Three Keys for the Kansas Jayhawks against West Virginia
The Kansas Jayhawks played a very well-rounded game against Tennessee Tech in Week 1, winning handily 56-10. And naturally, this result gave fans plenty of reasons to be excited. But anyone who has watched this team for any amount of time is used to see flashes of success that are then followed by multiple weeks of disappointment.
In Week 2, Kansas travels to Morgantown, WV to face the West Virginia Mountaineers, who will be a much tougher opponent. So for me to believe that there is true improvement with this team, here are a few things that I'm looking for on Saturday.
Consistency
If it sounds like a broken record in here, it's Leipold's fault. The message of consistency has been drilled into everyone's heads since he took the job, and it's crazy to think that it's going to change anytime soon.
But in this context, it's going to be important for this team to be consistent even when things don't work perfectly. If last year showed us anything, it's that the Kansas Jayhawks need to play their style of football. This West Virginia team is much better than the Tennessee Tech team that Kansas just faced, and they aren't going to be getting the results that we just saw on every play. In games against Texas, TCU and West Virginia to end last season, the Jayhawks built on that consistency to play multiple close games. They need to maintain that consistency to be successful here.
Penalty Free Offensive Line Play
On the offense, one area that will be important for success is the offensive line. Kansas only had a single penalty in Week 1, a holding call on backup center Deondre Doiron early in the 4th quarter. But West Virginia will apply a lot more pressure, especially with defensive lineman Dante Stills, who recorded six tackles and 1.5 sacks in their loss to Pittsburgh. This game will be a real test for an experienced offensive line.
On the other side, the West Virginia offensive line committed 7 false start penalties last week. It will be important for the Kansas defensive line to exert pressure as much as possible, opening up opportunities for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Lonnie Phelps (among others) to make big plays in the backfield. The winner of this game could easily be decided in the penalty column Saturday.
Opportunistic Secondary
While it's very important for the entire defense to play well, the unit that might have the biggest opportunity to swing the game is the defensive secondary. Even if the linebackers play downhill and contain the run game for the Mountaineers, the passing game can still do some damage. But whether it's JT Daniels giving opposing cornerbacks and safeties an opportunity to make a big play, or wide receivers that don't care of the ball after the catch, Pittsburgh had multiple momentum-changing plays that completely turned the game on its head.
But this offense does have weapons at the receiver position, especially in Bryce Ford-Wheaton. He had nine receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Pittsburgh and he can make cornerbacks pay if they try to cheat too much. So the key here will be make the most of the opportunities that will be there without being too reckless and making it too easy for the Mountaineers.
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