Last season, it took little time to figure out that the Kansas Jayhawks’ defense could be gotten at. Look at their third game of the season against Missouri, which resulted in a 42-31 loss where defense was at a premium, as highlighted by a Jamal Roberts 63-yard run that put the game to bed with 1:49 left to play.
Two weeks later, the Cincinnati Bearcats won a 37-34 thriller, helped by a Tawee Walker 17-yard run that posted the Bearcats at Kansas’ two-yard line.
These mental errors that caused long runs eventually grew into more and more consistent problems that weren’t helped by an offense that converted just 38.13% of their third downs.
But all that should be in the past now
Not only did Kasnas revamp the team with 14 eligible and healthy transfers, but also with elite assistant hires like Joe Dineen, along with what should naturally come in year two under defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald.
Earlier this month, McDonald spoke on what he’s expecting from the Jayhawks and their week one encounter against FCS side LIU.
“…The tackling is always a big thing for the first game. You always worry about that. Did you do enough tackling in preseason camp to make guys, lathered up to go when it's game time? Naturally, will we pursue and just get to the ball? Because there will be some missed tackles, and we need more hats on the ball to punish people if we do miss a tackle. So those are kind of just a checklist that you go through.”
As last season wore on, the Jayhawks secondary continuously looked out of place when attacking runners, helping result in what finished as the nation’s 105th-worst rush defense, giving up 184.1 yards per game. Texas Tech’s 372-yard performance on the ground was the lowlight of the season in a 42-17 loss to the Red Raiders.
“Will we communicate well? Will we get our line right? Will we pursue? Will we get all blocks? Will we tackle the correct way? And if we can do those five things, I think that we could be alright. But if those five things fail, I don't care who we're playing, we're going to be in trouble. So we've got to make sure those five things are on.”
Leading Kansas’ defense in improving these efforts will be linebackers Trey Lathan and Bam Crouch. Each is a former transfer who was once nominated as a captain at both Kansas and Boston College.
Expectations will vary on what a “successful” season will look like for Kansas’ defense, but last season the Jayhawks allowed 409.5 yards per game, which ranked 95th in the nation. Ultimately, under an easier schedule like KU has this year, if that number could shrink even 30 yards per game, another bowl-less season could instead shift into Lance Leipold’s third in six years.
There is no better time to start that conquest towards postseason football than in just a few hours against the LIU Sharks. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPNU.
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