victory this season, and they made it count by dominating the Cyclones. But today’s machup with No. 5 TCU, which just this week jumped into the top four in the college football playoff standings, begins a nasty stretch of games to close the season against three of the best teams in the Big 12 Conference. Despite the daunting task ahead, the Jayhawks remain focused on themselves and the little things they believe will help them compete and not the big picture or overwhelming stretch. Right now, it’s about the first quarter against TCU, getting first downs on offense and continuing to perform at a high level on defense. That’s the approach this team has had since Clint Bowen took over as the interim coach, and it led to the program’s third Big 12 victory since the departure of Mark Mangino following the 2009 season. The big question now: How much is left in the tank against significantly better competition?
Tale of the Tape
KU run game vs. TCU run D – advantage TCU
KU pass game vs. TCU pass D – advantage TCU
TCU run game vs. KU run D – advantage TCU
TCU pass game vs. KU pass D – advantage TCU
Special teams – advantage TCU
