Kansas Jayhawks Mid-Season Statistical Report: Big Playmakers All Around
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The Kansas Jayhawks come out of the off week needing only a single win to qualify for their first bowl appearance since the 2009 season. And they have done it in a variety of ways, with a defense that has shut down opponents at times and an offense that has been downright explosive.
Before we get back to the action, let's take a look at a high level summary of how the team has performed this season. It's time for a semi-statistical recap of the season for the Jayhawks.
Offense
It's been a long time since we have been able to say that the Jayhawks have had once of the better offenses in the nation, but this year it sure is true. They are in the top 10 in numerous statistical categories, including 6th overall in yards per play at 7.15. They have scored 40 offensive touchdowns, good for 10th in the country. And they are still 4th in 3rd Down Conversion Percentage at 53.8%.
Passing
The Jayhawks have been phenomenal in the passing game this season, with Kansas quarterbacks combining for the 5th highest Passing Efficiency rating in the NCAA, one spot behind fellow Big 12 member TCU. They are 7th in passing yards per attempt at 9.42. As a team, they have passed for 1,855 yards and 20 touchdowns, while only throwing 4 interceptions and allowing 5 sacks on the year.
Jalon Daniels leads the team in passing despite missing the last five halves of football. He has completed 78 of his 117 pass attempts for 1,072 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has been sacked three times and only thrown one interception.
Jason Bean has gone 50-80 for 783 yards and nine touchdowns. However, his performances have been more volatile, as he has thrown 3 interceptions in fewer attempts, and still been sacked twice.
The Jayhawks have had a large group of receivers that have been productive this season, with only four players having double digit receptions, but 15 players catching more than one pass. Interestingly, each receiving category is led by a different player.
Lawrence Arnold leads the team in receiving yards, totaling 401 yards on 25 receptions, including 3 touchdowns.
Luke Grimm leads the team in total receptions, with 26 catches for 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Mason Fairchild leads the team in touchdown receptions with 5. He has caught 15 passes for 225 yards.
Quentin Skinner leads the main pass-catchers in yards per catch with 17.9. He has caught 17 passes for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Technically, there are three players above him in average, but they are Daniel Hishaw Jr., whose average is bolstered by a 73-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass, Torry Locklin has a 60 yard touchdown as one of his two catches, and Trevor Wilson has a 47 yard catch as one of his two receptions on the season.
There are a few other notable receivers, including: Jared Casey (8 catches for 114 yards and 1 touchdown), Tanaka Scott (6 catches for 91 yards) and Trevor Kardell (5 catches for 65 yards and 1 touchdown).
Rushing
Kansas has been efficient in the running game, with a 5.52 yards per rush average, good for 15th nationally. They have totaled 1,512 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Devin Neal leads all rushers with 537 yards on 86 carries, with 6 touchdowns.
Daniels is the second-leading rusher, with 53 attempts for 335 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Daniel Hishaw is third with 44 carries for 259 yards and 5 touchdowns, despite only playing in 5 games this season.
Sevion Morrison has been picking up yards in chunks, only needing 18 carries to amass 154 yards and 1 touchdown.
Bean has 30 carries for 119 yards. He has rushed for 2 touchdowns.
Ky Thomas has struggled a bit, needing 26 carries to pick up 62 yards and one touchdown.
Defense
The defense has looked absolutely dominant at times this season, but at other times has made some big mistakes to give up tons of points to opponents, including offenses that had been struggling prior to playing the Jayhawks. But this is still an opportunistic defense that is capable of making big plays.
However, they have not looked great statistically, with the 114th ranked team in total defense and 89th in yards per play allowed, good for 10th and 8th in the Big 12, respectively. Only Oklahoma State and West Virginia have been worse on a per play basis.
Rather than list out the stats for every player, I'll list some notables from multiple categories:
Rich Miller leads the team in total tackles on the season, with 63. Kenny Logan Jr. is right behind with 61. No one else has 40.
Ra'Mello Dotson leads the team in passes defended with 5. Cobee Bryant has 3, with 4 players tied at 2. The team has 22 total passes defended this year.
Lonnie Phelps leads the Jayhawks with 6 sacks, which is good for third in the conference and a tie at 25th nationally. Craig Young is in second with three sacks, with Caleb Sampson right behind at 2.5 sacks and Taiwan Berryhill at 2. The team has recorded 19 sacks on the season.
.Jereme Robinson leads the team with 3 fumble recoveries, with Torry Locklin and Hayden Hatcher right behind with 2 each. Logan also recovered a single fumble on the season.
Special Teams
It's fair to say that the special teams have been a net neutral. They haven't made a few big plays, but also have had some serious gaffes, mainly in the punting game.
Reis Vernon has been overall very solid punting for the Jayhawks, averaging 40.9 yards on his 21 punts this season. He has had 2 kicks over 50 yards and 8 punts that were downed inside the 20 yard line.
Tabor Allen has 51 total kickoffs on the season, with 28 touchbacks. He had 2 kicks go out of bounds against TCU which Lance Leipold indicated was a result of some directional kicking to avoid the TCU returner.
Jacob Borcila is only 4-7 on field goal attempts this season, with no kicks blocked. Kansas has a single field goal block on the season, which Bryant ran back for a touchdown in the Tennessee Tech game to start the season.
The Jayhawks are back in action this Saturday against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30pm Central.
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