Kansas State (4-6 overall, 1-6 Big 12) at Kansas (0-11, 0-8)
3 p.m. Saturday, Memorial Stadium • Game-time forecast: 37 degrees, cloudy, 42% chance of rain • TV: FOX Sports 1 (cable chs. 150, 227)
Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog and follow our coverage team on Twitter: @KUSports @mctait @TomKeeganLJW and @bentonasmith
Keys for Kansas
1. Hey, somebody stop that QB
For the second straight week, the KU defense will have to worry about an opposing quarterback’s ability to take off and run. The Jayhawks didn’t fare too well against West Virginia, in a 49-0 loss, as QB Skyler Howard led WVU with 129 rushing yards (his career high). Today, K-State quarterback Joe Hubener would like to add to his 510 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on the season — a résumé that includes two 100-yard games and a four-TD effort against TCU. “I think we’ve got do a good job of making sure we’re gap-sound,” KU coach David Beaty said. “We get enough people in gaps to be able to stop that quarterback run.”
2. No freebies
Obvious as it may seem, simply protecting the football would go a long way for Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown. In two of the Jayhawks’ previous three games, they gave the ball away four times — both at Texas, in a 59-20 loss, and versus WVU, in a 49-0 shutout. Between those blowouts, TCU only had one takeaway against KU in a 23-17 Horned Frogs victory. “That’s been a thorn in our side, as we’ve had our young quarterback take the reins,” Beaty said of true freshman QB Ryan Willis, who has thrown five of his nine interceptions in the past three weeks. “We’ve turned the ball over, and we can not do that.” K-State forced four second-half fumbles in a comeback victory over Iowa State last week and tends to win when it protects the ball. The Wildcats are 4-5 when finishing with two or fewer giveaways.
3. Buckle down in the red zone
No one doubts K-State will be able to move the ball on offense against a Kansas defense that has surrendered 270.9 rushing and 307.9 passing yards a game — both worst in the Big 12, giving KU the distinction of worst total defense in the conference, as well as all of FBS (578.8 yards surrendered per game). However, statistically, the Jayhawks have the best red-zone defense in the Big 12 in terms of percentage of scores allowed (76.4 percent). On 72 trips to the red zone, KU foes have scored 44 touchdowns and made 11 field goals. Successful on 93.2 percent of their trips inside the 20-yard line, the Wildcats rank second in the Big 12 in red-zone offense to Oklahoma State (94.2 percent).
Mega Matchup
No offense to Hubener and K-State running back Charles Jones (455 rushing yards, four touchdowns in his last six games), but when KU defensive coordinator Clint Bowen watches video of the Wildcats’ offense, the offensive line is what pops. “I think they really play well as a unit,” Bowen said of left tackle Cody Whitehair, left guard Boston Stiverson, center Dalton Risner, right guard Luke Hayes and right tackle Matt Kleinsorage. “Very seldom do you see a guy get turned free in the run game, do they miss a combo, do they miss a block. They work together well. I think it’s the offensive line that makes them go.” Beaty, too, remarked on the ability of the veteran group (four senior starters playing with red-shirt freshman Risner) to pushing back defensive lines routinely.
5 Questions with S Michael Glatczak
1. Growing up in Centralia, what’s are your earliest memories of the Kansas vs. Kansas State football rivalry?
It’s a pretty big rivalry around here. I live about an hour away from K-State, so all of my friends go there. A lot of my family members are K-State fans. It gets pretty heated when KU-K-State comes on.
2. Was there any point when you were younger that you were a fan of Kansas State football?
I’ve always been a KU guy. I’ve never really had hate towards them (the Wildcats) until I started getting older and everybody talks about them. But this would be a huge win for us.
3. Was walking on at K-State ever a consideration?
Coming from juco (Butler CC), my coach (Troy) Morrell, he kind of talked to them (K-State staff) about it. It was definitely either here or there. But I’m definitely glad I chose this road. My coach talked to one of their coaches up there, and he said they didn’t have no more spots. Just right away, I was like, ‘I’m gonna call coach (Clint) Bowen,’ and he let me in the door.
4. Playing your first two college seasons at Butler CC, did you ever think you would have a chance to play and make an impact in a KU-K-State game?
Honestly, no. Coming from a small school, just playing juco football was pretty high for me. This is definitely a dream come true, playing in the Sunflower State Showdown. Playing last year, I only played special teams a little bit. So this’ll be pretty cool. This is bigger.
5. This is your final college football game, what do you hope to get out of it?
For me, and including all the other seniors, this would be a huge win for us. No matter what the record is — if we’re 11-0 or 0-11 — it’s still our last game as seniors with this football staff. And for the future of this program, it’d be a huge win for them, too.
Jayhawk pulse
This is it for the 2015 Kansas Jayhawks and first-year coach Beaty. If they can’t put together the perfect game plan and execute it today against rival K-State, they will become the first KU team to go winless over the course of an entire season since Chuck Mather’s bunch finished 0-10 in 1954. In fact, that’s the only year in program history Kansas didn’t muster at least one victory. As much as the Jayhawks seem to trust the rebuilding process that is just getting started with Beaty and his staff, they have no interest in becoming an infamous footnote in KU’s record books.
Kansas Jayhawks (3-8 overall, 1-7 Big 12) at No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats (8-2 overall, 6-1 Big 12)
3 p.m., Bill Snyder Family Stadium – Game-time forecast: 63 degrees, Sunny, Winds 9 mph from the south – TV: FOX Sports 1
Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog and follow our coverage team on Twitter: @KUSports @mctait @TomKeeganLJW and @bentonasmith
Keys for Kansas
1 . Watch Jake Waters in the run game
Kansas University interim head coach Clint Bowen said one of the things that makes K-State quarterback Jake Waters so dangerous is that he’s a real part of the Wildcats’ run game, just as nearly every quarterback under Snyder since Chad May has been during the past couple of decades. Like Colin Klein before him, Waters is a tough, physical runner who has good vision and runs smart. What makes him so tough to bottle up, though, is that K-State has a number of different ways to run him. They run zone read, they run option, and they call power, counter and zone runs in which the quarterback and tailback are equally likely to get the ball. On top of that, K-State uses its fullback to give Waters room, and he often has the option to throw even when it looks like a run is called.
2 . Time for mistake-free football
That’s true most games, but it’s particularly true in this one because the odds are so low that the Wildcats will make a mistake of their own and give a team a chance to atone for one of its missteps. KU quarterback Michael Cummings said ball security and execution were the biggest key for the offense this week, and co-offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau said the Jayhawks cannot give the very tough and talented K-State defense any help or it could be a long day. “They’re not gonna get tricked. They’re not gonna get fooled. They’re very sound,” Kiesau said of the KSU defense. “They just wait and they wait and they wait and they wait, and then when you make a mistake, they capitalize on it.”
3 . Offense has to bounce back
It was a miserable day in Norman, Oklahoma, last week for the Kansas offense, with poor execution, awful weather and a little bad luck all responsible for the 103-yard day. In the two games prior to that, KU had racked up 30-plus points and 400-plus yards in a victory over Iowa State and a near-upset of No. 5 TCU. The Jayhawks should have De’Andre Mann back in the huddle, so that could help Corey Avery and the run game. But the only way KU figures to have a shot in this one is if Cummings gets the time to work down the field to Nick Harwell, Nigel King and Jimmay Mundine, weapons who played a huge role in those ISU and TCU outings but were virtually non-existent against OU. A favorable weather forecast should eliminate one of the issues from a week ago, so now it just comes down to execution and the play of the offensive line, which has been a key all season long.
Mega Matchup: KU cornerback JaCorey Shepherd vs. K-State WR Tyler Lockett
These guys are two of the best at their positions in the Big 12 Conference, and they appear to be looking forward to the matchup. Shepherd, who has had an All-Big 12 season and ranks in a tie for third nationally with 18 passes defended, said the key to slowing down Lockett (1,074 yards and 6 TDs on 70 receptions) was never to take a step off. Shepherd said DBs have to be locked in to every move the talented KSU wideout makes and are best served keeping everything in front of them. Shepherd has fared well against some of the top receivers in the Big 12 this season, but many of them were bigger burners. At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Lockett’s athleticism and wiggle make him tough to check, even for those able to run step-for-step with him.
5 Questions with Interim head coach Clint Bowen
1 . The KU-K-State football series has been pretty streaky for the past couple of decades. Only twice since 1990 have the teams traded off victories in back-to-back years. Any reason why?
“I think prior to (KSU) coach (Bill) Snyder getting there, K-State was similar to us in that quite a few different guys had taken the helm. I think any time you have stability in a program, that gives you a better chance of success, so I think if I had any reason why, it would probably be just a lack of stability at the head-coaching position.”
2 . What’s one of your favorite memories from the Sunflower Showdown?
“The ’92 game (31-7, KU) was such a great game for us. That’s the game that playing DB we might as well have not even been there because Gilbert (Brown) and Chris Maumalanga and Kyle Moore and those guys were sacking the quarterback at an alarming rate. Being in the back end of that game was pretty boring.”
3 . Do you think this rivalry is a little more meaningful to the Kansas kids on both rosters?
“I believe it is. I think that Kansas kids are a little bit more in tune to the rivalry. They grew up hearing the same things that I hear, that your buddies are K-State fans, and they’ve got their comments, so it builds in you a little bit more as a Kansas kid. I think if you’re a Kansas player on either one of these rosters and you have to go home to a town where there’s going to be people that you’re going to see that have their opinions on which side they like, I think it definitely does mean a little bit more to a Kansas kid.”
4 . Have the Kansans on your roster have a bigger role in addressing the team this week?
“We always keep it open. Anytime one of our players wants to stand up and say something, it could be any one of them. Doesn’t have to be a Kansas guy. I always want them to take ownership in their team and feel that they have that role.”
5 . What do you hope people remember about your time as KU’s interim football coach?
“I guess the big thing to me is that it’s always about the team. It’s always about KU. It’s about KU football, and it’s about our players and our program and the people that support us. That’s what I buy into. That’s what I believe. That’s what I was taught from my high school through Glen Mason and beyond. It’s about the team, and that’s the way it’ll always be.”
Jayhawk Pulse
Their bowl hopes are gone, they’re coming off an embarrassing outing at Oklahoma in which the defense gave up an NCAA single-game rushing record, and many of the coaches and players in this week’s game will never suit up for the Jayhawks again after today. You’d never know those facts from talking to the players leading up to this year’s Sunflower Showdown. For starters, pride means an awful lot to these guys, and that might be the biggest thing on the line against the Wildcats today. In addition, the seniors have a chance to cap an otherwise rough career with the feel-good moment of all feel-good moments, and interim coach Clint Bowen gets one more opportunity to make his case for the head-coaching job. As senior offensive lineman Pat Lewandowski said earlier this week, “It all comes down to this.” The rest of the country or conference might not know it, but, clearly, there’s still plenty at stake in this one.
Tale of the Tape
KU run game vs. KSU run D – advantage K-State
KU pass game vs. KSU pass D – advantage K-State
KSU run game vs. KU run D – advantage K-State
KSU pass game vs. KU pass D – Push
Special teams – advantage K-State