Mike Gunnoe— Kansas (3-5 overall, 1-4 Big 12) vs Iowa State (4-3, 3-2) • 11 a.m. kickoff, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Game-time forecast: 52 degrees, mostly cloudy, 7 percent chance of rain • TV: FOX Sports Networks • Radio: KLWN, FM 101.7 / AM 1320
— Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog and follow our coverage team on Twitter: @KUSports, @BentonASmith, @TomKeeganLJW and @SJacksonLJW
1. Find ways to stop Montgomery
If the Jayhawks want to put themselves in position to win a Big 12 game for the second week in a row — something the program hasn’t accomplished since 2008 — they will have to first prove they have a defensive solution for the conference’s leading rusher, Iowa State junior David Montgomery.
With 100-yard performances in each of the Cyclones’ previous four games, Montgomery arrives in Lawrence averaging 108 rushing yards per game (No. 12 among all FBS players).
And the 5-foot-11, 216-pound back no doubt fondly remembers his last two encounters with KU, having scored three touchdowns against the Jayhawks in 2017 and rushed for 169 yards versus David Beaty’s team in 2016.
“Man, he’s carried the rock forever, it seems like,” Beaty said. “I mean, I’m waiting on him to graduate, because I’m pretty sure he’s about 40 years old. The guy’s been here forever. But he’s been a good one since he was a young’un. He’s been consistent. Hard-running dude between the tackles. The first (defender) very rarely tackles that guy. He kind of epitomizes what it means to be a hard-playing Cyclone. I think they’re probably really proud of that kid.”
An ISU co-captain, Montgomery has at least one rushing TD in each of his past five games.
With KU’s primarily three-down defensive front, redshirt senior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. said the Jayhawks will have to soundly attack the line of scrimmage from the second level when Montgomery gets the ball to make sure he doesn’t pick up chunks of yardage on the ground.
“That’s important and it’s obviously hard to stop, because he’s a really, really good running back,” Dineen said. “He runs hard, he’s shifty. I think he’s a real NFL back, and it’ll be tough to do. But we’ll have some stuff in place to try and gap it up a little bit more.”
2. Stay creative in getting Pooka touches
Beaty and his offensive assistants added new wrinkles for defenses to worry about last week, by featuring KU freshman running back Pooka Williams Jr. in the passing game, to the tune of seven receptions and 102 yards.
Now, they need to make sure that creativity wasn’t a one-week wonder.
It doesn’t matter what KU does to get the ball in Williams’ hands — carries, catches, reverses, whatever works — but it’s imperative that he leads the offense in touches.
Seven games into his college career (Williams sat out the season opener), the star freshman from Louisiana has produced the third-most rushing yards of any first-year player in KU history, with 653. Only Kerwin Bell (716 in 1980) and Gale Sayers (865 in 1962) have done better.
The offense simply has its best chance of making game-breaking plays when Williams is running and spinning and juking and hurdling in the open field. In upsetting TCU, 27-26, last week, Kansas got 135 yards out of Williams on 18 touches.
“Pooka’s a matchup problem for the majority of the teams we’re going to play,” said KU quarterback Peyton Bender, who threw both of his touchdown passes versus TCU to Williams. “He’s an amazing talent.”
With Iowa State limiting opponents to 2.8 yards per carry and 98.9 yards per game on the ground this season, the Jayhawks can’t expect automatic success by simply handing the ball off to Williams.
3. Understand this isn’t the same ISU team that started 1-3
The Cyclones are much better than their record indicates.
Per the Sagarin Ratings, Iowa State has played the most difficult schedule in the country up to this point, which, as Stats LLC pointed out this week, helped a team with little national buzz debut at No. 24 in the College Football Playoff rankings, despite ISU’s 4-3 record.
While the Cyclones are definitely putting up points on their current three-game winning streak — 48-42 at Oklahoma State, 30-14 versus West Virginia and 40-31 over Texas Tech — their defense deserves a lot of credit, too.
ISU has held each of its first seven opponents under their season average for yards. What’s more, Iowa State ranks No. 6 in the country in tackles for loss per game (8.3) and 13th among FBS teams in sacks per game (3.1).
Over the course of back-to-back wins against West Virginia and Texas Tech, the Cyclones’ defense only allowed three total offensive touchdowns.
Junior defensive end JaQuan Bailey leads the team in TFLs (10.5) and sacks (5.5), ranking 19th and 27th nationally, respectively.
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2018/nov/01/327589/
KU defense vs. ISU QB Brock Purdy
Had his recruitment played out differently, perhaps true freshman quarterback Brock Purdy would be leading the Jayhawks instead of the Cyclones.
When KU was trying to land Purdy as a high school senior this past winter, Beaty said he was “surprised and shocked” that the three-star QB from Gilbert, Ariz., was still available.
“You turn on his tape and you saw a lot of ability in terms of spinning it. He can flat throw it, great release, compact. You could tell he commanded the offense,” Beaty said.
“The other thing is he can move,” KU’s coach added of ISU’s QB. “In this day and age, there’s so many freaks playing on the other side of the ball, you better be able to move a little bit. If you can’t move at all, it makes it very difficult. He had all those things about him. We had done a lot of studying on him, knew how cerebral he was. Most of the guys we’ve had play here, really everywhere I’ve been, have been pretty cerebral.”
ISU’s resurgence this fall has coincided with moving Purdy, a 6-1, 202-pound freshman, into the starting lineup. The Cyclones haven’t lost since head coach Matt Campbell decided to roll with the young pro-style QB. Three games in, ISU is averaging 39.3 points, 461.2 yards and 6.5 yards per play, with Purdy as its No. 1 QB.
“You’d have to be blind not to see it,” Beaty said of Purdy’s impact. “They started off the year a little slow, offensively. Of course, they played a really good Iowa football team. They weren’t lighting it up, right? They lost Kyle (Kempt, who began the season as ISU’s starter at QB), who was a really good player. They had a backup (Zeb Noland) come in that I thought was a really good player — I still think he’s a really good player. When Brock came in, you could see a spark, production go up. You couple that with Matt Campbell and his staff, I mean, it spells trouble.”
Purdy has played a role in 10 of ISU’s 15 offensive touchdowns in the past three games. He’s averaging 274 passing yards per game and completing 65 percent of his throws since winning the starting job.
It will be up to KU’s defense, which often drops eight players into coverage on passing downs, to fool Purdy and make him look uncomfortable for a change. The freshman has thrown just two interceptions on 75 passes to date.
Although Kansas currently resides at the bottom of the league standings, in a three-way tie for last place in the Big 12 with TCU and Kansas State, many of the team’s senior leaders haven’t lost sight of the fact that the Jayhawks still have a shot at becoming bowl-eligible with four games left to play.
Considering the program hasn’t won two conference games in one season since 2008, notching three in November to secure a bowl bid looks from the outside like a nearly impossible task.
Jayhawks such as Daniel Wise aren’t wired to think that way, though.
“Relatively speaking, yes, I feel like we are getting a lot done,” Wise said of KU’s 3-5 start, which also marks the most wins in a season since Beaty’s arrival. “But, overall, I feel like we’ve got to get the big picture, which is to win games. Go to a bowl game. That’s the overall goal.”
With that as a driving force and carrying some momentum from last week’s TCU win, the Jayhawks enter the final month of the season with some much-needed confidence.
“It would obviously feel great to go into next week with a win, to get two Big 12 back-to-back wins,” Wise said. “Just not so much for us, but for the fans and people who were there last week, who show up every Saturday.”
KU ….. ISU
KU run D vs. ISU run game v
KU pass D vs. ISU pass game v
KU run game vs. ISU run D v
KU pass game vs. ISU pass D v
Special teams v
Iowa State 37, Kansas 20
Nick Krug— Iowa State (1-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) at Kansas (1-8 overall, 0-6 Big 12) • 11 a.m. kickoff, Saturday, Memorial Stadium • Game-time forecast: 48 degrees, sunny, 0% chance of rain • TV: FOX Sports Net
— Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog and follow our coverage team on Twitter: @KUSports, @BentonASmith, @TomKeeganLJW and @NightengaleJr
1. Make things easy on your new QB
For all the excitement surrounding David Beaty naming redshirt freshman Carter Stanley the starting quarterback against Iowa State, it might be easy to forget this is Stanley’s first college start. The 6-foot-2 QB looked comfortable a week ago in West Virginia when an injury to Montell Cozart forced him into the game. Stanley passed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 throws, but starting a game against a team desperate for a victory is far different than coming in late against a team that knows it already has won.
One would assume Beaty will keep the passing calls fairly simple for Stanley. The offensive coordinator could do him a favor, too, by making sure running back Ke’aun Kinner features prominently in the game plan. Through nine games, Kinner only averages 10.3 carries a week. But the 5-foot-9, 191-pound senior has done his job when he gets the ball: Kinner averages 5.3 yards per rush. It would be foolish to limit Kinner’s involvement versus an ISU defense that has allowed 235.2 rushing yards an outing in conference play.
2. Know what to expect out of ISU QBs
Typically in the Big 12, coordinator Clint Bowen and the defense have to prepare for a highly effective quarterback with varying strengths and weaknesses. This week, the Jayhawks prepared for two QBs. The Cyclones have utilized both junior Joel Lanning and sophomore Jacob Park this season. Lanning started the first eight games for first-year head coach Matt Campbell, while Park started just over a week ago in a 34-24 home loss to Oklahoma.
So far, Lanning has proven the more versatile in the dual-QB system, completing 59 percent of his 161 throws, with nine touchdowns and three interceptions. While Lanning’s 136.0 passing yards a game don’t leap off the stat sheet at you, he also leads ISU with five rushing touchdowns. Lanning averages 11 rushes a game and 3.4 yards a carry.
Park, who threw for a career-high 301 yards in a five-point home loss to Kansas State Oct. 29, only has 27 rush attempts and no scores on the ground. Park has completed 55 percent of his passes for 132.9 yards a game, with eight touchdowns and three picks.
3. Find a way to stop Lazard
Perhaps the most important weapon within ISU’s offense, junior receiver Allen Lazard is the Cyclones’ version of Kansas wideout Steven Sims Jr. Three times this season, Lazard has put up 100 or more receiving yards. In six Big 12 games, the 6-foot-5 target averages 5.2 receptions and 61.8 yards. KU cornerbacks Marnez Ogletree, Brandon Stewart, Kyle Mayberry and Derrick Neal could make pulling off an upset victory a little easier by eliminating Lazard’s chances within the passing game.
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2016/oct/22/311265/
KU pass rush vs. ISU O-line
As tends to be the case with football teams that use two quarterbacks, Iowa State’s passing hasn’t exactly shredded Big 12 defenses. The Cyclones come to Lawrence averaging 240.3 yards through the air in six league losses — eighth in the conference, ahead of KU’s 232.3. ISU’s quarterbacks have completed 57.1 percent of their attempts, with nine touchdowns against Big 12 competition.
Still, the offense hasn’t been disastrous, because the Cyclones have only lost possession three times in conference play due to interceptions. Kansas could change that trend by applying constant pressure on Lanning and Park. With sophomores Dorance Armstrong Jr. (8.0 sacks) and Daniel Wise, and junior DeeIsaac Davis, KU has a defensive line capable of visiting the backfield often. While ISU starts four seniors — left tackle Nick Fett, left guard Patrick Scoggins, center Brian Bobek and right guard Brian Seda — on its offensive line, the team ranks last in the Big 12 in sacks allowed in conference games (4.0 a week). The Jayhawks have bothered better quarterbacks this season and should make a point to rattle ISU’s passers.
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/2016/oct/29/311476/
1. Last season you racked up so many tackles (111 total, in 11 games), and while you’re still making them this year (team-best 64 total, through nine games), do you feel like you’ve been freed up to do more on the field since the defense as a whole is more sound?
“Yes, I feel like definitely the workload has been lessened this year. With our D-line playing as big as they’ve been playing, definitely getting a lot of TFLs and a lot of sacks and stuff, that’s been helping me out a lot on the back end.”
2. True freshman safety Mike Lee has come a long way and earned players’ and coaches’ trust over the last several weeks. What role do you think you’ve played in Lee’s development?
“More so probably in a mentor role, more the little things: just off-the-field stuff, in meeting rooms and taking down little notes here and there. And just reading receivers’ routes. After practice (Monday) we stayed after and kind of worked on our drops and breaking on the ball — stuff like that. … He came real far. During camp, you could see some of his natural play-making abilities, but he also had a lot of freshman moments.”
3. The secondary has six interceptions this season. Is that a number you all are happy with or do you expect more out of yourselves?
“Definitely expect more. Six turnovers as a group, I feel like, with the guys we’ve got back there we can definitely do more.”
4. The defense has improved significantly from 2015 but the wins still haven’t shown up as a result. How difficult is that, the longer you all go without a win?
“It’s difficult at times, because we’re competitors and stuff. So, of course, you know we want the end result to be wins. Of course we want that. So that’s why we’ve got a coach like Coach Bowen, who goes around and shows us the good things that we did do and some statistics and where we stand in the Big 12, to kind of keep our heads in the right direction and keep us fighting.”
5. You guys have the same record as Iowa State. Is there an added incentive this week to get out of last place?
“Yeah, of course. You don’t ever want to be in last place at anything you do. … I know they’re gonna come out hard. We’ve just gotta match that intensity.”
Entering the season, many who follow KU football circled Nov. 12 against Iowa State as a winnable Big 12 game for second-year head coach Beaty’s Jayhawks. After all, the program’s last league win came against ISU in Memorial Stadium just more than two years — and 18 games — ago. While both Kansas and ISU have identical records, the Cyclones have been more competitive in Big 12 losses (three points to Baylor, seven points at Oklahoma State, five points to K-State, 10 points to OU). So assuming a Kansas victory over 10-point Las Vegas favorite Iowa State would be a bit much. Beaty hasn’t won a Big 12 game since taking over the program. While his players certainly don’t openly discuss that topic, they’re sure to realize what a win vs. ISU would mean to their coach, and it could do wonders for their own psyches. Whether they had this game highlighted on their calendars, this is the Jayhawks’ best remaining chance for an FBS victory in 2016.
KU ….. ISU
v KU run D vs. ISU run game
Push KU pass D vs. ISU pass game
KU run game vs. ISU run D v
KU pass game vs. ISU pass D v
Special teams v
