Kansas gets a week to rest up from the non conference schedule and a week of off the field controversy to begin preparation and focus on the conference race and a shot at the Big 12 North title. The Jayhawks don’t play again until they host Iowa State on October 10th.
The Hawks upped their record to 4-0 and number 18 in the national rankings with their victory over a tough Southern Mississippi squad in Lawrence. While the offense piled up yardage and 35 points in the victory, it was the defense that deserves much of the credit for the win.
With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, the Kansas defense came up with stops on four consecutive Golden Eagle possessions. First, Ryan Murphy picked off an Austin Davis pass, then the Jayhawks forced a three and out. Next, they allowed one first down before a punt and then on the final Southern Miss possession, Jake Laptad had a sack and they held on fourth down.
While the Kansas team gave up almost 400 yards and 330 through the air, they came up with stops when they needed against a good offensive team. Defensive back Chris Harris has 15 tackles, two for loss. They held an outstanding running back in Damion Fletcher to 27 yards and the Golden Eagles to 64 total on the ground.
The most promising thing about the offense in my mind was the fact the running game was outstanding with Jake Sharp on the sidelines. Freshman Toben Opurum had 109 yards on the ground and delivered punishing blows repeatedly to tacklers. He also added a touchdown reception.
Sharp gets an extra two weeks to rest his leg injury and be back at full speed for conference play and when he returns, Kansas has a thunder and lightning running combo that will be tough to handle.
With Iowa State first up in conference play, Mark Mangino has time to work on the offensive scheme and fine tune the line which allowed five sacks by Southern Miss. Game time has been set for this contest. It will be another morning kick, 11:30 on Versus.
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