A 59-23 loss to TCU on Saturday might have been KU’s first game in three weeks, but it was the first time we really learned anything about this team in nearly a full month.
Well, at least that’s what I’m telling people because I haven’t done this exact film room blog since the [Iowa State game][1]. Don’t worry, though, there weren’t any big lessons from KU’s 62-9 loss to Oklahoma in early November.
That said, there were certainly things worth breaking down from a lopsided matchup between the Jayhawks and Horned Frogs at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
It was a game that was never really in doubt after the first quarter.
KU (0-8, 0-7 Big 12) was actually in a 24-0 hole within the opening 12 minutes of the game thanks to a pair of busted coverage plays on defense. And that is precisely where we should start in the three things we learned from the latest Kansas football game:
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KU’s defense has a TE problem
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Admittedly, the use of the word problem might be a stretch here considering tight ends only do so much in the passing game at the collegiate level. Yet all three of TCU’s wide-open touchdowns went to a tight end.
I made a video to show all three of these plays in a row, which includes an incredible angle on the replay for each of the three scoring plays. Seriously, major shoutout to the FS1 broadcast for showing this angle, because the back end of the secondary tends to not make the screen in the regular broadcast version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h00htexqzTY
Without knowing the exact play call, it is hard to know for certain what went wrong with all three of these plays. But we can make our best guess based on what we see with our own eyes.
It looks like the Kansas defense is supposed to be in Cover 3 on the first touchdown. The Jayhawks actually run Cover 3 a decent amount, so that’s honestly a safe guess. For a breakdown of the Cover 3 defense, or really any football terminology, check out [Inside The Pylon][2].
Basically, in this defensive concept, cornerback Kyle Mayberry was responsible for that portion of the zone coverage. Ben Leber even said as much while showing the replay on the FS1 broadcast.
The second score is a bit tougher to dissect, however.
If KU is in man defense, then my guess is that linebacker Gavin Potter was responsible for Carter Ware on the 26-yard touchdown connection. If the Jayhawks were running a zone blitz, then it is easy to see how it caused some confusion even though both teams had three players on that side of the field.
TCU overloaded its two tight ends on one side to catch KU off guard on the third score. There is reason to believe the touchdown was caught by Potter’s man on this play, too. There was also a safety blitz on the other side of the field, so Potter might have just forgotten there was no help behind him.
Again, without knowing the play, I hate to fully blame anyone. It merely highlighted an ongoing issue for the Jayhawks.
Seven of the 20 touchdown passes surrendered by Kansas have gone to a tight end. KU has allowed multiple receptions in a game to the tight end position in five different contests this season.
**Breakdown of KU vs. tight ends in 2020**
Coastal Carolina — 3 receptions for 47 yards and 1 touchdown
Baylor — 1 reception for 8 yards
Oklahoma State — 0 receptions
West Virginia — 3 receptions for 21 yards
Kansas State — 5 receptions for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns
Iowa State — 5 receptions for 61 yards and 1 touchdown
Oklahoma — 0 receptions
TCU — 3 receptions for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns
It is worth noting that Oklahoma only has one tight end listed on its official roster. In addition, a lot of those big plays have come when there was blown coverage assignments by KU.
To be honest, it is an issue that really began in Week 1 against Coastal Carolina.
Coastal Carolina ran Leak/Sneak Wheel earlier this year.
Presented like Triple and Snuck the TE Out! pic.twitter.com/tHt5a5Ero6
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) September 24, 2020
Look at that play, and then watch the three touchdowns again. It is hard to believe such issues would still be showing up this late in the season, especially when Kansas had three weeks to prepare for its matchup against TCU.
So maybe problem was the right way to describe KU’s ability to defend opposing tight ends.
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Jayhawks took more deep shots and good things happened
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Kansas made a concerted effort to threaten the TCU defense over the top last week, which often led to some of the better moments by the offense. True freshman quarterback Jalon Daniels delivered his first collegiate touchdown pass on a 48-yard completion to Kwamie Lassiter II.
There was a lot to like about the play design as well. There was a fake reverse to keep the defense honest, while the offensive line slid its protection the opposite way. And there were multiple receivers downfield.
This might have been the biggest highlight of the night, but it was an obvious plan of attack by KU’s offense.
Daniels attempted four passes of 20-or-more yards, while Miles Kendrick had five such pass attempts. They went a combined 3-for-9 on these plays, with two of those passes resulting in touchdowns.
But on that fourth offensive possession — the one that ended with Daniels’ touchdown strike to Lassiter — KU showed what could happen when an offense takes shots down the field. TCU was called for multiple pass interference penalties on that drive, which is honestly a big argument for attempting big plays through the air.
It is no secret that an offensive line has to hold up long enough for these routes to develop. That said, there are plenty of quarterbacks at all levels that have success throwing the deep ball behind a bad offensive line. This is where I point in the direction of Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert.
Most of all, it helps keep a defense honest and they can’t simply load up the box. Those early deeps shots probably played a big part in KU freshman running back Amauri Pesek-Hickson recording 100 rushing yards on 22 carries against TCU.
According to [PFF’s NCAA Premium Stats][3], Daniels and Kendrick both rank near the bottom of the Big 12 in percentage of deep-ball attempts. Daniels ranks eighth in the league with 14.4% of his attempts being deep passes, while Kendrick is listed at ninth with a deep-ball percentage of 14.3% this season.
The Jayhawks don’t need to take a bunch deep shots in every game by any means, they just need to do it enough to keep the opposing defense honest. And good things might actually happen when KU does try to do that.
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Daniels needs to improve his footwork
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The first drive of the game illustrated what has led to some of Daniels’ limitations as a freshman.
Kansas threw the ball twice on the team’s first offensive possession of the night, which ended up being the first of three three-and-outs to begin the game. Both passes by Daniels were short of his intended receiver, and that’s really because he never set his feet on either throw.
**The first pass:**
**The second pass:**
Simply comparing it to Daniels’ touchdown throw would show what went wrong on these two throws. On the first play, Daniels didn’t take the time to ever move his feet before throwing the ball. He fires the pass with both of his legs side-by-side and under him.
Daniels rolled left on his second pass, and just didn’t take the time to get in position before throwing the ball. Maybe he felt like he didn’t have the time to do so, but it was the reason the pass had no shot of being completed.
These are just two plays that help highlight a recurring issue for the freshman signal caller. I don’t really know the reasoning behind it either. Daniels could just feel like he doesn’t have the time to get his feet set before throwing, and maybe the game is faster than he expected.
It is easy to see the raw ability of Daniels because he does have a strong arm. Yet his passes have a tendency to sail when he doesn’t point his lead foot in the direction of the receiver. As you saw with these two plays, some passes can’t get there at all when he’s doing nothing with his back leg.
These are issues that will almost certainly be corrected when Daniels has a full offseason and spring ball to work with. But it could explain some of Daniels’ inconsistent play during his first year as a Jayhawk.
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/jacksons_journal/2020/nov/3/film-room-three-things-we-learned-from-k/
[2]: http://insidethepylon.com/football-101/glossary-football-101/2015/12/09/itp-glossary-cover-3/#:~:text=Cover%203%20is%20a%20zone,or%20dime%2D%20backs)%20underneath.
[3]: https://www.pff.com/subscribe/college