Preview: KU hopes to “overcome this hurdle” in the latest episode of Sunflower Showdown.

October 27, 2024
Robbert White
ssnews

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold stands with his players before running onto the field before an NCAA college football game against Houston, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold continues to stand by what he has said throughout his tenure: “To make game rivalries happen, you have to make them close and competitive.”

The Jayhawks suffered a mistake-filled loss to rival Kansas State last year by four points after failing to score in the final 28 minutes. Leipold’s K-State colleague Chris Klieman said: “It’s a great rivalry developing. The last few years have been really hard-fought games and we found a way.”

The fact is that KU has not yet found a way.

“It’s definitely hard to think back on that game (last year),” defensive tackle DJ Withers said. “We were so close, but this year we were able to overcome that hurdle. It’s mandatory.”

The Jayhawks haven't won a Sunflower Showdown since Jake Sharp and Co. engineered a 52-21 road win in Lawrence in 2008. This annual matchup has implications beyond the field, such as in local recruiting — where the Wildcats continue to shine with 55 Kansans on their roster — and Leipold acknowledged that KU “needs to find a way to get more of it in this game.” . , on our side of the ledger.”

As difficult as it has been for the Jayhawks over the last decade and a half – and as close as they came last year with a freshman quarterback making his first career start and a backup wide receiver picking up the option – will not be a success this year. Easier. It's a 7 p.m. game in Manhattan on Saturday and K-State looks as impressive as ever. So far, a 38-9 loss at BYU has proven to be a blip on the radar for the 6-1 Wildcats, whose rushing defense is extremely stingy and whose rushing offense is the second-best in the conference thanks to the mobile quarterback trio Avery Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards.

“Giddens is a great defender who has continued to improve every year in his career,” Leipold said. “He has very good vision, a powerful runner and deceptive speed. And Dylan Edwards is a great addition to them. Everyone knows what an outstanding athlete he was coming out of high school. He showed some of that in Colorado last year. He’s explosive in the return game, they can use him in different ways, get the ball in his hands.”

The Wildcats may not be as strong on offense after losing the experienced starters who paved the way for Giddens last season, but they are still solid.

“These guys don't have quite as much experience in the past,” defensive coordinator Brian Borland said, “but you can tell they're well-coached and work well together… I don't know that that's a weakness for them.”

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Brendan Mott leads the league with seven sacks. KU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes praised Mott's inside pass rush move and recalled the difficulty of defending against him when Grimes was at Baylor.

“You look at your tackle and think, 'Look, I told you all week this was going to happen,'” Grimes said. “But sometimes things happen in a game and it happens quicker than you expected or how it might have felt when a scout team guy looked at you like that.”

Grimes is doing everything he can to prepare for the K-State defense, which has primarily upset opposing rushing offenses this year, even if it hasn't been particularly good against the pass.

“I’ve played against them for the last three years and they’re tough,” he said. “They play extremely hard, as hard as any group I have played against. Her dedication and tenacity are exceptional, 10 out of 10.”

He said he's seen games where KU, his Baylor teams and others face off against K-State.

“I watched as many movies as I could in the last 48 hours without being able to sleep at all — and I was close,” Grimes said Wednesday.

Kansas State Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (2-5, 1-3 Big 12)

• Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, 7 p.m

• Transmitted: ESPN2

• radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)

• Betting line: K State -9.5; over/under 55.5

• Series story: KU leads 65-51-5

What you should pay attention to

1. Jalon's rhythm: Part of the reason KU had to dig itself out of trouble earlier this season was a series of ill-timed interceptions by quarterback Jalon Daniels. He threw more picks in the Jayhawks' first three games than in his previous 12 games. Those issues appear to be a thing of the past, as Daniels – and indeed KU as a whole – turned the ball over just once in the last three weeks, a meaningless pick as the Jayhawks trailed by two points with less than a minute left against TCU. Leipold said Daniels has felt more comfortable since then and they “probably thought he was further along in working off the rust than he probably really was” in 11-on-11 practice earlier in the year.

2. Will Avery run?: Johnson didn't attempt a single rush in the Wildcats' win over West Virginia, the first time in his career that he went an entire game without rushing, and certainly an exit for a player with 602 yards and 10 rushing scores in his last 14 Play. Johnson was recovering from an injury he sustained in Colorado, but Klieman said that was not a factor; rather, KSU let the ball out after WVU prevented them from establishing Giddens in their usual fashion. KU, on the other hand, has been very vulnerable to quarterback runs over the last two seasons, whether intended or not. Johnson is one of the greatest rushing threats of any quarterback he has faced during this time.

3. Negative energy: Of all the road environments in the Big 12, Bill Snyder Family Stadium is almost certainly the most hostile for the Jayhawks. KU has faced big crowds at Illinois, West Virginia and Arizona State this year, but a Sunflower Showdown rivalry game will bring a new level of intensity, especially considering KSU will go four weeks without a home game until Saturday.

Spotlight on…

Devin Neal: The spotlight is always on Neal in some ways, since he's a Lawrence native, and he was KU's most consistent player overall during a disappointing season, as well as, as Grimes called it, “one of the real stabilizing factors on our team.” But the senior running back Back admitted after KU Houston's win that the Sunflower Showdown could turn out like “the perfect story.” Neal is now just 73 yards away from fulfilling his long-standing dream of becoming the Jayhawks' all-time leading rusher, a mark currently held by June Henley, and is also within striking distance of several other rushing and scoring leaders. Records from players like Henley and Tony Sands. He is averaging 99 rushing yards per game this year. Of course, he'll have to work hard to compete against the Big 12's top rushing defense, and even if he does, a Wildcats win could spoil the moment a bit.

Within the numbers

222.13: Daniels' best passing efficiency in the nation against Houston.

135: K-State's total non-offensive touchdowns since 1999, the nation's highest, including four this year on an interception return by Marques Sigle against WVU.

.500: KU's winning percentage in games against K-State in Manhattan; The series is tied 28-28-3.

forecast

K-State wins 42-28. The Jayhawks' offense with Daniels now works well enough to cause problems for KSU's inconsistent pass defense, and they've been able to find ways to run the ball fairly consistently, allowing them to make up some ground even against the Wildcats.

KU's defense, meanwhile, will likely have to try to slow down the running game — something it's pretty well equipped to do, especially with Cornell Wheeler back — and force Johnson to throw the ball downfield. The problem is that even if KU succeeds, Johnson is probably playing the best aerial game of his career and the Jayhawks are thin in the secondary. It should be close throughout, but especially given the road game, this doesn't seem to be the year the Jayhawks will break the streak.