At 8:00 Eastern on Friday night, Kansas will try to post its second consecutive win following a disappointing loss to North Dakota State, and they’ll do so in Hattiesburg against Southern Miss. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and, if you have access, ESPN3.
Kansas-Southern Miss, 8:00 P.M.: Jayhawks Hope To Build Momentum
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Preview courtesy of Sports Network.
Last season Kansas hosted Southern Mississippi in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The schools will collide once again in 2010, but this time the Golden Eagles will be the host, as the Jayhawks invade Hattiesburg this Friday.
In the matchup last season the Jayhawks slipped past Southern Miss with a 35-28 victory.
The Jayhawks 2010 campaign got off to a lousy start, as the team suffered an embarrassing, 6-3 setback to North Dakota State at home. However, the Jayhawks were able to rebound and get coach Turner Gill his first victory at Kansas with a 28-25 decision over Georgia Tech.
After posting seven wins in 2009 the Golden Eagles soared into this season with high hopes, but those expectations were quickly dashed in the opener, as coach Larry Fedora’s squad was punished by South Carolina, 41-13. Southern Mississippi however, bounced back in its next matchup, as the team disposed of Prairie View A&M, 34-7.
The Turner Gill era did not start on a high note, as the new head coach watched his team commit three turnovers en route to a three-point showing at home against NDSU.
However, his team performed much better against Georgia Tech, especially the offense, which showcased a balanced attack.
After struggling to get anything going on the ground against North Dakota State, the Jayhawks were more consistent with their ground game against the Yellow Jackets and the success was due to the play of true freshman James Sims. Sims, who did not see action in the opener, rushed for 101 yards and one score on 17 carries. He became the first running back in school history to surpass 100 yards in his freshman debut.
Sims was not the only freshman causing havoc for Kansas, as redshirt freshman Jordan Webb was very effective in his first career start. Webb threw for 179 yards and three scores in the win over Georgia Tech, and finished 18-of-29 in the contest. The young signal caller did throw an interception and was sacked four times, but overall he did a solid job in his first start.
The defense for Kansas allowed just six points in the opener, but the team still managed to lose, but against Georgia Tech the unit was not as successful, and despite the poor play the Jayhawks found a way to win.
Hopefully in the third game the offense and defense can be on the same page, but for that to happen the Jayhawks will have to find a way to stop the run. The Yellow Jackets are a running team, so surrendering rushing yards is not surprising, but the defense for coach Gill was punished for 291 yards and two scores and regardless of what scheme the opposition displays that is unacceptable.
Fortunately the Jayhawks forced a turnover in the win and held Georgia Tech to just 4-of-13 on third downs. However, the unit also struggled inside its red zone, allowing the Yellow Jackets to convert on all three of their chances.
The Golden Eagles tallied just 13 points in their opener against South Carolina, but the offense unit woke up in the team’s second contest. However, it must be taken into consideration that the offense squared off against a weak opponent in Prairie View A&M.
Regardless of the opponent though, Southern Miss was well balanced offensively, and was led by the ground game, which churned out 253 yards. Surprisingly, not one player finished with 100 yards, as Kendrick Hardy led the way with 86 yards on 20 totes. V.J. Floyd added 59 yards and a score, while Desmond Johnson found the end zone twice and finished with 32 yards.
Since the team was enjoying so much success on the ground there was no real need to throw the football, so Austin Davis was not worked in this matchup. The quarterback threw just 18 times in the win, completing 11 passes for 178 yards and one score.
It is hard to judge the talent on the Southern Miss defense after two contests. This unit was clobbered by South Carolina in the opener, but surrendered just seven points against Prairie View A&M. Odds are coach Fedora’s defense will not be as dominating as it was this past weekend.
In the victory, the Golden Eagles surrendered just 211 total yards and forced two turnovers. However, against South Carolina the defense was punished for 224 yards on the ground alone.
Clearly coach Fedora hopes his defense can build off its performance against Prairie View A&M, but it is likely that the Golden Eagles will struggle to stop opponents on the ground throughout the season, and the performance against the run this past weekend was an anomaly.
It will be interesting to see what two teams will be on the field this Friday. Will the Jayhawks that beat Georgia Tech show up, or will it be the team that fell to North Dakota State? The same can be said about Southern Mississippi as well, which put forth two very different performances. If any, the Jayhawks lost their opener because of mistakes, while the Golden Eagles were simply not as good as South Carolina. Look for Kansas to establish the run early, and try to ground out a victory on the road.
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