Hawk Talk: Kansas vs. Duke Tailgate Edition

A look at news and notes from this week about the Jayhawks and their upcoming game....

The Good Guys...

• Jake Sharp, Toben Opurum and the Kansas running game have started strong this season.
• Maxwell Onyegbule earns Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Honors for his performance in El Paso.
• The Kansas defensive line has the look of an improved unit so far this season.
• Jeff Spikes settling in at Right Tackle in his redshirt sophomore year.
• Todd Reesing not overly impressed with his own play so far this year.
• KC Star Game Preview
• Whitlock does a bit of a Todd Reesing response piece to his Blaine Gabbert lovefest.
• A look at the hurdles that schools like Duke and Kansas face when trying to become more than a basketball school.
• Jeff Wheeler hopes to distinguish himself on an improved Kansas offensive line.
• Toben brings size and maturity beyond his freshman year status.

The Bad Guys...

• A look at Duke backup QB, a highly rated one at that in Sean Renfree.
• Article about Todd Reesing, a former Duke recruit, from the Duke perspective.
• Duke hit with a few injuries as they head to Lawrence.
• ..."What if Todd Reesing had Picked Duke"

Miscellaneous...

• Came across this while scowering for news...it's your feel good story of the week.

Denver's Take...

Here's the thing, Kansas hasn't put together a great game to date and the passing game has been less than stellar.  The staff keeps saying they are taking what other teams are giving them and that's fine but from the sounds of things Todd Reesing is getting a little fired up and ready to bring it up a notch.  

If the interior line can handle Vince Oghobaase up the middle I don't have much reason to believe the Duke defense will put up much of a fight.  Combine that with a Duke offensive unit that averages just 44 yards on the ground against weak opponents and this one has to have the Kansas players drooling.

I expect this game to be one where we see Kansas click a little bit more on all cylinders.  I'm not saying they put the finished product together but they move closer in that direction. 

Next week Southern Mississippi comes to town and they will be the first major test as UTEP proved not to be.  This week Kansas puts together those final tune ups against Duke, get's some extra PT for the youngsters and heads to the final non-con game with confidence running high.

Final Score:  Kansas 52  Duke 7

Supplemental Notes and more things to look for after the jump...

KU-DUKE SERIES -- Kansas and Duke will be meeting for the first time in school history. In fact, each of KU's four non-conference games this year are first-time meetings.

KU VS. THE ACC -- Kansas owns a 3-16 record against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 1-0 mark against Virginia Tech, 2-5 vs. Florida State, 0-1 vs. Georgia Tech, 0-2 vs. North Carolina, 0-2 vs. North Carolina State, 0-2 vs. Virginia and 0-4 vs. Miami. The last time KU played an ACC team was when the Jayhawks defeated league champion No. 5 Virginia Tech 24-21 in the 2008 Orange Bowl. The last time KU hosted an ACC team was a 50-10 loss to then No. 15 Virginia in 1990.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST DUKE

• KU has recorded at least three sacks in each of its last three games dating back to last year and had six at UTEP last Saturday.
• RB Jake Sharp (22) needs one touchdown run to tie Brandon McAnderson and Chip Hilleary (23 each) for third on the KU career touchdowns list and two for sole possession.
• Sharp (8) needs one 100-yard rushing game to tie Clark Green (9) for sixth on the KU career 100-yard rushing games list.
• Sharp (60) needs two receptions to pass June Henley (61) for second on the KU career receptions by a running back list.
• Sharp (162) needs seven points to pass "Touchdown" Tony Sands (168) for seventh on the KU career scoring list.
• WR Dezmon Briscoe (2,057) needs 105 yards to pass Mark Simmons (2,161) for second on the KU career receiving yardage list and 210 yards to pass Willie Vaughn (2,266) for first place.
• Briscoe (8) needs one 100-yard receiving game for sole possession of first on the KU career 100-yard receiving games list (currently tied with Willie Vaughn).
• Briscoe (132) needs seven points to pass Chip Hilleary (138) for 10th on the KU career scoring list and 13 points to pass David Winbush (144) for ninth.
• Briscoe has produced five straight 100-yard receiving games.
• Briscoe has caught at least two passes in 20 consecutive games.
• Meier has caught at least two passes in 23 consecutive games.
• Reesing (8,046) needs 308 passing yards to pass Major Applewhite of Texas (8,353) for seventh place on the Big 12 career passing yardage list.
• Reesing (657) needs 24 completions to pass Josh Freeman of Kansas State (680) for eighth and 34 completions to pass Joel Klatt of Colorado (690) for seventh on the Big 12 career completions list.
• Reesing has thrown a touchdown pass in 20 consecutive games.
• DE Jake Laptad (12.5) needs two sacks to pass Nick Reid (14) for ninth on the KU career sacks list.

DID YOU KNOW? -- KU has allowed only two 100-yard rushers in its last 15 games.

MANGINO TIED FOR SECOND ON KU WINS LIST -- With its 34-7 victory at UTEP on Saturday, Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino recorded his 47th victory as the Jayhawk mentor and moved into a tie for second place on the KU coaches' victories list. Mangino reached 47 wins in his 88th game to tie Glen Mason, who finished his career with a 47-54-1 mark. Both trail A.R. Kennedy, who had a 52-9-4 record from 1904-10.

ONE OF TWO -- Kansas is one of just two teams in the country to currently average at least 250 yards rushing and at least 250 yards passing, joining top-ranked Florida. The Jayhawks average 291.5 yards rushing and 270.0 yards passing through two weeks. KU's rushing average is seventh in the nation while its passing mark is 24th. Overall, KU's 561.50 yards per game rank sixth nationally. Florida is third in rushing at 330.0 and 13th in passing at 313.50 to rank first in total offense at 643.50 per game.