Kansas football takes on Duke (2-1) in Durham, North Carolina, at 3 pm Saturday for their last non-conference game of the season.
This game looks to be the Jayhawk’s last shot at a victory as the rest of their schedule will feature Big 12 teams. But Duke won’t be a pushover as they beat a solid Northwestern squad last week 30-23, and at one point were leading 30-7.
The line on this game is currently set at 16 points in Duke’s favor. Last week the Jayhawks were 17 point underdogs to Baylor but would go on to lose by 38 points.
Defense must tackle
If the Jayhawks want to win this game, they’ll have to learn how to tackle and do it quickly. In their last game against Baylor, per PFF, they missed 16 tackles.
Tackling is a rather basic concept in football, and you’d think the players would at least have that knowledge and ability by the time they reach college football. And a lot of times, not tackling well can be attributed to simply not wanting to do it.
To fix this issue, the KU coaching staff has emphasized tackling this week in practice. It’s not something they should have to put so much focus on this time of year, but with the poor coaching the program has had the last twelve years, it’s not a surprise.
In speaking to the media, defensive coordinator Brian Borland says the team is working on tackling fundamentals “that include using proper pursuit angles, maintaining good positioning, and getting one’s body ready for contact.”
Get the running game going
This has been said every week since the Jayhawks season began, but they must get the running game going. It won’t be any easier after losing junior running back Velton Gardner to the transfer portal just three games into the season.
But there’s a lot of promise in true freshman Devin Neal, who leads the running backs with 3.4 yards per carry. The Jayhawks will have to rely on the freshman and feed him often to open up the rest of the offense.
If they can finally find some success in running the ball, it will take some pressure off quarterback Jason Bean and allow him to throw the ball downfield. It’ll be difficult to keep Bean from running the ball with his lightning-like speed, but the coaching staff would prefer the running backs to take the hits than the quarterback.
Also, per Jesse Newell with the KC Star, the Blue Devils have also had some tackling issues of their own. Per PFF last game, they missed 14 tackles against Northwestern, which was only two shy of what Kansas missed against Baylor. By running the ball, the Jayhawks can expose this.
Win the turnover battle
Duke created five turnovers against Northwestern last week, so the Jayhawks will have to be extra careful with the ball. Luckily for Kansas, they’ve done an excellent job at not turning the ball over, and per Newell, they are one of just 19 teams that have yet to throw an interception.
The Jayhawks currently are tied for 35th in the FBS for turnover margin, and they’ll look to continue that success against the Blue Devils.
Prediction
The Jayhawks will come out against Duke better prepared on offense and defense, but the Blue Devils will still have the advantage at just about every position. I don’t see this as a blowout loss for Kansas, but I think tackling issues and inconsistency on offense will hurt them in a close 28-24 loss to the Blue Devils.