Seven things that must improve significantly from Week 1 to Week 2 to give Kansas any shot at pulling off the upset against Duke, which opened as a 20-point favorite:
1. The pass rush has to force Duke quarterback Anthony Boone to hurry. In victories against Elon and Troy, Boone has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for an average of 6.96 yards per pass with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He rushed for 47 yards in a 34-17 victory against Troy. Boone threw as many interceptions (13) as touchdowns last season, so he can be rushed into mistakes. Southeast Missouri State quarterback Kyle Snyder had way too much time to pick out receivers in KU’s shaky 34-28 victory.
2. The secondary has to do a better job. Dexter McDonald played so well that he earned Big 12 defensive player of the week honors with two interceptions and two pass breakups. He was such a force that SEMO quarterback Kyle Snyder stopped throwing anywhere near him. Smart move. Safety Isaiah Johnson and cornerback JaCorey Shepherd didn’t have their best games and Snyder’s fourth-quarter shredding of the defense was extremely unsettling.
3. KU’s four-man pass rush must improve significantly. If the Jayhawks can’t apply pressure against an FCS offensive line, when can they? Sure, blitzing can cause panic in the pocket, but that also leaves holes in the coverage. It has to start up front and it didn’t against Duke.
4. Quarterback Montell Cozart will need to put a better touch on longer passes to reward Harwell for busting open so often. Harwell gives a defense a huge headache, but if Cozart can’t hit him consistently when he breaks open for potential big gains, the defense can pack it in to take away runs and short passes.
5. The offensive line needs to do a better job of providing Cozart time to scan the field. Snyder had more time to throw than Cozart did. Typcially, in the trenches is where FBS schools have the biggest advantage against FCS teams. That wasn’t the case Saturday, which is a huge concern. De’Andre Mann praised the run-blocking, so that hasn’t been a problem so far.
6. Obviously, KU needs to finish better. In its past three games, including at Iowa State and at home vs. Kansas State at the end of last season, Kansas has been outscored, 62-10. What’s going on? Is it a stamina issue, a lack of in-game adjustments, a shortage of the mental toughness needed to bounce back when things start going the other way? Every area needs to be examined to find the answer or answers.
7. Cozart showed significant improvement, which makes it all the more important to keep him healthy. Even so, Cozart could stand to put a little more pressure on the defense as a running threat. There were a couple of plays that he could have turned it up field for potential first downs and did not. The quality of the opponent takes a huge leap forward Saturday, so KU will need to use every means possible to keep pace.
