Three Keys: Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks are fresh off the bye week, looking to finally get an elusive victory over the Oklahoma Sooners before they leave the Big 12 Conference for the SEC. Despite the frustrating loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys two weeks ago, optimism is as high going into Homecoming as many Kansas fans can remember, especially given the quality of opponent.
The Sooners are undefeated with a big victory over the Texas Longhorns, but a close call at home against the UCF Knights shows this team isn't unbeatable. So how can the Jayhawks find weaknesses and take advantage in today's game?
Clog the Line
Oklahoma has struggled all year long with their running game, as no running back has been able to develop into a true running threat. Averaging just 168.3 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry, the offensive line has not been able to open up the running lanes that most Oklahoma fans are used to seeing.
Kansas can take advantage by clogging the interior, with both the interior defensive line and help from the linebackers able to make things difficult. And keeping the rushing woes going is going to be big to keep the Sooner offense in check (relatively) for this game.
Lean Into the Big Play
Jason Bean showed the ability last week, with all five of his touchdown passes coming on plays of 30 yards or more. And both Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw have been able to put up big runs throughout the season. The explosive offense is back this year, regardless of who is in at quarterback.
And that explosion is going to be extremely important. The Sooners are very good defensively in the red zone, forcing opponents into field goal attempts or stopping the scoring entirely on many more drives than you might expect. Between the 20s, Oklahoma hasn't been nearly as effective. The best way to take advantage is to just score before you get to the red zone.
Misdirection, Misdirection, Misdirection
Oklahoma is a team that plays very aggressively on both sides of the ball, but especially on the defense. On defense, they find success by overwhelming their opponent with their athleticism and getting a big jump, but that leaves them open to biting too hard on fakes, overpursue and allow a cutback, or completely whiff against a reverse. The Jayhawks are not going to be able to break multiple tackles or overpower the Sooners at the point of attack, so the key to getting the big plays they need will be to make Oklahoma pay for trying to get a jump and removing some of that aggressiveness that has keyed their success.
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