Kansas Has Several Areas to Fix During the Bye Week
Kansas football now has two weeks to regroup after dropping its second straight game, falling 24-17 to Arizona State at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
The Jayhawks return to Lawrence with a 1-2 record and 0-1 mark in Big 12 play. While Kansas showed improvement in several areas against the Sun Devils, the loss exposed some problems the Jayhawks will need to address before returning to the field against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 3.
The first area Kansas needs to clean up is turnovers and mistakes in critical situations. Kansas turned the ball over three times, including a fumble that Arizona State returned to the Kansas 2-yard line. The Sun Devils converted that mistake into a touchdown and eventually built a 24-7 lead.
Kansas also struggled to finish drives. The Jayhawks went 0-for-3 on fourth down and missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt. Those missed opportunities became especially important in a game decided by seven points.
The offense also needs to become more consistent on early downs. Before the Arizona State game, Lance Leipold emphasized the importance of improving on first and second down and establishing the running game. Against the Sun Devils, Kansas finished with 179 rushing yards, but the offense still had stretches where it struggled to sustain drives.
Special teams is another area that deserves attention. Tate Nagy provided Kansas with a huge boost by returning a punt 72 yards for a touchdown, but Arizona State answered by returning the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. Kansas also had the costly 17-yard punt late in the first half that helped set up an Arizona State touchdown.
Defensively, there were positives. Kansas held Arizona State to only 228 total yards and 3.5 yards per play. However, the Jayhawks allowed two touchdowns after opportunities to stop the Sun Devils, something linebacker Trey Lathan pointed to after the game.
With the bye week ahead, Kansas has time to correct those mistakes. The Jayhawks showed against Arizona State that they can compete defensively and move the football. Now, the focus will be on turning those flashes into four quarters of consistent football.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news
It's completely free to join, simply by clicking the yellow button at the top of the homepage. Share your thoughts, engage with our ROUNDTABLE writers, and chat with fellow members
Jimmy Adeniran is a contributor to JayhawksROUNDTABLE. He can be reached at [email protected]
