Texas-Kansas Football Preview: Scouting The Kansas Offense

You’re my boy blue!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCnZqg1RgGA

Scip, thanks for the analysis. But, on a side note, did Jesus, Big Cigar, the Asset, or all the above get into hot water for the pouting mccoy deal? The reason I ask is because other sites keep bringing that up. Just wondering if someone was threatening this site with a libel suit or something? Personally, I hope not because you fellas are the best.

Runzverywhite. Bravo.

Did Mangino ravage the contents of the cupboard on his way out? It seems rather bare save for a few stale crumbs.

txstep -
 
That song always conjures that scene for me.
 
Fanatico -
 
No.
 
dedfischer -
 
Here’s where you explain why you trailed this team at halftime.

Hey Scipio,

You know of any places in SF I can catch the game? I’m not sure if any of the sports bar has the LHN.

Now playing center, Aurthor Iticfingers. Kicking for the Jayhawks, Toby Footloose.

This is fun.

At linebacker, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and José Feliciano.

Back to the game notes. I fully expect to see a lot of running by UT, plus a few throws from guys not named Ash or McCoy.

*bars

Was there ever anyone else who could give you profound, philosophical lyrics alongside a melody that demands you hoist your chick up onto your shoulders and flick your lighter up into the air like Kansas? Dual threat, imo.

Is it possible we can trade some of our “just dudes” at TE for Beshears?

ACE, it’s pretty amazing the difference between what I saw in the 2004 replay of KU players and now and that was before Mangino got them revved up. I’m sure someone will remind me that we’ve had some dropoff since 2004 too, but wow!

Maybe HipHop or someone closer can opine as to whether it’s a question of talent, coaching or both and what the preliminary assessment of Gill is at this point. I hope for better days for the Rock Chalks. They are good people, IMO.

OBTW, thanks Scip for an actual football post—-second in as many days. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and I doubt you had much film to work with on these two. These last twelve days have been pretty bleak. I hope this is the last season where we have two bye weeks, especially after a loss.

Doesn’t Roderick have a brother named Blake or something?

Turner Gill had an impressive run with Buffalo. That makes me wonder, what’s the matter with Kansas?

When Mangino was fired, was there a full blown exodus of staff and veteran players? Did Mangino stop recruiting well during his final two years? Kansas wasn’t THIS bad during those final Mangino years, or was it, and I’m just remembering differently?

Maybe HipHop or someone closer can opine as to whether it’s a question of talent, coaching or both and what the preliminary assessment of Gill is at this point

I’d like to read this assessment as well. Gill was clearly overhyped coming into this job but I didn’t think it would be nearly this bad.

*Biere instead of Beshears, that is.

I am curious if more fans will see this game in the stadium or on TV. The good thing about putting it on LHN is no one is going to see all the empty seats.

Mangino went 8-5 and 5-7 in his last two years. In the 5-7 season, Kansas was 1-7 in Big 12 play and finished dead last in the North. They were clearly trending downward.
 
Over his 8 years, KU was 4-20 against the Big 12 South (2 of those wins over Baylor). The BCS win was a great achievement, but KU football has been living a little bit of a lie for a while now.

Kansas has hung with or opened leads on a number of opponents (Texas Tech, OU) in the 1st half but eventually the offense gets solved and the defense sinks the entire game plan with their putridity.

You mention this two more times which is fitting because it can’t be mentioned enough. Aside from the OkSU debacle and the KSU game, Kansas has been in pretty good shape going into halftime of every game. The problem is, 15 minutes just isn’t enough time to fire up the PS3 and concoct a 2nd half game plan on NCAA Football 2010 (2011 and ‘12 aren’t in the budget due to Mangino’s buyout and Gill’s ridiculous contract.

Webb has been very surprising this year and has taken care of the ball pretty well, though his 3 int’s against Tech were brutal to the team.

The stable of RB’s is one of the very few bright spots on this team. Miller is tough to get a clean shot on and always seems to get positive yardage. Tony Pierson is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball. Seems he gets at least one 30+ yard run every game. That run is always negated by a stupid penalty that had nothing at all to do with the play.

Scip, I’m glad, thanks…

When Mangino was fired, was there a full blown exodus of staff and veteran players? Did Mangino stop recruiting well during his final two years? Kansas wasn’t THIS bad during those final Mangino years, or was it, and I’m just remembering differently?

The AD at the time didn’t let Gill keep anyone from the new staff and most of the playmakers were seniors. There was a recruiting drop off but I think it’s a lot more to that. As I stated, KU has actually competed and been in 5 of the 7 games at halftime. But the second halves are just dismal and I think that’s more on coaching than players.

So these teams that are figuring out KU in the second half, are they not scouting them?

There’s a difference between tape and reality. KU is a heavy play action team. Once you pick up those rhythms, the game slows down and you stop taking false steps.

I think it has to do with opposing staffs making adjustments while KU seems to go into ultra conservative mode.

“Presumably, someone with the surname Pick wasn’t long for QB. That’s like being named Alex Pillowfight and playing nose tackle or Broderick Runzverywhite at cornerback.”

(standing slow clap)

Triston, thanks for the responses. I hope you guys get it figured out soon.

Scip those were some eyepopping stats, especially Mangino’s overall record against the South. Appreciate it.

I invoke the imprimatur of the Crown Prinicipality of Transitivia.

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma defeated Kansas by an average of 36 points, and defeated Texas by an average of 25 points.

After feeding this into my Univac HAL 9000, this indicates that the Longhorns will win by 11.

You heard it here first, loyal subjects.

I didn’t know Tyrion Lannister was part of “Kansas”! Imagine he had trouble reaching the high hat.

Turner Gill had an impressive run with Buffalo. That makes me wonder, what’s the matter with Kansas?

It wasn’t really an impressive run, though. He had one winning season (8-6) and that was fueled by an historic 26 recoveries of opponents’ fumbles. Over the past 5 years, the next closest total is 21. In that one winning season, the Bulls won three games in OT. That team was just plain lucky.

Arriviste -
 
Absolutely. There’s nothing more reliable in projecting college football than the transitive property.
 
Ojnab, great call.
 
The Imp is clearly wearing Tom Cruise’s lifts.

I think Darrien Miller will be better than just an average FBS back. He was the number 1 Rivals recruit out of the state of Missouri. Mizzou never offered him. I never learned why, but he did have some trouble with the law while in high school. Maybe that was it.

Tony Pierson was a Mizzou verbal commit for a long time when he decommited to go to Arkansas. That never happened, and he’s at KU. He’s going to be good. Like Triston said, a home run threat. FWIW, Mizzou saw him as a CB.

Be honest: How long have you been waiting to work gonorrhea into a post?

Thanks, Scip!

Phenomenal -
 
The best gift a non-elite coach can possess is the good sense to shimmy up the coaching ladder when he’s blessed with a couple of good seasons at a bad place. Get somewhere with natural advantages ASAP before people catch on to a novel scheme, that surprisingly good group of seniors graduates, or luck simply evens out.
 
And the Athletic Directors (and it’s all of them) who don’t spend any time even attempting to understand advanced statistics are baseball GMs pre-Moneyball.
 
Football is still the least evolved sport with respect to slaying the priestly caste.

Scipio Tex Said:
“Football is still the least evolved sport with respect to slaying the priestly caste.”

You mind elaborating on this. It looks interesting, but also seems fairly esoteric.

Unless I’m an idiot.

Don’t answer that

F*cking QB recruiting, how does it work?

Gill did well to sign a 5 year/$10M all guaranteed deal while Lew Perkins of the ticket/jet/exercise equipment scandals did well to leave it for someone else to clean up. Everybody wins.

Team Dirty Leg -
 
A lot of football conventions are still based on conventional wisdom, mythology, and anecdote instead of real data or actual study. The fumble stat that Phenom cites is incredibly useful information in evaluating a coach with a breakout season like Gill. The number of hiring ADs who are aware of that stat, or that fumble recoveries are a random walk, or that winning multiple overtime games suggests some favorable coin flips more than intrinsic late game clutchosity is probably somewhere around 0.
 
The NFL is evolving past some of this, but college football – which, interestingly, is often the most forward-thinking place in terms of in-game tactics and strategy – is in the Dark Ages with respect to understanding global cause and effect.

I see. I guess the reason for this is that it is hard and extra work, something you are more likely to find in a more profit driven and innovation rewarding environment.

Chuck Long is doing a good job with the offense. It’s a good, solid, college offense and is a legitimate 30 points a game type unit. The problem is that KU needs an offense that scores on every possession to hang in the game. The first couple of times they go 3 and out, or worse, turn it over, that’s a couple of TDs down. Out goes the running game, at which they are decent to good, and in comes the passing game, at which they are decent to meh. Things get away quickly. UT 60-28.

I know this is unrelated but J. Gray has 7 TD’s with just over 200 yards rushing. 49-28 Aledo over Birdville with 4:30 left to play in the 3rd.

Will there really be a point at which our LBs do not take false steps? Will we know anything after this game, or is it just a Florida Atlantic-let the seniors smile moment? Does Texas cover without a defensive score?

Sadly, scoring 30 points a game doesn’t cut it in college football anymore. Our porous defense is surrendering 50.4 ppg and about 550 ypg. We should not have to score 51 points to win, or even stay close each week. But that’s the current reality. The running backs show promise, though.

KU’s two starting OT’s could start for TEXAS? That almost defies comprehension.

REALLY!

“He’s undersized with decent mobility and throws an accurate ball. Hello, Pretty Good College Football Spread QB! Apparently, though you exist in abundance, you’re impossible for Texas to locate on the recruiting trail to staff its depth chart.”

Lol.