New Mexico State
8th Western Athletic2-10
Kansas
12th Big 123-9
New Mexico State @ Kansas preview
Memorial Stadium
We have seen bad Kansas, good Kansas and back to bad again. The Jayhawks get one more chance to get it right before heading into Big 12 Conference play when they host New Mexico State on Saturday.
Kansas (1-2) opened the season with a shocking 6-3 loss to Football Championship Subdivision opponent North Dakota State in coach Turner Gill’s debut with the Jayhawks at home.
With questions swirling regarding the decision to bring Gill, a former standout quarterback at Nebraska, in as coach, the Jayhawks put together a strong performance to knock off a ranked Georgia Tech team, 28-25.
Now the Jayhawks are coming off another lousy performance as they were easily handled 31-16 at Southern Miss on Friday.
Kansas struggled on offense against Southern Miss, gaining only 274 yards and giving up four sacks among the 10 tackles for a loss registered by the Golden Eagles defense.
Part of the problem and reason for the up-and-down performances by the Jayhawks could be their reliance on youth, especially at some key positions.
Gill is going with freshman quarterback Jordan Webb and fellow freshman James Sims at running back and after a strong performance against Georgia Tech, the duo fell flat against Southern Miss.
Webb threw three touchdown passes and Sims ran for 101 yards and a score against the Yellow Jackets but they were bottled up by the Golden Eagles.
It has been a long time since Kansas was this reliant on freshmen. Webb leads the team in passing and Sims is Kansas’ top rusher. Only twice in the program’s history have freshmen led in both categories in the same year. The first time was 1945 (George Gear threw for 223 yards and Dick Bertuzzi ran for 360) and the second was 1980 (Frank Seurer threw for 797 and Kerwin Bell ran for 1,114).
There is a good chance for a breakout performance by the Kansas freshmen again Saturday against a porous Aggies defense.
New Mexico State (0-2) ranks 119th out of 120 teams in total defense, allowing a whopping 529 yards per game. The Aggies have allowed 41 and 42 points in losses to San Diego State and UTEP.
The Aggies and Jayhawks split two games in the series. Kansas won 54-14 in the most recent meeting in 1991.
New Mexico State won the first meeting, 42-29, in 1988. Since 1980, the Aggies are 2-13 against the Big 12 Conference, also winning over Iowa State in 1983.
Kansas is 21-4 in its last 25 non-conference games and 19-4 in its last 23 home games.
Kansas (1-2) opened the season with a shocking 6-3 loss to Football Championship Subdivision opponent North Dakota State in coach Turner Gill’s debut with the Jayhawks at home.
With questions swirling regarding the decision to bring Gill, a former standout quarterback at Nebraska, in as coach, the Jayhawks put together a strong performance to knock off a ranked Georgia Tech team, 28-25.
Now the Jayhawks are coming off another lousy performance as they were easily handled 31-16 at Southern Miss on Friday.
Kansas struggled on offense against Southern Miss, gaining only 274 yards and giving up four sacks among the 10 tackles for a loss registered by the Golden Eagles defense.
Part of the problem and reason for the up-and-down performances by the Jayhawks could be their reliance on youth, especially at some key positions.
Gill is going with freshman quarterback Jordan Webb and fellow freshman James Sims at running back and after a strong performance against Georgia Tech, the duo fell flat against Southern Miss.
Webb threw three touchdown passes and Sims ran for 101 yards and a score against the Yellow Jackets but they were bottled up by the Golden Eagles.
It has been a long time since Kansas was this reliant on freshmen. Webb leads the team in passing and Sims is Kansas’ top rusher. Only twice in the program’s history have freshmen led in both categories in the same year. The first time was 1945 (George Gear threw for 223 yards and Dick Bertuzzi ran for 360) and the second was 1980 (Frank Seurer threw for 797 and Kerwin Bell ran for 1,114).
There is a good chance for a breakout performance by the Kansas freshmen again Saturday against a porous Aggies defense.
New Mexico State (0-2) ranks 119th out of 120 teams in total defense, allowing a whopping 529 yards per game. The Aggies have allowed 41 and 42 points in losses to San Diego State and UTEP.
The Aggies and Jayhawks split two games in the series. Kansas won 54-14 in the most recent meeting in 1991.
New Mexico State won the first meeting, 42-29, in 1988. Since 1980, the Aggies are 2-13 against the Big 12 Conference, also winning over Iowa State in 1983.
Kansas is 21-4 in its last 25 non-conference games and 19-4 in its last 23 home games.