SB Nation - D.J. Marshall

Hawk Talk: UTEP Tailgate Edition

Denverjhawk — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 10:01:00 -0000

A look at news and notes from this week about the Jayhawks and their upcoming game....

The Good Guys...

Steven Foster may have found a home at defensive end.
The Springer Twins, Justin and Jeremy, will face off this week.
Jake Laptad a coaches dream.
Tanner Hawkinson successful through one game at protecting Todd Reesing's blind side.
The Jayhawks look for a better result in their first road game of the season in 2009 vs. 2008.
UDK piece on everybody's favorite head hunting kicker, Jacob Branstetter.
Bill Miller brings experience to a young defensive staff.
Change has been a good thing for Brad Thorson.
UTEP's passing game will look to test the Jayhawk secondary.
Chris Harris looks to have regained some of his 2007 confidence.
KC Star Game Preview

The Bad Guys...

UTEP looks to cut down on penalties after a tough first game with the zebra's.
QB Trevor Vittatoe looks to be a threat through the air and on the ground.
Miners focused for this years biggest home game.
El Paso Times piece on Reesing and the rise of the Jayhawks

Denver's Take...

Last week the Jayhawks put together a convincing win against an inferior opponent. A new found running game and a more balanced attack met the Jayhawks to start 2009 although much of that might be attributed to Northern Colorado's focus on limiting the pass. Regardless of how well things looked though, the Bears did expose some potential chinks in the armor.

On the other sideline, on all accounts UTEP played pretty poorly for at least half a game last week and ultimately it ended up costing them. The question is whether they can rally against a big time opponent and make things difficult in their own backyard.

My thought is this, Kansas defense will still be looking to find itself a bit but I just don't think that alone will be enough for UTEP to upset the Jayhawks. This one might get up and down but Kansas' offense has now shown they will be very difficult to stop. Throw Dezmon Briscoe back in the mix and it will take a pretty big UTEP defensive effort to stop the Jayhawks attack.

In terms of the Kansas defense, I don't look for things to settle here and I'm expecting a few changes on the depth chart in this one across the board. With that said, we'll get closer but the Jayhawks will still be vulnerable. In the end though Kansas stops UTEP more than the UTEP stops Kansas and the Jayhawks will win the turnover battle with some fairly savvy defenders running around and making plays.

My final thought is this, look for Kansas to go for the jugular early with a big play on the opening drive. From there Kansas keeps their foot on the gas and surprises many with a relatively easier win than expected.

Final Score: Kansas 42 UTEP 24

Supplemental Notes and more things to look for after the jump...

DID YOU KNOW? -- While Kansas has never played UTEP, the Jayhawks have played in the school's home stadium - the Sun Bowl. The Jayhawks met Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl on Christmas Day to cap the 1975 season. The Jayhawks lost 33-19 to the Panthers as Tony Dorsett rushed for 142 yards for Pittsburgh. Kansas was led by Laverne Smith, who rushed for 118 yards and Nolan Cromwell, who added 99 yards on the ground. Nearly 4,000 KU fans made the trip to El Paso for the game and were part of a then-Sun Bowl record crowd of 30,272.

DID YOU KNOW? -- Sure its only after one week, but Kansas is tied for the national lead in four NCAA offensive statistical categories including fewest tackles for loss allowed (1.00), fewest sacks allowed (0.00), fourth-down efficiency (100.0 percent) and red-zone efficiency (100.o percent). KU was two of two on fourth downs and scored on all six of its trips in the red zone against Northern Colorado last week.

This Week's Game
KU-UTEP SERIES -- Kansas and UTEP will be meeting for the first time in school history. In fact, each of KU's four non-conference games this year are first-time meetings.

KU VS. CONFERENCE USA -- Kansas owns a 16-9 record against current members of Conference USA all time. The last time the Jayhawks played a member of the league was its 42-13 victory against Houston
in the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. The last regular season meeting against a Conference USA opponent was a 21-3 victory against Tulsa to open the 2004 campaign.

KU AND THE STATE OF TEXAS -- This will be the first of three trips to the state of Texas for the Jayhawks, who will also play at Texas Tech on Oct. 31 and at Texas on Nov. 21. KU's last trip to the state was
a 19-11 win at Texas A&M in 2007. KU is 2-5 in the state in the Mark Mangino era with a win against Houston in Fort Worth in 2005 and the win at Texas A&M in 2007.

TEXAS JAYHAWKS -- Kansas features 35 players on its roster from the state of Texas. That figure is the most of any state as KU has 23 players from its own state, 11 from Oklahoma and eight from Missouri for its biggest areas. KU starters from the lone star state include WR Dezmon Briscoe (Dallas), LB Drew Dudley (College Station), OC Jeremiah Hatch (Dallas), DE Maxwell Onyegbule (Arlington), CB Daymond Patterson (Mesquite), QB Todd Reesing (Austin), LB Justin Springer (Los Fresnos) and LB Arist Wright (Houston).

KU-UTEP CONNECTIONS -- KU LB Justin Springer's twin brother Jeremy is a LB at UTEP... In addition to the 35 players KU lists from the state of Texas, several KU coaches have ties to the state: KU LB coach Bill Miller played at Texas-Arlington and coached one year at his alma mater... KU WR coach David Beaty was a successful high school coach in the state at several schools before coaching wide receivers at Rice in 2006-07... KU RB and special teams coach Louie Matsakis was on staffs at Texas Tech and Texas State-San Marcos.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST UTEP

KU is looking to start a season 2-0 for the sixth consecutive season.
KU has won three straight games dating back to last season.
KU has recorded three sacks in each of its last three games dating back to last year.
QB Todd Reesing (8,392) needs 30 total yards for ninth on the Big 12 career total offense list.
Reesing has thrown a touchdown pass in 19 consecutive games.
RB Jake Sharp (1,933) needs 38 yards to move past Kerwin Bell (1,970) for 10th on the KU career rushing

list.

Sharp (20) needs one rushing touchdown to tie three others for sixth on the KU career rushing touchdown list and two to tie David Winbush (22) for fifth.
Sharp (54) needs three receptions to pass Robert Miller (56) for third on the KU career receptions by a running back list.
WR Kerry Meier (129) needs five receptions to pass Willie Vaughn (133) for third on the KU career receptions list.
Meier (10) needs one touchdown reception to tie for ninth on the KU career touchdown receptions list.
Meier has caught at least two passes in 22 consecutive games.
S Darrell Stuckey (7) needs one interception to tie Richard Bertuzzi (8) for 10th on the KU career interceptions list.
DE Jake Laptad (12) needs three sacks to move past Nick Reid (14) for ninth on the KU career sacks list.
WR Dezmon Briscoe has produced four straight 100-yard receiving games.
Briscoe (7) needs one 100-yard game to tie Willie Vaughn for first on the KU career 100-yard receiving games list.
Briscoe has caught at least two passes in 19 consecutive games.
Briscoe (1,903) needs 95 yards to pass Richard Estell (1,997) for third on the KU career receiving yards list.

DID YOU KNOW? -- The Kansas at UTEP game features two of the nation's top active passers in Jayhawk Todd Reesing and Miner Trevor Vittatoe. Vittatoe ranks fourth (264.3) and Reesing fifth (259.5) among active quarterbacks in career passing yards per game. Reesing's 70 career touchdown passes are sixth among active players behind Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Tim Hiller, Dan LeFevour and Nate Davis, but ahead of such seniors as Tim Tebow, Max Hall, Zac Robinson, Matt Grothe and Juice Williams.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS -- Seven Jayhawks made their first career starts in the season opener including LT Tanner Hawkinson, LG Brad Thorson and RG Sal Capra on offense and DE Maxwell Onyegbule, DT Patrick Dorsey, LB Drew Dudley and CB Anthony Davis on defense.

FRESHMEN SEE PLAYING TIME -- Against Northern Colorado 11 freshmen saw action including three true freshmen in WR Bradley McDougald, LB Huldon Tharp and RB Toben Opurum. Redshirt freshmen who played for the first time included QB Kale Pick, S Lubbock Smith, CB Greg Brown, OL Trevor Marrongelli, OL John Williams, OL Tanner Hawkinson, DE D.J. Marshall and DT Duane Zlatnik.

OFFENSIVE NOTES -- KU rushed for 334 yards vs. Northern Colorado, the first 300-yard rushing game for the Jayhawks since 2001... KU produced 553 yards of total offense vs. UNC, its most in its last 15
games... KU did not commit a turnover against UNC (had two games last year without a turnover - Louisiana Tech and Colorado)... KU scored touchdowns on all six of its trips into the red zone... Three Jayhawks scored two touchdowns each against UNC including QB Todd Reesing, RB Jake Sharp and RB Toben Opurum... KU had two 80-plus yard scoring drives against UNC... KU had two 10-plus play drives against the Bears... KU scored on seven of its 10 possessions and punted just twice against UNC... KU converted eight of 12 thirddown
attempts against UNC... Four different Jayhawks had runs of 20 or more yards, including both quarterbacks... KU had only one play that lost yards against Northern Colorado, a team rush that lost six yards.

DEFENSIVE NOTES -- KU allowed just three points, the fewest its allowed since shutting out Louisiana Tech in the second game of last year... UNC's 246 total yards were the fewest allowed by KU since limiting Colorado to 233 in the sixth game of last year... KU allowed two 10-plus play drives by UNC, but neither resulted in points (both punts) and the two drives combined for only 51 yards... UNC reached KU's 20-yard line just twice in 10 possessions and scored one field goal... KU allowed only two plays of more than 20 yards by UNC.

An Underrated Problem: Defensive End

rockchalk — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:29:24 -0000

Coming into this season, there seems to be two primary problems that preseason magazines are focusing on: interior line play and linebackers. This makes sense, of course, as we lost all 6 starters in those two positions. However, there are more than just two potential holes on this team. This week, we'll be documenting all of these "mini-issues", if you will, with closing out the series today by taking a look at the defensive end position.

Why It's a (Potential) Problem

This was a tough one. I had thoughts about doing the entire defensive line, but figured it would be too much to handle in one large spoonful. I thought about making a mini-mini-series out of this mini-series, focusing just on the defensive line, but that just seemed like it would be overkill. Then, I had to decide what to cover; defensive end or defensive tackle.

While our defensive tackles were underwhelming last year, we still have a bunch of talented bodies at the position. Darius Parish, Jamal Greene, Richard Johnson Jr., Caleb Blakesley, etc. etc. So, instead, I decided to focus on the defensive end position. Now, with our new 4-2-5 defense, run defense will be at a premium, making the defensive tackles more important in theory. But, after watching the Chiefs last season, I entirely understand the relationship between lack of a pass rush and sucky defense.

Even with 5 people out there in the secondary, pressure is absolutely necessary. And, people are kind of overlooking the problem. I mean, sure, I like Quintin Woods. He looks like he's going to be a good player. I hope he is. But, behind him and incumbent starter Jake Laptad, there isn't a whole lot. I've bought into Max Onyegbule too many times in the past to expect much out of him. Jake Wheeler has never fully developed his pass-rushing potential. And the other d-ends are young and, most likely, not ready to contribute immediately.

I'm worried. Pass rush is essential, and while we have all of the pieces to create one, it isn't a sure thing. Not by a long shot.

The Potential Solutions

Like I said, there are plenty of "solutions" here. All of them are really talented, too. While we survived in the past two years while playing always-in-the-right-place players, like Russell Brorsen and John Larson, they didn't provide enough pass rush. Mangino switched up the recruiting strategy, instead going after better athletes who, potentially, could consistently get to the quarterback. Most of that talent is still young, but two juniors (Laptad and the JUCO transfer Quintin Woods) will be depended on the most.

All specific players listed after the jump...

Jake Laptad

The best defensive end we had last year, easy. He got to the QB enough to be a primary pass rusher, but not when matched up across Russell Brorsen, or someone like that. Still, he should be improved; perhaps good enough to be all-Big 12. Maybe. He certainly has the potential. And, he isn't awful against the run, either; but he's clearly a pass rusher primarily.

With him, though, it's still mostly potential. He has to get better against the run, particularly with only 2 LBs. If he can be a bigger factor in the run game while maintaining similar production in rushing the QB, it should be OK. If not, then we'll be in trouble. He's good enough to blow my small expectations out of the water; it's just a matter of if he does it, or not.

And when the most proven commodity at the position has potential surrounding any potential production, it usually isn't a good thing. I mean, it can be; that's what potential means. But if he busts out, or just performs the same as last year, it won't end well.

Quintin Woods

Huge fan of his. Original Michigan commit, but then he didn't qualify out of high school and had to go the JUCO route. Still just as talented, has just as much potential, all of that wonderful stuff. Could be a real star. Of course, here we go again with that potential bug. And given our, um, not-so-hot record with the junior college transfers, I'm trying to keep my expectations at a reasonable level. Ideally, given the fact he's a pass rusher first-and-foremost, you would just throw him in there on obvious passing downs. Kind of like Jake Laptad's usage his freshman year. But, with Woods at least experiencing some form of playing time beyond high school, even if it was just in JUCO, he becomes the de facto starter. So, his progression is the absolute key to this entire position.

Either he picks it up, plays at a high level, provides Laptad ample production on the other side of the line and isn't completely destroyed in the running game, or he doesn't. If he does, we're all happy, and our defense is miles better. We can wean in the freshman-or-two that we don't redshirt along with D.J. Marshall, who both could pick up a couple sacks of their own. Our secondary can be more relaxed. Our linebackers can just focus on the running game. We're a much better team with two really good defensive ends. It's obvious.

Given last year, I think we can all be fairly certain Laptad can be depended upon. But Woods, or anybody else at the position? Nuh-uh. At the very least, they shouldn't be treated as guarantees. Someone, anyone, will have to step up, though. And Woods is the best option.

Maxwell Onyegbule and Jeff Wheeler

For the rest of the ends, I'll just break them into two camps. One is the veteran reserve role, consisting of Max O and Jeff Wheeler. Both were the third-down pass rushers that were brought in obvious passing situations in the past, with mediocre results at best. Now, less will be expected of them, but they are probably the second and third "surest" things, respectively, left at d-end. If everyone flops, they'll have to step up. Even if not, and someone like Quintin Woods emerges, they'll be depended upon to be a steady, veteran presence.

It's likely too late in their careers for either of them to take a huge leap, which is needed if either becomes the consistent presence opposite Laptad. But, both of them should be good enough to be decent off of the bench, particularly in getting to the QB. Depending on how things go with Woods and the freshmen, that may get them considerable PT or it may not. As long as they provide some baseline for the newcomers to reach, I'm happy.

That's really the key with Onyegbule and Wheeler. Provide some baseline of production for the Marshalls and Youngs and Sellers of the world to reach, or they don't see the field. That way, we at least have decent players go out there, plus it creates competition, bladdy bladdy blah.

D.J. Marshall, Kevin Young, Tyrone Sellers

I listed them in order of likely appearance in games, based mostly off of time-in-the-program. Even though Kevin Young tried his best to be Xavier and C.J. before it even happened, he was here for the spring semester. Sellers wasn't, while Marshall spent a year last year redshirting, getting bigger, learning techniques, all of that fantastic stuff. So, while Marshall is often overlooked, I think he's the most likely to see the field. Most likely in some kind of third-downs-only, pass rushing type. Or something.

All of them have, you guessed it, potential. Loads of it. A bunch. It's just a matter of when it comes out. I'm pumped beyond belief for all three. Particularly Kevin Young, who I think could be just as good against the run as against the pass.

So, The Solution Is...

Well, as scary as it may be, we pretty much have to depend on Jake Laptad providing production. Given the immense uncertainties of every other defensive end on the roster, his half-sure-thing is going to have to do as if he was Julius Peppers or something. And, someone else is going to have to step up.

Quintin Woods is the favorite, but really it doesn't much matter. As long as someone steps up opposite Laptad, it's a success. Combine that with the two veterans, Onyegbule and Wheeler, and you can survive the season with an average pass rush. Or whatever. If any of the freshmen can step up and provide much of anything, it's just an added bonus.

Really, I'm actually not that worried about the pass rush. Of all of these "underrated problems", I'm least worried about any potential pass rush. I think we're going to be fine. Laptad can be awesome, Woods is going to provide something, and the seniors will be good enough to get 5-10 snaps a game. Or whatever.

So, don't freak out entirely.

Planning on doing an Underrated Strength mini-series, probably starting next Tuesday. Hopefully all of the negative will I've built up in this year's team will go away when we go over the strengths beyond just the passing game.

Press Conference Quotes 12.10.08

Denverjhawk — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:10:01 -0000

Obviously it's an important recruiting time for the coaches and a little bit of a slower time for the players. Developmental practices are in full swing. Players are wrapping up finals and getting ready to begin Bowl practices.

No Coach Mangino this week but some good press conference action from a lot of the players. Joe Mortenson and Adrian Mayes talk about their upcoming final game as Jayhawks. Russel Brorson touches on some of the young guys that have impressed in workouts. Jeff Spikes talks recruiting and Dezmon Briscoe and Justin Thorton talk a little Missouri game and Bowl game.

Jump into the post for the entire press conference transcript...

Kansas Football Press Conference Quotes

Dec. 10, 2008

Senior Offensive Lineman Adrian Mayes:

His thoughts on playing Minnesota:

“I am glad that we are going to play a good opponent like Minnesota. I have watched a little bit of film and their defense looks pretty good. They have a really good defensive end. From what I saw they have a really good front four and it should be a good challenge for our offensive line.”

On the importance of winning the Insight Bowl:

“To have 20 wins in two seasons is a big thing. To have the chance to win back-to-back bowls is something that we want to go out with. It is really important for us to get this win. I know it will be a lot of fun.”

Senior Linebacker Joe Mortensen

On his feelings after the Missouri victory:

“I was really emotional because it was my last time to play Mizzou and it was one of my last college games. It was one of our rivals, so it felt so good that we beat them in my senior year. We had lost to them the last couple years, but it is a good way to go out.”

On the schedule before the bowl game:

“Coach Mangino has talked to us about that. This week has been kind of an off-week. He has given us time to study for our finals, but we’re going to start hitting it hard this weekend and into next week. It’s going to be intense and we’re going to use all 15 practices.”

On Minnesota:

“The last two days we have been watching film. We just got our film in on Sunday, so we’ve been watching them the last two days. They run a lot of empty (sets) and we have seen a bunch of spread this year, so we should be ready. They have a really good wideout and a good quarterback. Those are the guys that we are going to have to contain. They love to pass the ball. They are one of the only spread teams in the Big Ten. They started off 7-1, and were really hot, but they’ve lost the last few games. They are still a really good team though.”

On it being his last game as a Jayhawk:

“It’s going to be emotional. It’s going to be fun. I am from southern California, so I have like 20-to-30 people coming out to the game. It is in Arizona, so it is going to be nice weather. It is going to be a great atmosphere. And because it is my last college football game, I’m looking forward to it.”

On how Minnesota scares him:

“They have a really good wide out and they also have a really good quarterback. Those are the guys that we are really going to have to contain. They love to pass the ball as they are one of the only spread teams in the Big 10. They started out really hot at 7-1 and then cooled off a bit at the end of the year, but they are still a really good team. I think the Big 12 has some of the best offenses and defenses in the country so we have definitely seen a lot of good spreads so far this year. I am definitely not talking down the Big 10 because I know they are a very good conference as well, but we have played some of the best offenses in the nation.”

On getting pressure on the quarterback against Minnesota:

“That is definitely one thing we are going to look for. When you are running against spread offenses it is always nice to get a hit on the quarterback.”

On the chance of the senior class finishing their last two years with 20 wins:

“It is huge. Our senior class wants to leave a legacy. We want to win bowl games. This is the first time in school history that we have gone to back-to-back bowl games and we want to win back-to-back bowl games.”

Junior Cornerback Justin Thornton

On Minnesota Wide Receiver Eric Decker:

“He’s a great wide receiver. He’s put up some great numbers this year and I have had a chance to watch him on film a couple of times, so he’s definitely a guy that we’ll keep an eye on. He does a lot of things well. He runs great routes and catches great balls.”

On Minnesota Quarterback Adam Weber:

“Their quarterback is a good player. He kind of reminds me of Todd (Reesing). He goes out there and makes plays for them. He throws decent balls too. It’ll be a great test for us, especially against a Big Ten school.”

On defeating Missouri:

“It is always great to beat the Tigers. It’s a great rivalry. We took the victory in stride and it has helped us go into our bowl preparation. It is always great to beat the Tigers and we’re going to use it as a momentum boost going into our next game. (Our attitude) has been great. Guys are working hard. We’ve had a couple weeks off and now we’re getting ready for our bowl preparations. Even though we’re not practicing, we’re not taking time off. We’re still in the weight room trying to stay in shape. We’ll be ready to go for our bowl game.”

Sophomore Wide Receiver Dezmon Briscoe

On the win against Missouri:

“It is always big to get a win against Missouri in the Border Showdown. I believe that we came into that game with more intensity and we came out with the win.”

On entering the bowl game with a win:

“Going into a bowl game with some confidence is always a good thing. We are going to come into the game with a lot of confidence. We are going to approach the game with intensity and hopefully come out with a win.”

On the team’s attitude right now:

“This time of year we are mostly focusing on our school work, but we still have the mindset that we still have a game to win. Even though our mindset is on school work right now, we have a chance to get our eighth win and are focusing on football as well.”

On ending the season on a high note:

“The coaches have really had a lot of confidence in me late in the season and I have responded by making plays when the ball came to me. I am just planning on doing the same in the bowl game.”

Redshirt Freshman Offensive Tackle Jeff Spikes

On his expectations of playing at Kansas:

“There wasn’t too much I was expecting because I didn’t want to expect too much and be disappointed. It’s been a challenge coming in and working hard and having to go through tiring workouts. There are days that it can be harder than you expect. I haven’t been disappointed in anything I have experienced here.”

On his recruitment to Kansas:

“When coach (Ed) Warinner first recruited me, he was recruiting me to go to Illinois. Then I didn’t hear from him for a while. When I was on a visit in Louisiana he gave me a call and said, “I haven’t been able to get in touch with you, but I am taking a coaching job at Kansas and I want to recruit you here.”

On his experience prior to playing at Kansas:

“I came in with no experience and no understanding of the game at all. I felt that if I put it to the test and see what I could do and make the best of opportunities, then I could be good at what I do.”

Senior Wide Receiver Dexton Fields

On how he handles all of his responsibilities, including his new role as a father:

“Fortunately this semester I only had two classes that I needed to take. I only had one class I actually had to come on campus for. Most of the time I’m watching my son when his mom is at school. It’s kind of hard to leave him when I go away for games because I am so used to being with him. It’s all worth it though. I have to take care of business so I can provide for him.”

On when his son was born:

“He was born the week before I came back, on the Thursday before the Iowa State game. That’s the game I came back from injury. Kelsey has been pretty good about taking care of him when I’m not around. I was anticipating his birth because they told me she could go into labor any day, but the one day I decided not to bring my phone out to the practice field she ended up having him. I was there though.”

On possibly missing practice:

“I talked to coach about it. He was understanding about it. He understood the responsibility I had. It’s a once in a life time opportunity.”

Senior Defensive End Russell Brorsen

On the importance of developmental practices:

“They (developmental practices) are really good for the young guys because they spend most of the season on the scout team running an opponent’s offense or defense. They can pick up some bad habits doing that. Now is the time to get them out of those bad habits before they get to spring ball.”

On which young guys have impressed him in recent practices:

“The two (defensive) ends, D.J. Marshall and Tanner Hawkinson have really come on strong in developmental practices. They’ve been playing really well. Duane Zlatnik has also come along really well.”

On the break between the end of the season and the bowl game:

“It gives us a couple of weeks to try to get our bodies back (healthy) from the season. I think it will really help for the bowl game. We are just trying to get healed up as much as we can before we get going again for the last game.”

Junior defensive tackle Caleb Blakesley

On playing through his injuries:

“It’s not quite as scary when you’ve been through it before. It’s more disappointing than anything. But everything has worked out now and the season is coming to a close with a big bowl game. I’ll be ready for it.”

On playing during such an historic time for KU football:

“It’s a great feeling. The thing I love the most about being able to play here is that my family can come watch me. It’s great being a part of all the records and history that has happened since I’ve been here. We’ve had some rough times and then last year was amazing. This year we’ve just battled through with guys getting banged up, but we’re fighting. We’re going to go out and finish the season on top.”

Some Final Thoughts on the Oklahoma Game

rockchalk — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 02:09:54 -0000

Perspective is a wonderful thing.

As I discussed in my postgame reactionary, the game was incredibly frustrating to watch. There were some pretty egregious calls made by the officials as well as some particularly insane comments made by Ron Franklin and, to a lesser extent, Ed Cunningham. There were slip-ups and mistakes, which going in were a mandatory no-no if we wanted to win. There were missed tackles all over the place, and there was a hundred kajillion completions because of the Ty Law-esque cushion offered the wide receivers. All of this was combined into one incredibly painful four-hour-long contest, causing me to scream more out of anger than I have since, well, since the KU-MU game last November.

Still, considering the opponent and locale, the 14-point loss wasn't too bad. And, you could make an argument that the game was closer than that, as it certainly was throughout the first three quarters. Even while watching the game, I was still mildly pleased with the way we battled, the way we fought back, the way we forced Boomer Sooner to make adjustments at their own place. It was exciting stuff.

And now, three days after the fact, the game is even more exciting. Even more enjoyable.

Perspective, baby.

So, these thoughts, with all of their finality, will tend to shade on the optimistic, glass-is-half-full side. That's what happens when you have three days to ponder such events. Oh, and this piece (which is amazing, by the way, and a weekly-must-read) sort of helped as well (scroll down to KU-OU).

First and foremost, I just want to make one thing clear. I'm not necessarily blaming our loss on the missed tackles. Yes, I understand that, given my postgame reactionary (if it's not a word, I'm starting the trend right here, right now; hop on board) that could fairly easily be inferred, but I do realize the mitigating circumstances. Oklahoma's offense was on the field for like 2 hours of real-life time, which is an exhorbiantly long time to stay out there and be expected to tackle world-class athletes, which Boomer Sooner has boatloads of. And, while I made reference to it above, you can't really blame the cushions either. Oklahoma has quite a plethora of athletes, and our DB's, notably Kendrick Harper, aren't quite up to that level. Sure, they can tackle well (for the most part) and are 'good', which is fine-and-dandy against most teams in the country. But against those 10-or-so teams that it won't quite work, you have to give up the short stuff and hope for incompletions to get off the field. It's just nature of the beast. Now, give Mangino a couple more years of consistently having a number next to our name, first-or-second place finishes in the Big 12 North and solid bowls and I think we'll have the kind of defense to keep up with the OU's of the world. For now, nuh-uh.
Jake Sharp. Wow, where did that come from. I mean sure, he had an awesome half against Iowa State and a pretty good game against Colorado, but Oklahoma is an entire different beast altogether. And this is a team that wouldn't let Adrian Peterson run on them. Of course, that was pre-Ryan Reynolds' injury, and their defense is obviously much worse without him. Still, though, Sharp deserves a lot of credit for getting over a 100 in Norman. That one drive, too, was probably the high point of the game for me. It was at that moment(s), when Jake Sharp consistently found holes big enough for Mark Mangino and sliced-and-diced up the field for chunks of 15 and 20 yards that I thought 'hey, we can actually win this game'. But it wasn't just him, either. Jocques Crawford looked mighty fine in his action, and Angus Quigley had that one nice run off the shovel pass (more on that in about 3.8 lines). Whether it was our offensive line simply deciding to whoop some ass or Oklahoma's lack of Ryan Reynolds or something else (probably a combination of all three, as per usual), it was nice to see us run on a legitimately good defense. Hopefully we can do that again against the rest of the big boys on our schedule; if we can't, uh-oh.
OK, as promised, here is what I have to say about the shovel pass. I hate it. Well, that isn't true. I really love it when used in moderation, like once-a-half. And wouldn't you know it; the first time we do it it's good for a large gain. But everytime after that, the Boomer Sooner D-Linemen were right there, ready to demolish whichever RB caught the ball (Crawford or Quigley, I don't think Sharp had one). I like it once-or-twice or, if you wanna be crazy, three times a game, but we seriously overdosed. And while it certainly wasn't the only reason we lost, by a long shot, it certainly did little to help.
Speaking of Jocques Crawford, he helped out our kickoff return game quite a bit. I realize that Boomer Sooner can't cover kickoffs at all (about all they can't do, really), but it was still nice to actually get the ball beyond the 20.
Todd Reesing's pick in the endzone coule have been a game-ender right there. But, as mentioned before, we didn't let it faze us too much, focred a three-and-out (or something like that, maybe they got a first down) and got the ball back and drove right back and scored. All was good, again. Still could have used the TD, but I was awfully proud that we bounced back to basically negate the INT.
Finally, and this is obvious, but it still needs to be said. We desperately need a pass rush. We kinda-sorta had one at the beginning of the game, but as our defense stayed out on the field longer and longer, that quickly dissipated. I am eagerly anticipating D.J. Marshall next season after a year of redshirting and incoming recruits Tyrone Sellers and Kevin Young, as all of them profile as more complete-ends as our current crop. I still think Laptad can be a three-down DE, but Mangino ain't convinced as of yet, and we need him right now.

That's it. No more OU-KU talk. Starting tomorrow, it's all Red Raiders, all the time. Get ready for some offense. Wait, one more thing. Sam Bradford is dayum good, and I sincerely hope that he will be the Kansas City Chiefs QB, whenever he decides to play pro football.

Oh, and the game is now officially on ESPN. Still at the crack of dawn for me way out here in California, but the game was either going to be on ESPN or ESPN2, in sort of a competition with some Big 10/11 game (and honestly, if it ain't Penn State or tOSU, does it really matter? I mean, it is entirely possible that Northwestern is the third best team in that conference...), but, naturally, we won.

One final note: Guess who won't get to see the OSU-UT game? Oh, yeah, that'd be me, who instead will get to watch the sure-to-be-unforgettable UCLA-Cal game. I mean, maps have yet to be realized, but I'm no idiot.

Oh well. I can always watch the replay...