Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog on November 30th, 2013

The Sunflower Showdown is the storied rivalry between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Kansas State Wildcats. They meet for the 111^th time in the 2013 edition of rivalry week. Being the 14^th most played game in the country, the Governor’s Cup is no joke. The rivalry dates back to 1902, where the Jayhawks won 16-0. Kansas won the opening four games of the rivalry. In the early days of the rivalry, Kansas was dominant. From 1902 to 1923 Kansas only lost once, in 1906 by a score of 6-4. There were three ties as well (1916 0-0, 1922 7-7, 1923-0-0).

For all time results, Kansas leads 65-40-5. However, in the recent years (from 1969 to now), the Wildcats have the winning record of 24-19-1. Kansas State has won the past four matchups against the Jayhawks, the past three being blowouts. The last time Kansas beat K-State was in front of one of the biggest recorded crowds for the Sunflower Showdown. Kansas handily won against the Wildcats in 2008, 52-21, with a crowd of 52,230 cheering the Jayhawks on to victory.

What’s Kansas dealing with today? The 3-8 Jayhawks host a 6-5 bowl eligible K-State team. Both teams were dealt losses last week. Kansas lost to Iowa State in the frigid tundra of Ames, where K-State lost at home to the Sooners of Oklahoma. Kansas has a hard game ahead of them, even though the Wildcats aren’t ranked. K-State boasts 70^th in the FBS for passing yards, averaging 226 per game. They’re ranked even higher in the country for rushing yards as well at 57^th, running an average of 177.9 yards a game.

The offense knows how to put points on the board, averaging 33.6 points a game, having them ranked 42^nd in the country. Their defense? They know how to stop an offense, that’s for sure.  The Wildcats hold their opponents to an average of 24.9 points per game, ranking the 48^th in the country. The star of their defense, Ryan Mueller, leads the Big 12 in sacks and tackles for loss. With 55 tackles on the year, he has 17 that happened behind the line of scrimmage, ranking him eighth nationally.

Kansas State has a good quarterback at the helm of their offense.The 6’1” junior from Council Bluffs, IA has thrown just over 2,000 yards on the season for 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions, where five of those came in the first three weeks of the season. In just November alone, Jake Waters has thrown six touchdown passes. His longest pass of the season was a 90-yard long shot last week against Oklahoma. Waters’ main target is Tyler Lockett. He’s had six 100-yard games this season, including two games where he broke the 200 yard mark (237-Texas, 278-Oklahoma). He’s not just a wideout though, he’s K-State’s leading returner as well.

How is Kansas going to strike back? It’s James Sims’ last game as a Jayhawk. He has 325 yards in the last two games. He’s undoubtedly one of the best running backs in Kansas history. He is the first in Kansas history to rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He’s just the third to break 3,500 career yards. His career best? 211 yards in a game against West Virginia two weeks ago.

Senior day in Kansas is going to be a difficult one, because after this game, the Jayhawks lose linebacker Prinz Kande, wide receiver Josh Ford, defensive lineman Jordan Tavai, wide receiver Christian Matthews, punter/kicker Ron Doherty, safety Dexter Linton, running back James Sims,  running back Taylor Cox, tight end Nick Sizemore, cornerback Deron Dangerfield, buck Darius Willis, long snapper Zackary Young, offensive lineman Randall Dent, offensive lineman Gavin Howard, offensive lineman Riley Spencer, tight end Charles Brooks, wide receiver Nick Harwell, defensive lineman Kevin Young, defensive lineman Shane Smith, and defensive lineman Keba Agostinho.

With all the seniors playing their last game, who knows what could happen? Will their emotions get the best of them? Will they channel their emotions into victory?

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog November 21, 2013.

One thing is for certain: it’s going to be a brisk evening in Ames on Saturday.  The weather channel has a high of 24 during the day with a low of nine (yes, single digits). That isn’t taking into account the wind chill that will be associated with the north-northwest winds that will be blowing steady around 17 miles per hour.

Weis said that he discussed the weather situation with the players after Tuesday’s practice and that’s the end of the conversation. He doesn’t want to hear the players complaining about the weather. Kansas hasn’t played in frigid temperatures yet this season, which is fortunate for the Jayhawks, until now.

The weather isn’t the only change this week for the Kansas squad. Freshman Montell Cozart was listed at the top of the depth chart in the quarterback position. This came as no surprise, considering he took every snap in last week’s victory over West Virginia, leaving junior Jake Heaps on the sideline.

“Jake—how he has handled Montell has been one of the biggest blessings we’ve dealt with,” Weis said.

Unfortunately, there’s another change, but something that Kansas has known well. Tony Pierson, the star receiver for the Jayhawks, has already missed four games this season and he’s could miss more. He has had signs of concussion three times during the season.

“In the age of concussions, somebody has to make a stand,” Weis said, remarking on why Pierson wasn’t listed on the depth chart this week.

“The best thing for Tony’s health, therefore the right thing to do, instead of coming out and putting him down on the depth chart… at the end of the day, the right thing for me and the training staff to sit there and say ‘Tony, you might be able to go, but you’re sitting down the next two weeks. We’re going to make sure this head of yours clears up,’” Weis elaborated.

Unfortunately for Kansas, Pierson will be doubtful to return on the field for the last two games of the season. Which will give him plenty of time to recover for spring ball.

Playing Pierson in these next two games could be risking something much more than the game of football; it would be risking Pierson’s health in the future.

“If really want to practice what we preach, instead of being hypocritical, I think that we have to be the trendsetters. It’s tough now, you’re losing football games and one of your best players. Maybe he can go, maybe he can’t go, but really for what? What do you gain and at what risk?” Weis noted.

It’s true. Kansas is definitely going to not be at their best without Pierson, but luckily for them, the men behind him have had their fair share of repetitions.

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog  November 16th, 2013.

“There are two ways of handling things. There is the ‘oh well’ way of handling it and then there is the ‘finding another way to do it’ method. I have never been much of an ‘oh well’ kind of guy,” said Weis in his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

How are the Jayhawks “finding another way” to come up successful at the end of the season? First things first, this past week’s practice schedule was a definite change up from how things have been all season. The team has spent practices working on first and second downs for both offense and defense. Another thing that has been emphasized are the transitions, but not the typical transitions. Weis wants the players to take their dedication in the classroom and transition it onto the practice field. Then from there to the practice field.

“I’m all in. I have all my chips on the table. I’m either going to double up, or I’m going to walk away empty-handed,” informed Weis.

One of the chips on the table is Tony Pierson, a junior running back. Last week he had one of his best games against Oklahoma State. He had 87 yards on a mere six carries. Pierson sustained a concussion earlier in the season, preventing him from playing a few games.

“Whenever Tony touches the ball and we get him in space, you can see that’s like our passing game. That’s where we get our chunks [of yardage],” emphasized Weis.

The Mountaineers of West Virginia come to Lawrence on Saturday. They’re 4-6 with a two game losing streak. However, West Virginia wasn’t blown out in either of those games. Both of their past two losses came in overtime heartbreaks. They’re hungry for a road win, but not just because of their past two game. If the Mountaineers want to be bowl eligible, winning on Saturday is a must.

Unfortunately for the visiting Mountaineers, there is still uncertainty if their starting quarterback will play during the game. Clint Trickett sustained a head injury in their last week’s loss to Texas.

The quarterback situation from Kansas looks grim as well, but for different reasons. Kansas’ dual quarterback system hasn’t worked in the ways that the Jayhawks would like. Freshman Montell Cozart took the majority of the snaps in last week’s game over junior transfer Jake Heaps.

This game is the first “playoff game” for the Jayhawks… in their mindset anyway. That’s how Weis described the last three games of the season. “The Saturday after Thanksgiving is our bowl game,” added Weis.

West Virginia is one of the weaker Big 12 schools this season. If Kansas shows up and plays to the best of their ability, a win on Saturday is possible.

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog November 11th, 2013.

Saturday loomed large for the Jayhawks, as the Oklahoma State Cowboys gave Kansas their seventh loss on the season. With the road loss came an extension of streaks that the Jayhawks have yet to break. They sit at 27 straight conference losses, as well as five straight seasons ineligible for post-season play.

“This season will be remembered on what happens in the last four games,” said Weis.

What will the fans remember from the Oklahoma State game? That on the opening kickoff Justin Gilbert returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown? That Kansas was outplayed in every aspect of the game except for time of possession? It’s possible that’s what they remember. Will they remember that Cozart, a freshman, played with more success than Heaps, a player who KU was extremely excited for in the pre-season?

The next three games are against West Virginia, Iowa State, and Kansas State. The next opponent, the Mountaineers of West Virginia, are 4-6, with conference losses to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas(Sound familiar?).

Even if Kansas wins the season out, Weis isn’t going to be happy.

“I’m going to be miserable anyway; it doesn’t really make a difference,” said Weis last Tuesday. “I like to win every game. I’m 2-6 [now 2-7] as the head coach this year—I’m not very happy, but it’s not because the players aren’t playing hard.”

The players are playing hard, especially James Sims. He’s had 703 yards rushing on the season with three games left. There have been three games in the season where he rushed for more than 90 yards (South Dakota, Rice, and Oklahoma). He has 145 yards receiving as well. His best receiving game was against Texas, where he made five catches for 51 yards.

It’s not just James Sims. Many players on the defensive side of the ball have shown how hard they play with their game statistics. Ben Heeney has 63 total tackles on the season, and he sat out both the Oklahoma and Baylor game. Heeney also has 10 tackles for loss, with two of them being sacks. Isaiah Johnson is right behind Heeney in total tackles on the season with 61 and has four tackles for loss. The defensive unit as a whole has 42 pass breakups with 10 interceptions on the season.

With basketball taking over most of Jayhawk Nation’s attention, how can the “gridiron gang” gain the attention of their fan base? Obviously a win or two or three would help, but other than that?

Good fans support their teams in good times and in bad. It’s essentially like marriage. Look at the Kansas City Chiefs for example.  Last season they were 2-14. This season, they’re 9-0. Most teams don’t have great success immediately after personnel changes, most of the time it takes a few years.  This season is two years after personnel changes. Patience is key in times like this. It’s hard to be a fan of a team that has two wins with three games left, but patience is something that needs to be kept. Without the support of the fans, what would the team be working toward?

Regardless of if Kansas wins out or loses out, the players aren’t professionals. They’re still in the process of learning. They’re college kids. They’re kids ranging in age from 17-23. They’re kids that need support, regardless of their record.

Where does Kansas go from here? They’ve had things to fix all season. In the last three games of the season, it’s time to put everything to the test. It’s time to showcase all the changes and development. It’s also time to realize that life as a Jayhawk could be worse. Two wins are better than one. Two wins, that’s progress. It’s not a lot of progress, but it’s a start, and the season isn’t over yet.

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog October 23rd, 2013.

When JaCorey Shepherd stepped on to campus his freshman year, he made an impact on the field… as a wide receiver. Shepherd played in ten games and started in two. In the McNeese State game, he had three catches for 107 yards. Two of those three catches were touchdown receptions. He was the first freshman to have 100 receiving in game in 14 years. His longest reception of the season was a 68-yard touchdown catch. That catch was the longest on the team for the season.

When his sophomore season came around, he changed positions. He left the wide receiver daily grind to be a defensive back. He had a solid season in that position as well. Shepherd played in eight games, with three starts and had 15 tackles, one tackle for loss, and three pass breakups on the season.  He recorded a career high seven stops against West Virginia.

His success didn’t stop there. Only this time, it was off the field. In 2012 (his sophomore season) he received Academic All-Big 12 Second Team Honors, and was on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in the spring semester.

“I work hard,” said Shepherd on his success on and off the field. “I do whatever I can above and beyond to make sure I succeed.”

This season, Shepherd has started in every game thus far at cornerback and has made a solid impact. He’s made 30 tackles (19 solo, 11 assisted), two of which were for a loss, and has forced a fumble. Along with Isaiah Johnson and Ben Heeney, Shepherd is tied for fifth in the Big 12 with two interceptions. Along with Dexter McDonald, he’s tied for second in the Big 12 with eight pass breakups on the season. Additionally, Shepherd is tied for sixth nationally in passes defended with an average of 1.7 per game.

Shepherd used the offseason to transition better into his new position.

“I think it’s starting to come around for me,” said Shepherd following the Jayhawk’s loss to Oklahoma on Saturday. “But like I said earlier, there are always things to do better. It comes down to eye control; it took the spring and summertime for me to get comfortable in this position.”

In just his last two games alone, Shepherd has influenced four turnovers for the defense: two interceptions, a forced fumble and a recovered fumble. His interception against TCU tied the game at 10-10 after he returned the pick for a 32-yard touchdown.

With his success on both sides of the field, one would wonder what position he liked better. Shepherd, without a doubt in his mind, replied “corner. But he doesn’t forget his days as a receiver.

“Even in the beginning of this year, (I thought about playing wide receiver),” Shepherd told reporters following Saturday’s game . “But right now, I’m just trying to do what I can do. There’s only so much you can do.”

“I played (receiver) most of my life,” said Shepherd. “I feel like I’ll always have some type of skills to go out there. I’m not saying I’d be able to go out there and be 100 percent, like the best…but just like at cornerback, as I continue to play I get better.”

He feels that it’s easier to read the players that he’s covering because he knows the footwork that goes into the different plays. One of the reasons Shepherd enjoys playing corner over receiver is “the race to the ball”.

Unlike most of the football players, Shepherd avoids social media completely.

“I’m not into that stuff,” he commented.

Sure enough, he’s nowhere to be found. When he’s not breaking up passes or scoring highly on tests, Shepherd volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Even though he’s a collegiate athlete (and a good one at that), he’s still a normal person, who embraces “Southern Hospitality” by giving others generous amounts of kindness and respect.

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog October 22nd, 2013

There’s no easy way to say this… but Kansas plays Baylor on Saturday. Baylor currently ranked 8th in the BCS, 6th in the AP, and 5th in the Coaches poll is headed to Lawrence to face a struggling Jayhawk squad. The last time KU played a top ten ranked opponent was last season, against K-State (No. 7) and the Wildcats slaughtered the Jayhawks, 56-16.

Back to Baylor. Kansas hasn’t played a team as solid as Baylor so far this season. Baylor is ranked in the top three in a numerous amount of statistics:

• First nationally in Points Averaged (64.7)
• First nationally with Average Yards Per Play (9.06)
• First nationally with Average Yards Per Completion (19.41)
• First nationally with Team Passing Efficiency (213.22)
• First nationally in Average Forced 3-and-outs (7)
• First nationally in Least Amount of 3-and-outs (5)
• First nationally in Percentage of TD Drives (.583)
• Second nationally in Average Tackles For loss (9.2)
• Second nationally in Red Zone Defense
• Third nationally in Passing Offense (414 yards/game
• Third nationally with 3rd Down Conversions (56%)

Baylor has broken several records this season.

• 872 total yards against West Virginia (Baylor and Big 12 record)
• Top five scoring games (school history) 69 points vs. Wofford, 70 vs. Buffalo, 70 vs. ULM, 73 vs. West Virginia, and 71 vs. ISU.
• First team to score 69 or more points in four consecutive games ever.
• Won six straight Big 12 games (school record).

Their quarterback, Bryce Petty, leads the nation in Pass Efficiency (221.8) and yards per completion (19.83). He also leads the Big 12 in passing yards (337.2) and completion percentage (70.8%). Lache Seastrunk, Baylor’s running back, leads the Big 12 in average rushing yards per game (126.7) and most touchdowns (10). Seastrunk, a Heisman candidate, has nine 100-yard rushing games in the past 10 games. Wide receiver Antwan Goodley leads the conference and is third nationally in average receiving yards per game (141.8).

Okay, okay, enough about how Baylor is amazing at everything. Baylor’s statistics are inflated. They haven’t played a ranked team yet this season. They’ve played Wofford, Buffalo, LA-Monroe, West Virginia, Kansas State and Iowa State. The best defense the Bears have played is the Buffalo Bulls (42nd ranked defense nationally). The three conference games that Baylor has played were against three of the worst four teams in the conference this season. Their worst game of the season, K-State, had the highest attendance of the season with 52,803.

In the weekly press conference, Charlie Weis emphasized the major importance of a loud crowd. The louder the crowd, the harder it is for Baylor to execute their plays, because they call their all their plays at the line of scrimmage. Weis wants the crowd to yell when they get to the stadium and shout each and every time the Kansas defense is on the field.

“They can yell bad things at me, just make it very loud,” Weis joked.

It’s not going to be easy for the Kansas defense to try and stop the Bears’ offensive attack with Ben Heeney still listed as day-to-day. Weis commented that he knows if Heeney will play, but he’s listed–for media purposes–as day to day.

With all of the statistics going against Kansas, most everyone is counting them out. If, by some magical fate that Kansas wins on Saturday, what an upset that would be.

Originally posted on Rock Chalk Blog, October 16th, 2013

“I will do anything to give us a better chance of winning, besides cheating. Cheating I will not do,” said Weis in his weekly presser on Tuesday.

If you thought the changes last week were large, think again. There’s even more changes this week, on and off the field. Why? No one “played wonderfully” against TCU, Weis admitted.

One of the biggest changes for the KU team are the amount the day-to-day players.

• Tony Pierson

Remember, Pierson had took a hard hit with his shoulder on the ground in the game against Texas Tech. Weis said today that Pierson has passed all his concussion tests, however, he still has headaches.

The following players remain day-to-day:

• Ben Heeney
• Trent Smiley
• Andrew Turzilli
• Tedarian Johnson

The other biggest change for the KU team is a staff shakeup. On the defensive side of the ball, Dave Campo is overseeing the defense with Clint Bowen acting as coordinator. There are changes on the offensive side of the ball as well. Quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus is heading up the passing game, with tight ends coach Jeff Blasko is overseeing the run game. Weis is going to watch over the entire offensive side of the ball.

Weis mentioned that Powlus will still run the quarterback meetings. Weis also believes that the offense goes through the quarterback. No one knows better about that than the quarterback himself. That was the staff’s reasoning behind giving Powlus the role of controlling the passing game. He has spent the season up in the box and according to Weis, he will stay up there.

Are these changes permanent? Weis says so. Why? “I’m doing it because I think Kansas needs it. I don’t care about my ego,” he elaborated. “…You can sit there and blame the players all you want, but our job is to figure out how to make it better.”