Tucson, Ariz. — Going into Saturday’s game against Arizona, the Kansas defense had a plan to turn the pressure up on Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita.
Sophomore cornerback Jalen Todd, who has spent the majority of the season playing as the nickel back, was one of the main targets for this game plan. He blitzed often and brought Fifita down for a sack twice.
“That was our game plan, for sure, to put some pressure on him,” Todd said.
Moving into the nickel position brings Todd closer to the action on run plays. When he wasn’t blitzing, Todd was able to make run stops in the middle of the field.
Kansas held the Arizona offense to uncharacteristic lows on Saturday. The 323 total yards of offense was the fewest for the Wildcats in a win since a 2018 win over Cal. The Jayhawks held Fifita to a 52% completion rate, despite Fifita averaging over 65% this season.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold said it was a combination of pressure from blitzes and from the defensive line winning on blocks. The team combined for five sacks and six tackles for loss, while Fifita finished with 25 yards rushing on 13 carries, even with runs of 19, 15 and 11.
“There were some pressures on blitzes where we had some free guys, and if you’re doing that, coverage is pretty good on the back side that doesn’t allow the ball to be thrown,” Leipold said. “I think there were some instances that we were winning some battles on the outside with our defensive ends and decent push inside that allowed the pocket condense on him, too.”
Arizona started the game with a three-and-out offensively, but had an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive the next time the offense got on the field. After that, Kansas kept Arizona to only one first down in the Wildcats’ next three drives as Leipold said the defense upped the aggression and confidence.
In that span, the Wildcats went back eight yards on a drive, forward five yards and forward two yards. Todd got his first sack on a sack-fumble that brought the ball back 11 yards on the first drive, Trey Lathan tackled a scrambling Fifita for a 1-yard gain on third down during the second drive and Dak Brinkley secured his first 1.5 sacks of his career in back-to-back plays to stop that third Arizona drive.
Kansas brought pressure often, and when it got to Fifita, the Wildcats were forced into tough situations. When Fifita was kept clean, the Wildcats were able to score.
The Jayhawks found more success in the second half, holding the Wildcats to a field goal in the third. The one touchdown the Jayhawks allowed in the second half, however, was the deciding score of the game.
“We had a really great week of practice, so we just had to go out there and execute,” Todd said.
Todd said the defense tried to mix things up, switching between man coverage and zone coverage and changing where and how the Jayhawks were bringing pressure.
Pressure on a quarterback can lead to more than just sacks — it can help the defense generate turnovers. KU’s defensive performance was close to being even better on Saturday, as two interceptions on Fifita were called back.
Sophomore defensive end Leroy Harris III intercepted a ball and returned it 70 yards, but a defensive holding call on Todd brought the play back and gave the Wildcats the ball in the red zone. They later turned it into points.
Taylor Davis nearly had an interception in the fourth quarter, but Davis was unable to maintain possession of the ball after a replay review. Leipold said that he heard from his team up in the press box that the ball hit the ground on the play.
Syeed Gibbs knocked down a third-down pass by Fifita to force a punt, also in the third quarter, but could potentially have snagged it for an interception and a big return.
To generate turnovers, Todd said the defense just needs to keep executing.
“It was big, coach D.K. (McDonald) talks about turnovers — we have to win the turnover battle,” Todd said. “It’s really on us, we just got to execute.”
With the five sacks, the Jayhawks sit third in the Big 12 in sacks this season with 24. As the team enters the final stretch of the season and searches for a sixth win to get to bowl eligibility, the Jayhawks will need the pass rush to keep it up and make it difficult for quarterbacks to operate.
