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National | Conf | Actual | Category | Actual | Conf | National | |
Advantage | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank | |||
Kansas |
20 |
5 |
263 |
Rushing Offense | 174 |
5 |
53 |
RICE |
83 |
6 |
169 |
Passing Offense | 184 |
7 |
78 |
Kansas |
45 |
7 |
432 |
Total Offense | 358 |
6 |
66 |
Kansas |
50 |
7 |
31 |
Scoring Offense | 24 |
5 |
61 |
Kansas |
79 |
7 |
204 |
Rushing Defense | 343 |
11 |
107 |
Kansas |
14 |
3 |
76.72 |
Pass Efficiency Defense | 168.91 |
9 |
102 |
Kansas |
71 |
6 |
411 | Total Defense | 646 |
10 |
106 |
Kansas |
36 |
5 |
17 |
Scoring Defense | 49 |
9 |
100 |
Kansas | 13 |
2 |
42.33 |
Net Punting | 35.75 | 7 |
56 |
Kansas |
35 |
5 |
11.50 |
Punt Returns | 0 |
7 |
79 |
PUSH | 97 |
6 |
0 |
Kickoff Returns | 0 |
11 |
97 |
Kansas |
4 |
1 |
3 |
Turnover Margin | 0 |
3 |
49 |
Kansas |
51 |
5 |
207 |
Pass Defense | 303 |
9 |
89 |
RICE |
96 |
8 |
90.24 |
Passing Efficiency | 126.85 | 4 |
64 |
PUSH |
35 |
2 |
2 |
Sacks | 2 |
5 |
35 |
RICE |
48 |
5 |
6 |
Tackles For Loss | 7 |
3 |
34 |
Kansas |
29 |
3 |
1 |
Sacks Allowed | 6 |
11 |
106 |
In the opener the Rice Owls were pretty underwhelming form a statistical standpoint but they really weren't out of the game until the fourth quarter. That's a little surprising considering the big plays that UCLA was able to put together and the nearly 300 yard disparity between the Owl offensive performance and that of the Bruins.
Kansas on the other hand was good on the ground, pretty average through the air and defensively a pretty good team if they eliminate one 99 yard touchdown run by South Dakota State. The turnovers for Kansas were huge and they'll need to continue to win that battle throughout the year if they want to compete with some of the better programs on the schedule. For this week though, Kansas should have a nice edge over Rice and the ten point line is very realistic, one would hope.
One positive takeaway on special teams is in the punt/punt return game. Ron Doherty has taken some flack this week for this kickoffs and hopefully Kansas can find a way to relieve him of that responsibility, but as far as punting the football he did a decent job, and the Kansas coverage did a decent job.
This game really feels like it could come down to limiting Taylor McHargue and getting the Kansas running game going. Obviously Charlie Weis will need to get Dayne Crist going as well so that he can continue to shake off some of the rust, but Kansas needs to run the ball early and effectively in order to win comfortably. Beyond that, use the opportunity to improve the passing efficiency and fine tune some of you defensive rotation because TCU is coming to town in a hurry.