The Sports Xchange
NCAAF Team Report – Kansas – INSIDE SLANT
After taking over as Kansas coach, Charlie Weis made no promises regarding wins and losses.
He simply vowed to make the Jayhawks better fundamentally with a disciplined approach.
So then the 31-17 victory against South Dakota State, though a struggle for much of the game, was perfectly fine. It was a start. A good start. And that was what Weis wanted most, allowing his new team a chance to taste success after closing the 2011 season with 10 straight defeats under Turner Gill.
“(Players) can enjoy themselves for the first time in a long time,” Weis said. “Then we can go and look at all the things we did wrong, see if we’ll be able to get better next week.”
Any improvement will be gradual, but the Jayhawks should realize by now they must improve to compete at all in the Big 12 after winning two league games the past three seasons. Although a home game with Rice on Sept. 8 presents another shot at victory, the Owls are at least from the Bowl Subdivision ranks, unlike South Dakota State, an FCS team picked sixth in the Missouri Valley.
As much as anyone, quarterback Dayne Crist must sharpen his game. The graduate transfer from Notre Dame, who Weis recruited while he was coaching the Irish, could not find the right aim to go with his strong arm.
Several throws could have been picked off before Crist finally tossed a fourth-quarter interception with the Jayhawks only ahead by a touchdown. He eventually completed fewer than half his attempts (17 of 36) while throwing for 169 yards. His longest connection came on the Jayhawks’ first play from scrimmage, a 43-yard strike to Kale Pick.
“I’m very disappointed in how I played,” Crist said. “I left a ton of throws out on the field, but more than anything I’m just happy that we got a win. I couldn’t be more happy for my teammates, and at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.”
He’s right, particularly with how it concerns the Jayhawks. The program grew completely irrelevant in football, just five short years after winning the Orange Bowl to conclude a 12-1 run under Mark Mangino in 2007.
The problem was so acute that Kansas went outside the box to hire Weis, who immediately stirred a favorable response from fans while taking on his fourth job in as many years after coordinating offenses for the Kansas City Chiefs and Florida Gators after getting fired following his fifth season in South Bend.
Weis is smart enough to recognize that Kansas must build on what strengths it possesses. One of those is a deep backfield, which showed its strength by producing two 100-yard rushers, Tony Pierson and Taylor Cox, against South Dakota State. That, despite the absence of James Sims, who led the Jayhawks in rushing each of the past two seasons but is serving a three-game suspension to begin the season.
If Kansas continues to flourish on the ground, it will create open passing lanes and take pressure off Crist. In addition, the defense gets more time to rest, and a ticking clock keeps potent opponents from getting a chance to score.
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NCAAF Team Report – Kansas – NOTES, QUOTES
–Although QB Dayne Crist, a Notre Dame transfer who was immediately awarded the starting job at Kansas, was not sharp in the opener, he drew quick support from Charlie Weis after the Jayhawks tripped South Dakota State 31-17 in their opener. “There were some throws out there he’d like to have back and he was a little rusty,” said the first-year coach. “But to be honest with you, he was a little anxious. Remember, he went all last year without playing. He got yanked in the first game last year, so he hasn’t played in a long time.” Crist threw for 169 yards, completing 17 of 36 attempts.
–The victory Charlie Weis posted in his Kansas debut was somewhat rare among coaches who recently took on the job. He was just the third coach among the last 16 at Kansas to win his opener. Since Don Fambrough achieved the feat in 1971, the only other newcomer to win his first game at Kansas was Terry Allen in 1997. The last Kansas coach, Turner Gill, lost his opener to an FCS opponent, North Dakota State.
–During the preseason, Weis revealed that DE Toben Opurum would be used some in short-yardage situations. Sure enough, with the Jayhawks threatening late in the first quarter from the South Dakota State 3-yard line, Opurum was inserted and threw the lead block on a touchdown run by RB Tony Pierson. Opurum, a senior, is in his third season on defense but led the Jayhawks in rushing as a freshman in 2009. Opurum also went out as a receiver in the flat on a third-quarter scoring play, though QB Dayne Crist opted to find TE Mike Ragone in the end zone.
KEEP AN EYE ON: RB Tony Pierson — The Jayhawks possess enough depth in the backfield to keep backs fresh, which could really benefit a burner such as Pierson. The 47-yard touchdown burst he broke in the third quarter saw Pierson break away from defenders, and it was part of a 124-yard effort on 20 carries. His workload will probably be reduced when RB James Sims returns in the fourth game off a suspension.
LOOKING GOOD: Faced with a somewhat tenuous situation leading by just seven points in the fourth quarter, the Kansas defense stepped up late and blunted any rally by South Dakota State. The Jayhawks forced five turnovers, including four interceptions, though the FCS Jackrabbits were not skilled throwing the ball and used two quarterbacks. After ranking last in the country in total defense a year ago, Kansas did not exactly shut down South Dakota State. It allowed 411 total yards, including a 99-yard touchdown run.
STILL NEEDS WORK: Everything. This is Kansas football. The job Weis took on will demand time and patience. In particular, the Jayhawks lacked big plays on special teams. They failed to kick the ball into the end zone with a shorter distance on kickoffs. In addition, PK Ron Doherty failed to connect on a 35-yard field goal, leaving him 1-for-2 with a 22-yard chip shot. His 45.8-yard average on punts was at least solid, particularly when he dropped four of his six attempts inside the 20.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “The first thing we wanted to accomplish was to win the football game. I knew there would be ups and downs in this game and I didn’t think we’d be perfect in the first rattle out of the box. Psychologically, it is so much easier on Sunday to constructively criticize all the things that happened in a game.” — Kansas coach Charlie Weis.
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NCAAF Team Report – Kansas – STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES:
–WR Kale Pick — The one-time quarterback continues to be a steady threat for the Kansas receiving corps. He went deep for a 43-yard grab on QB Dayne Crist’s first attempt and finished with five receptions for 81 yards.
–DE Josh Williams — The Nebraska transfer caused a strip and recovered the loose ball on the same play, proving he is capable of disrupting opponents. Williams was in on three sacks and was also credited with a quarterback hurry.
–WR D.J. Beshears — After leading the Big 12 with 1,014 yards on kickoff returns last season when the Jayhawks gave up enough points to get him a lot of work, Beshears was not used in that capacity against South Dakota State. He did snag five receptions for 27 yards.
ROSTER REPORT
–LS Justin Carnes is serving a three-game suspension to begin the season, prompting Kansas to use Reilly Jeffers, a walk-on, on deep snaps against South Dakota State.
–DE Darius Willis, a starting linebacker last season, was not listed when the two-deep was released prior to the season opener. Willis has moved to defensive end as Kansas tries to establish more depth within the defensive line.
–QB Dayne Crist, the former Notre Dame quarterback, was the most recognizable transfer among first-time starters Kansas used. Other graduate transfers in the lineup were TE Mike Ragone (Notre Dame) and DE Josh Williams (Nebraska). Two junior-college transfers, OG Asiam Sterling and NT Jordan Tavai, also were among the seven first-time starters.
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