2014
Kansas Jayhawks
College Football
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Schedule and Odds
Charlie Weis is in his third year at Kansas, but has decided to mix things up after getting only Four wins in his first two seasons. He brought on new offensive coordinator John Reagan, who will implement a run-friendly, no-huddle scheme that should benefit the players available. The Jayhawks main goal this year is to not finish last in the Big 12.
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It’s looking like Montell Cozart will take over as the full-time quarterback with Jake Heaps all but done at the school. Cozart is better off on the ground, but his arm definitely has to improve. While he does have arm strength, completing 23 of 63 passes for zero TDs and two interceptions isn’t going to cut it, no matter what you do on the ground. This offense only scored 15.3 points per Game last year if that says anything. The Jayhawks have some solid, experienced playmakers that can help as well.
Darrian Miller and Brandon BOurbon will likely split duties out of the backfield to replace last year’s 1,000-yard rusher, James Sims. The offensive line is probably one of the worst in the conference, which is an immediate problem, but all five projected starters are upperclassmen. At receiver they have one of the best tight ends in the Big 12 with Jimmay Mundine, and wide receiver Tony Pierson, who is back and hopes to pump up last year’s numbers (333 yards, one TD), even though he led the team.
The defense will once again be this team’s best unit, unless the offense goes crazy and busts out 30 points per Game. They return nine starters and all of the projected starters are upperclassmen, so there should be improvement. Surprisingly, they have some stout guys on this end of the ball in linebacker Ben Heeney and cornerback Isaiah Johnson, both of whom can be all-Conference players. The secondary is big and physical, which is perfect for the Big 12. The main issue for Kansas is on the line where they’ll likely be forced to blitz every play to get to the QB.
Early in the season, Kansas draws a road Game at Duke in the battle between basketball schools. If they can pull out a win there, that would give loads of confidence to this team and a possible 3-0 start. The Jayhawks were only close in one Big 12 Game last year and that was the win against West Virginia. While they get the Mountaineers on the road this year, playing Iowa State and TCU at home present winnable Games.
They’ll be hard pressed to do more than that in the Conference unless this offense jumps leaps and bounds from last year. It’s unlikely Cozart will become a great passer after one offseason though. Kansas has the ability to top last year’s three wins, due to a quality defense, but their offense will need to produce consistently to get those tougher Big 12 wins.
2014 Kansas Jayhawks Football Schedule
Sept. 6 vs. SE Missouri State
Sept. 13 at Duke
Sept. 20 vs. Central Michigan
Sept. 27 vs. Texas
Oct. 4 at West Virginia
Oct. 11 vs. Oklahoma State
Oct. 18 at Texas Tech
Nov. 1 at Baylor
Nov. 8 vs. Iowa State
Nov. 15 vs. TCU
Nov. 22 at Oklahoma
Nov. 29 at Kansas State