Game Preview: KU at Iowa State

Photo: www.annependleton.com

Series: KU 47-34-6
Time: Saturday, Oct. 4 – 11:30 a.m. (CT) 
Venue: Jack Trice Stadium (55,000)
Location: Ames, Iowa
TV: VERSUS
Line: Kansas (-13)

Recent History (Tied 5-5 | all time series link)
1998 ISU 23, KU 20
1999 KU 31, ISU 28
2000 ISU 38, KU 17
2001 ISU 49, KU 7
2002 ISU 45, KU 3
2003 KU 36, ISU 7
2004 ISU 13, KU 7
2005 KU 24, ISU 21
2006 KU 41, ISU 10
2007 KU 45, ISU 7

Hawk Digest Preseason Capsule on Iowa State

The Rundown
Until 2007, October was not a fantastic month for Mark Mangino. The Jayhawks went 4-16 in October during Mangino's first five seasons before posting a 4-0 mark last year. Generally, Mangino fared better in November, but it was impossible to garner national attention with the mid-season slumps. Check your calendar as it's October again and Mangino is actually riding a five-game October winning streak. Tomorrow brings a fantastic opportunity to sustain momentum and get a leg up in the North with a coveted road division win. The Cyclones are in transition but the near upset of OU last year and the home victories against KSU and Colorado indicate a hard-working squad that will obviously play tough to defend the home turf. Exhibition play is over and it's time for the Jayhawks to make a statement about where they stand in the division and conference for 2008.

The Key
Thanks to Todd Reesing, KU can win this game without dominating in the run game, but they sure would like to see another step in the right direction. Especially on the road, a run game can help establish control and smooth out the times when momentum appears to shift (see USF game). The Clones play seven seniors on defense so it may be a bit of a challenge for the "work in progress" Jayhawk offensive line. Three of those seniors are on the defensive line, but standout senior LB Michael Bibbs is questionable. On the other side of the ball, ISU has played both Phillip Bates and Austen Arnaud at QB. Bates is mainly a runner at this point, but Arnaud led a key 98-yard drive last week to tie UNLV late and send that game to overtime. However, KU is generally solid against average QBs and Arnaud falls into that category in the Big 12.

Essentially, the big key is whether or not KU will finish the job if they get control of the game. The step on the throat mentality that was there in 2007 hasn't quite appeared yet.

The Bullets

• KU has held its opponent to less than 200 yards rushing in 31 consecutive games
  
• Todd Reesing currently has 5,095 career passing yards and needs 38 passing yards to pass David Jaynes (5,132) for third place Frank Seuer is KU's all-time leader with 6,410 yards
  
• ISU posted a 45-3 win in Mark Mangino’s first game as the head coach at KU.  He is 4-1 against the Cyclones since
• KU has won 13 straight games against un-ranked opponents and 16 of the last 17 games against teams not ranked
• Kansas’ defense allowed a season-low 45 rushing yards against Sam Houston State
• The Jayhawks are 12th nationally in total offense (473 ypg) and sixth in passing offense (354.0 ypg)
• Kerry Meier leads the nation with 9.25 receptions per game
• Justin Thornton leads the Big 12 with 8 passes defended
  
• James Holt leads the Big 12 with 3 forced fumbles
• KU is third in the Big 12 in rush defense (94.8 yards per game)
• Iowa State is tied (OU) for first in the Big 12 with +6 turnover margin. KU is +3
• KU leads the Big 12 in time of possession 34:09 per game

"Those guys worked extremely hard all week. They were sweating and were dog-tired. It gives the running backs confidence when we see our offensive lineman working like that. They are trying to be more physical and that was encouraging."

--Angus Quigley, on the offensive line