Wednesday Walkthrough: TCU Week
The hype for Kansas football has ascended progressively more and more every week of the season. Fresh off a low-scoring struggle of a win over Iowa State, that excitement and anticipation for the Jayhawks is hitting a new high this week. KU is ranked No. 19 in the nation and will host ESPN’s College GameDay for the first time ever.
What’s more, Saturday’s game will be the biggest in the Big 12 this week and is the only matchup of two undefeated teams in the country in Week 6. TCU is coming to Lawrence off its own eye-popping result from a week ago, setting up a game that will go a long way toward proving how much of a contender each of these programs is this season.
LISTENING IN ON LANCE
"He's playing really, really well. But I was impressed with him last year, I really was...I think he's gotten off to a great start."
Coach Lance Leipold was asked about Duggan on Tuesday, and the head Jayhawk glowed about TCU's quarterback. In particular, he spent several sentences on Duggan' running ability, from his physicality to his speed to his 67-yard touchdown versus Oklahoma.
"I would say that was our best game up front. Now, this is a big, physical, athletic offensive line. Some of these guys are going to be playing on Sundays for TCU in that offensive line. So it's going to be a big challenge."
Last week, the Jayhawks' defensive line played a tremendous game against the Cyclones, notably including their five sacks of ISU quarterback Hunter Dekkers. This week, though, KU has to face one of the best offensive lines in the Big 12. With that in mind, it goes without saying that Kansas needs to get another strong performance from its defensive front.
"There wasn't a whole lot [of conversation], he decided that he wanted to redshirt and move on. It's unfortunate, because of the way things are set up today those are happening across the country, and that's disappointing."
Gavin Potter wasn't listed on KU's roster against Iowa State, and Leipold confirmed Tuesday that the linebacker is no longer with the team. He expressed disappointment in his decision to redshirt and transfer after playing in four games, but did go on to compliment the play of the rest of the linebackers, including Eriq Gilyard and Lorenzo McCaskill.
"Their hard work made this happen, so I don't want that to be taken away from them...I don't know how it all works, so I don't know how much of it we're even around for."
The attention on KU this week is, quite literally, unprecedented thanks to College GameDay's presence on campus. Leipold reiterated multiple times during this particular answer that he wants his players to embrace the moment and acknowledged that GameDay is in Lawrence because of them, but that once game starts that's where their attention needs to be.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
When: Saturday, Oct. 8 at 11:00 a.m.
Where: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas
Spread: Kansas +7
TCU grabbed the nation’s attention last week with its dominating victory over Oklahoma, thrashing the Sooners at home 55-24. That victory got the Horned Frogs to 4-0 on the season and lifted them to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 poll, the first time they’ve been ranked since Sept. 2019.
In their first year under coach Sonny Dykes, the Frogs’ offense has been among the best in the country. TCU is averaging 48.5 points per game this season and has won all four of its games by an average margin of 26.5 points. The advanced metrics back up the basic the stats, too: Bill Connelly’s SP+ metric currently has the TCU offense ranked 10th in the country through Week 5.
Senior quarterback Max Duggan has been the breakout star for the Horned Frogs this year. He's completing 74.5% of his passes for 997 yards with 11 touchdown passes and no sacks. He's also run the ball for 149 yards and another pair of scores in 2022, although most of that production came in last week’s victory.
JAYHAWK TO WATCH
Devin Neal has been the top rusher for Kansas this season, but Daniel Hishaw had firmly planted himself in the No. 2 role through four games. Unfortunately, with Hishaw getting injured versus Iowa State and his future status up in the air (he’s no longer listed on KU’s depth chart), a pair of other Jayhawk running backs will have to step up in his place.
Sevion Morrison and Ky Thomas, both of whom transferred into the program this year, will be pieces to watch this week and going forward. Morrison has flashed both offensively and on special teams, while Thomas is working back from a lower-body injury and will hopefully be able to step into a bigger on-field role soon.
Backfield depth was a major strength for Kansas entering this season. To keep that trend going, those two must pick up the slack in the wake of Hishaw’s injury.
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