Kansas football: Offense must show up if Jayhawks are to win games

Kansas football’s defense gave the Jayhawks a chance to win yesterday, but the offense couldn’t get anything going for the fourth game in a row.

Kansas football has struggled this season, to say the least. The Jayhawks are allowing an average of 43 points per game while only scoring about 15 per game. That’s not a recipe for success, and Kansas will not win a game this year if they don’t make some drastic improvements.

It sounds like both the offense and defense are equally to blame, and while both have struggled, the offense has done the defense absolutely no favors. The Jayhawk offense can rarely sustain a drive, as evidenced by their 20.37 percent conversion rate on third down.

For those that have actually watched all four Kansas football games this season, there’s a pretty regular pattern that’s emerged:

1. The defense gets a stop or gives up a score
2. The offense gets the ball and immediately goes three and out
3. Kansas punts and the defense is back on the field with hardly a break

When the offense can convert on only one out of every five third downs, the simple solution is to take shots downfield. The Jayhawks did this often last season, and it worked decently. It was at the very least better than what we’re doing now.

The problem this season is that the Kansas offensive line can’t protect the quarterback long enough to give receivers a chance to run their routes. This makes short passes a much more attractive option, that way your QB isn’t getting drilled every play.

Speaking of QBs, the quarterback situation is only fueling the fire that has been the Jayhawk offense as of late. Miles Kendrick did not look great yesterday against West Virginia, throwing two really ugly interceptions. To his credit, Kendrick took responsibility after the game. Even supposing the Jayhawks get true freshman Jalon Daniels back from injury, there’s not much chance of this offense improving without some sort of miracle causing the offensive line to be great.

Then there’s running back Pooka Williams, who deserves more. It’s been nearly impossible for Williams to find any daylight at all this season, which is a shame considering how great he’s proven himself to be over the past two seasons.

If Kansas football is going to win a game this season, they have to show up offensively and sustain drives. The line must communicate and give the quarterback time to make a decision, Pooka has to be able to get loose in the open field, and the defense has to have a chance to catch their breath and make adjustments. Otherwise, this may be a winless year for the Jayhawks.