A Semi Statistical Recap of Iowa State

Since I went to the Royals game on Saturday night instead (in a futile attempt to see Salvy hit another homer), I was waiting for a chance to rewatch the KU game before writing the semi statistical recap. Er, watch for the first time. Whatever.

But who are we kidding. I’ve seen enough 59-7 buttkickings in my day that I’m not doing that. So we’ll just muddle through and do what we can with what we have.

So let’s see here. A week after allowing Duke to average 7.5 yards per play, Iowa State put up 9.4 ypp.

Just... wow.

Meanwhile, Kansas averaged just 4.6 yards per play.

Kansas actually won time of possession 33:15 to 26:45, but I’m guessing that was primarily due to the fact that Iowa State averaged just five plays per possession. ISU punted 3 times, but scored 8 touchdowns plus a field goal.

I think this defense might not be very good, you guys.

Kansas did become just the second team this year to put up 100+ rushing yards on Iowa State, so that’s something. KU running backs averaged 4.2 yards per carry, which while not as good as the Duke game, is still an improvement from the first three games of the year. So, I do think it is safe to say that we are seeing some improvement along the offensive line. This is one of the best defenses in D1, and KU 1) put up rushing numbers, and 2) didn’t allow a single QB sack.

However, Kansas continues its struggles on third and fourth down. KU was just 5-14 (35.7%) on third down, and 0-2 on fourth down.

The Jayhawks did lose the turnover battle 2-0, which only compounds the current defensive struggles. Add in the two turnovers on fourth downs, and you’re looking at some tough situations for a defense that might have a hard time stopping Bishop Miege right now.

The Good

I... don’t know. Since I haven’t watched the game yet, I just don’t know. Just looking at the box score, Trevor Wilson had a decent night. Maybe he and Bean are really starting to click. As mentioned above, the running backs were decent, which these days probably qualifies as good. Feel free to let me know what you saw in the comments.

The Bad

Kansas was credited with 2 TFLs and 1 sack. That’s just not enough pressure on the QB, particularly when your opponent is averaging nearly 10 yards per play. Kansas HAS to find a way to get into the opponent’s backfield more often. In the first quarter alone, Brock Purdy went 5-5 with 4 TDs. That’s ridiculous.

The Ugly

The defense as a whole was, for the fourth week in a row, just atrocious. I’m not really sure what else there is to say. Sure they were missing Kenny Logan for the first half, but one guy isn’t going to make that big of a difference.

The Stats

Jason Bean was 10-20 for 120 yards and a pick. He added 23 rush yards on 5 carries.

Devin Neal looks like he could be the next great KU running back. He put up 85 yards on just 15 carries.

Torry Locklin added 40 yards and a TD on 12 carries.

Amauri Pesek-Hickson also had 40 yards, also on 12 carries.

Trevor Wilson hauled in 3-4 targets for 55 yards.

Kwamie Lassiter also brought down 3-4 targets but for just 25 yards.

Gavin Potter led the Jayhawks with 7 tackles.

Jacobee Bryant added 5 tackles with a TFL.

Kyron Johnson had 4 tackles, a TFL, and forced a fumble.

Jacob Borcila had his only field goal attempt blocked, a 34-yarder.

Reis Vernon hit 5 punts for a 41.7 average.