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Quick Thoughts Some thoughts on Sunday after the OU game

JK

Hall of Fame
Staff
May 29, 2001
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Overland Park
I said going into the game I really didn't have a good feel one way or the other. The one thing I didn't pay as close attention as I should have is the pace OU plays with. KU has been able to slow games down by subbing and getting players in during four-down series on drives. The way OU played handcuffed that and really took a toll on the defense. When you are running 100 plays against KU then you are executing. The way KU has been rolling guys in and out it is hard to run that many plays.

TCU went uptempo a few series and had the KU off balance and then they stopped. And TCU only ran 64 plays against KU. 100 is a lot. The KU defense isn't built to be in space all game against someone snapping the ball every 15 seconds. That will be a concern against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech who are top five in the nation running the most plays.

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The Jayhawks need a bye week. They are banged up all over. Even if the injuries aren't taking players out of the game they are playing through the bumps and bruises. Last week I heard Klieman from KSU say the bye week came at a great time for them because they were hurting. The team has one more week and needs to give every effort they can and go into the bye week and get some rest.

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The third quarter was the key for KU and they didn't respond. They went into the locker room only down 14 points and it felt like they were down 28. If they could have come out and put together a drive it would have been a one score game. OU would be looking at the scoreboard asking how are the only up one score.

But on the first possession Bean threw a pick. OU then went 47 yards to go up 21 and that was really the ball game.


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Neal may not be 100% healthy but he's still been KU's best back. Against TCU he averaged six yards a carry and seven yards a carry against OU. I have to go back and watch but I don't know if he got a carry in the fourth quarter. I hope that doesn't mean he got dinged up more.

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Momentum and confidence can all go together. The team had it the first six weeks. I still say the best game they have played was against TCU although it was a loss. They played with confidence and believed they could win. I think playing three games at home in front of sellouts, getting their first loss and going on the road took a toll. They didn't look nearly as confident and part of that was the matchup. OU played a style that was an Achilles-heel for the defense.

The defense will have to find a way to get off the field against Baylor because OU was 16-of-21 on third down and there is no way to win games with that number.


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I have no feel at all about the Baylor game. The players need to flush this game and move on. The QB is going to be the biggest factor. If Shapen can play that will make a big difference. Someone I spoke with this morning told me usually trainers/doctors like to see how players respond in a full week. If you get injured on Saturday that makes the timetable difficult. This person told me with Shapen being injured on Thursday it will give him a couple extra days to get through protocol. A source close to the Baylor game thinks he is doubtful.

Baylor up front is massive. They are pretty good on the OL. West Virginia only pressured them six times and WVU is good in the front seven.

Baylor was terrible tackling against West Virginia. It as their worse game of the year on defense.
 
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