Kansas goes mountain climbing in search of defense

Before the season began many people talked about the Colorado game being a trap game for 16th ranked Kansas.  A place they’ve traditionally had a hard time getting wins at considering their 23-9 overall record in Boulder.  But the Jayhawks have won the last three meetings against the Buffaloes overall.

This meeting got much more interesting after the events of last weekend. First KU goes out and gives up 512 yards in total offense to Iowa State while holding on by the skin of their teeth for a 41-36 win.  Then Colorado puts up a significant fight with Texas before falling and in the process coach Dan Hawkins surprises everyone and pulls the redshirt off QB Tyler Hansen in the second half.

So Saturday night the Jayhawks defense will be tested by a Buffalo offense that will feature a new signal caller who is more of a runner/passer in the style of Iowa State QB Austen Arnaud.  

KU Coach Mark Mangino and his defensive staff have spent the week simplifying the defensive scheme to better suit the talent they have.  After last week’s game Mangino said they needed to game plan to their players strengths and not make them think so much on the field.  

The Jayhawk offense couldn’t have played much better last week with Todd Reesing having a record setting day with his wide receiver duo of Kerry Meier and Dezmon Brisoce, but the pressure is on Reesing and company to continue to play at a high level.   Running back Jake Sharp will be a game time decision according to Mangino, but freshman Toben Opurum has given KU everything they could ask for in his stead.

Colorado has given up an average of 30 points per game and that’s with a shutout of Wyoming for their only victory thrown in.  There’s no reason to believe they can slow down the KU attack, but the questions raised by the KU defense last week make you wonder what you’ll see tomorrow night in Boulder.

I’m still going with Kansas in this one 35-17.