Film Room Favorites: KU vs. Illinois
It goes without saying that the Kansas Jayhawks dazzled on offense Friday night in their win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. With quarterback Jalon Daniels back and as dynamic as ever, KU brought excitement, energy and execution throughout the victory.
It was a win filled with spectacular plays, but we’re going to try to avoid the obvious ones (many of which involved superhuman efforts by Daniels) and instead we’ll focus on schemes, concepts and designs that made magic happen.
Don’t worry, that means we’ll still see plenty of Daniels.
On to the Week 2 Film Room Favorites.
MISDIRECTION MATTERS
KU’s offense was firing on all cylinders from the jump last Friday night, so we’ll start with the Jayhawks’ first drive and a deep connection from Daniels to Lawrence Arnold.
This play made life miserable for the boundary side of the secondary. Devin Neal and Quentin Skinner cross in front of Daniels on the snap with Skinner selling a fake handoff. Shift your eyes to the secondary and watch Illinois defensive back Tyler Strain (20). He's responsible for Arnold, but hesitates ever so slightly because of the fake to Skinner.
Because of the false step he takes, Arnold is able to get free on the deep cross with plenty of room to run after the catch (Skinner's motion and a vertical route by Luke Grimm helped clear out the field side of the play). A great throw by Daniels and a great design by Andy Kotelnicki to set up the big gain early.
TIGHT END TIME
Jared Casey always seems to be in the right place at the right time, doing exactly what the Jayhawks need from him. He scored KU’s second touchdown of the night with ease.
You won't see many players deeper into no-man's land than Illinois linebacker Gabe Jacas (17) is on this play. He gets a free run off the edge, but as soon as he sees Daniels winding up to throw he's completely neutralized.
For even more Illini frustration, check out the slow communication and reaction by safeties Tahveon Nicholson (3) and Miles Scott (10). Nicholson tries to get Scott to cover the boundary, but the latter is far too slow to get out in front of Casey.
The tight end is hidden on the end of the line behind position mates Mason Fairchild and Trevor Kardell, as well as Arnold. The latter two both carry defenders up the field (and across it, in Arnold's case). Casey gets a free release and due to the slow reaction by the safety there's no shot at getting to him before the pass arrives. The success of this play also depends on a quick release by the quarterback, getting the ball out before the defense can react or even realize what’s unfolding. This is easy pickings for Daniels and the offense, utilizing the short side of the field to their advantage.
DEEP IN THE BAG
Credit and a shout out to the great Coach Dan Casey on Twitter, who clipped this play shortly after it happened Friday night.
Everything about this play is simply intoxicating. Frankly, it's understanding why Illinois may not have had a great approach to stopping this play, but that's also possibly a good reason to spend a timeout before the ball is snapped.
The Illini have far too many bodies aligned student body left across the line from the majority of the Jayhawks' offense. Neal breaks toward the middle of the field and it's a simple numbers game from there.
The Illinois "edge" rusher misses everything when he attacks off the snap, while there is at least one Kansas blocker for every defender near Neal after he takes the handoff, opening up a cavernous running lane. A little hesitation move at the end of the play caps off one of the more unique and devastating run calls we've seen so far this year.
TENACIOUS TRANSFER
The Kansas defense deserves a lot of love for how it performed this weekend. After weeks of discussion about whether they had the physicality to match up with Illinois in the trenches, they dominated for most of the night.
And while we led this piece talking about scheme highlights ruling the roost, we have to get to one great example of unending hustle leading to a splash play.
Before getting ejected for a nonsensical targeting call late in the game, Minnesota transfer Austin Booker had his breakout performance for Brian Borland’s defense. He piled up three tackles and a pair of sacks in the win, including this one on the back end of a tremendous hustle play.
He's the defensive end closest to the top of the screen in this clip. First, he wins with power and knocks Illinois right tackle Zy Crisler (72) off his bearings. Then, he peels back inside, spies the quarterback and attacks when Luke Altmyer tries to climb the pocket. Power, speed, instincts, they were all on display here and throughout Booker's night.
If any semblance of fairness exists in college football, his targeting disqualification should be overturned before the Jayhawks visit the Nevada Wolf Pack next weekend.
Join the discussion! Come talk about this or any of our articles on the Blue Wing Rising Discord Server.
Follow Blue Wings Rising on Twitter.
Listen to the official podcast of Blue Wings Rising: The Rock Chalk Podcast.
