Kansas Falls to Texas Tech: What Did We Learn?

In a game where the Kansas Jayhawks were a 28 point underdog, they showed good toughness, especially on the defensive end, in a 55-19 loss. To get over the hump, we wrote about three things the Jayhawks had to do. How did they perform against the Red Raiders?

Is there any way the Jayhawks can slow down Patrick Mahomes? As it turns out, yes. Midway through the third quarter, Mahomes injured his shoulder while scrambling for a long gain. While not intentional, it did slow down Mahomes. His final line was 27/34 for 277 yards and four touchdowns and an interception. Kansas, like most defenses, had no answer for Mahomes’s rushing ability. He had several long scrambles, including the 32 yarder where he was injured. However, backup Nick Shimonek arguably played better than Mahomes. In substitute duty, Shimonek completed 15/21 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns. All told, the Red Raiders finished with 548 passing yards and eight touchdowns. Safe to say Kansas won’t be ranked 9^th in the country in pass defense next week. On the bright side, the Kansas defensive line was very disruptive until they wore out in the fourth quarter. They recorded three sacks and ten tackles for loss, doing a good job of bottling up the explosive Tech offense. There is good talent on the defensive end for the Jayhawks, they just wore out in the fourth quarter. Texas Tech’s 79 plays is too many for a thin Kansas defense to be up against.

Can the Kansas Air Raid keep up with the Raiders’? Quarterback play continues to be an issue for the Jayhawks. Montell Cozart was particularly ineffective, going 9/20 for 97 yards and a touchdown. He did a good job of getting the ball out quickly and avoiding pressure, but was not accurate when throwing on the run. Willis was more effective as a passer, completing 14 of 26  attempts for 142 yards and a touchdowns. Willis struggled against pressure, taking three sacks on crucial third downs, as well as a poorly timed intentional grounding penalty deep in Texas Tech territory. Carter Stanley even got some garbage time action, losing a fumble on a bad snap and miscommunication with center Joe Gibson. Frankly, the staff should consider giving Stanley some more action. He has a live, accurate arm, so why not? Coach David Beaty’s playcalling still concerns me. The offensive line is admittedly a work in progress, but more balance could open up some deep shots via the play action game, and they did not spend enough time attacking the middle of the field, where tight end Ben Johnson had success, catching five passes for 86 yards. The Jayhawks still need to get into more manageable third downs, as they only converted 6-18 on the night. They gained 296 yards of offense, not enough against a porous Texas Tech defense.

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Will Kansas clean up mental mistakes? The answer to this is an unqualified yes. The Jayhawks had two turnovers, a garbage time interception by Montell Cozart and an equally insignificant bad snap from Joe Gibson to Carter Stanley. The defense and special teams forced on a piece, including a muffed punt recovery that gave the Jayhawks great field position inside Texas Tech territory. Texas Tech kept up its undisciplined play, being penalized 12 times for 70 yards. Kansas had only seven penalties for 55 yards. The point of emphasis of eliminating mental mistakes was a success, but of course the Jayhawks need to improve.

Bottom Line. The Jayhawks are continuing to show progress in almost every phase. Against the best offense in the country, the Jayhawks held the Red Raiders well under their season average through three quarters before wearing down in the fourth. Special teams was much improved from two weeks ago, and the Jayhawks easily won the special teams battle tonight. Beaty and offensive coordinator Rob Likens still need to find a quarterback. Cozart still does not appear to be the answer, and Willis has struggled. Next Saturday, the Jayhawks return to Lawrence for an 11 A.M. showdown against the TCU Horned Frogs, who Kansas has played very close the last two seasons.