KUsports.com football beat writer Matt Tait previewed Kansas’ upcoming match-up with Rice, which is slated for 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Houston, by selecting the 10 best questions that pertain to the Jayhawks’ showdown with the Owls. If your question did not crack the Top 10, try again next week.

jmfitz85

I’m going to throw out 4 score predictions and you put a percentage of how likely you think they would be:

KU 45 – Rice 17

KU 30 – Rice 27

KU 27 – Rice 30

KU 17 – Rice 45

dougmd

Thankfully, there are no stupid questions. Here is mine!
Any evidence that HCW has had Heaps practicing QB quick draws up the middle when a team has started to blitz a bunch? I know we have a great running game and that this wouldn’t be a first line play, but we will see a lot of blitzing when we get behind…

CalHawk

What knew wrinkle do you predict we will see this week we didn’t see last week, offense or defense?

JayhawkRock78

KSU aside, I think the KU – Rice game will be the best attended road game for Jayhawk road games this year. Do you agree?

JayhawkRock78

Rice had a great first half offense against A&M who normally play at a much higher level.

Knowing A&M had half the starters suspended, can KU defensive starters handle Rice?

JayhawkRock78

I think this is a must win or be a very competitive game for KU to show appropriate progress.

Do you agree?

inteldesign

Since our man Tony Pierson has been compared to Tavon Austin, why has he not been used in the return department?

jaydee909

Matt, I think the key to this game is stopping the big back Ross and turning their QB into a passer. I think we will be able to move the ball on Rice. What are your keys to winning?

KUGuyInTarheelLand

Kansas has not won a road game since 9/12/09. What kind of pressure is there on Weiss to win this game? How heavy is that monkey on his back this seas

KUGuyInTarheelLand

Sorry for the multiple posts. Having issue with my phone. Please only consider the one post with the % question ending.

jayhawk2144

Mat since the big 12 defenses are now basically built to stop the pass then run, if we can show the big 12 an excellent run attack Saturday against rice like maybe between 250-400 yards on the ground while coming out with an victory. could that make KU an sleeper team in the big 12 this year ?

njjayhawk

Why isn’t KU football nationally ranked in the top 10 this year? Baffling.

Altercations_with_a_shovel

Well Vegas isn’t betting on the Jayhawks. Are you? What chance do you give KU to win by 20pts, 10 pts, 3pts or lose?

Ljay

1.How does the coaching staff prepare the team for an extreme warm weather game? I’m concerned about the team having problems with cramps in Houston?
2. In what ways do you think our team will demonstrate improvement this week?

clevelandjayhawker

What is Max Falkenstien up to?

jjjhwk

Since Rice only defeated two teams with winning records last year, how good are they? They only scored a few points more against A&M than Sam Houston State.

Jayhawker28

Matt, great work this year on the coverage!

Any chance we will see Kevin Short out there?

Reuben_J_Cogburn

Thanks, Matt.

Do you believe Connor Embree will be a legitimate return threat? We’ve only seen one game….vs. South Dakota…so it may be jumping the gun.

But have you seen enough of him in practice to believe he can be electric?

Reuben_J_Cogburn

Last year against K-State, we threw the flare to Tony Pierson on multiple plays….they couldn’t stop it.

It was very effective, but I don’t recall seeing it since that game. Is there a reason for that, and do you think we’ll see it again?

Reuben_J_Cogburn

Simply, what does it take for KU to pull off this “upset?”

Reuben_J_Cogburn

What is the coaching staff doing to prepare the defense for this QB?

I had heard a potential solution is to throw in a QB spy package, and stick a linebacker on him at all times. Is that something you can see us doing, and what player would be the most effective at the spy?

catsandwich

What will we see in the Rice game that we did not see in the South Dakota game in the following areas; 1) Offensive play calling; 2) Individual performance(s), 3) Unit performances. Also, where are we with the back up quarterbacks? Is Cummings still the clear choice for back up?

BadHaaseJayhawk

As KU is known for its running game, do you think Rice will respect the pass at all or throw more bodies at the line to contain the run? If they do crowd the line what are our chances at having a decent passing presence in the game?

Also not game related but why dont we have a “Hawks in the NFL” section like we do on basketball stories? Watching the Patriots game last night I noticed Aqib Talib had 2 Interceptions and a forced fumble.

jayhawk5125

What percentage will see from the offensive side of the ball this weekend? 60% passing 40% running? 70 to 30?

KU needs this win in the worst way.

dagger108

I think most fans were surprised to see the Jayhawk formation used against South Dakota, and in spite of Jesse’s always excellent analysis, some are still upset that we used it. There has been talk about other surprises last week (Combs’ PT, …), as well as whether Coach Weis opened the playbook or not. What do you think are the top 5 “surprises” (% wheel please) for the Rice game. Was it TK that encouraged Coach Weis to take chances in an Opinion piece earlier this summer?

coachmatt

The easiest two passes to complete are the hitch (stop) and the slant, but I can’t remember the last time I saw either of those. Seems like whenever we do throw it, it’s always deep…Did we purposely leave out the short passing game so we could use it in future games?

gorilla10

I wish we had more of an explanation regarding Short’s NCAA ineligibility. What’s your take on the situation?

JayHawkFanToo

Last year KU had a one dimensional (running) and predictable offense and did not work out that well. With the upgrades at QB and receivers (hopefully???) how do you see the passing game developing? What is the ideal running/passing mix and where do you think KU eventually will end up?
Will Nick Harwell end up being the missing piece for this year’s offense?

KanFan27

Can we get a percentage wheel on the game score against Rice

KU wins by 20+
KU wins by 10 or less
KU loses by 10 or less
KU loses by 20+

KanFan27

Is this a make or break game for the season? I kind of think so. I think if we get the win and end the road losing streak that it opens the flood gates of confidence and we take a big step forward and yet if we lose it just shuts us down and we slink home deflated and expecting nothing better in the near future. Is that a fair guess or do you think there is more that will play into it?

KanFan27

What will be more key to beating Rice? Stopping their offense or getting our going?

Altercations_with_a_shovel

With the ruling by the NCAA on Kevin Short, can you give us a rundown of the CB’s? How strong you expect each of them them to be?

pbouldenv

Were the false starts a result of lack of focus on the tackles and guards, or the center slow on the snap, or the refs being picky (I saw that got TCU for a ticky tack false start last night). As always, keep up the great work. Loving all the football coverage. Can’t wait for the team to turn the corner!

eastcoasthawk

What’s the chances that this statement could be a highlight of this season: “Holding SDSU to 67 passing yards puts Kansas No. 2 in the nation in pass defense behind Alabama.”?

NebraskanJayhawk8

Do you think we will start seeing more doses of just the main players and less moving around? I know there were times during the last game when I was looking for our “stars” and they were no where out on the field? I know Campo has something in store and so does Weis, but what do you think it is?

AnotherJayhawkPistolero

So what are your thoughts on the shuffling of the defensive line? Are we not getting enough production from the outside or is this just to get Combs in the mix? How hard is it for someone like McKinney to go from inside to outside in a week?

JFHawk

As it appears that Kevin Short will not be playing anytime in the near future, has there been talk about reverting to a 3-4 or 4-3 base defense?

With the solid play from Faifili, Love, Miles, Heeney, Goodman, and Company, it appears that our LBs might be a good deal stronger than our secondary. Additionally, the defense was particularly horrible covering the QB rush last week.

liljayhawker15

If KU defeats Rice and moves to 2-0 on the season, what would be your best guess (in the percentage wheel format) for what the attendance will be on Family Weekend against L-Tech?

JayDocMD

It’s time, once again, for over/under.
But first, a quick look at how you did last week:

• Heaps TD throws: 2.5 “OVER” = MISS (1)

• James Sims Carries: 20.5 “UNDER” = HIT (16)

• KU WR TD catches 1.5 “UNDER” = HIT (1)

• KU Defense Sacks: 2.5 “OVER” = MISS (2)

• KU field goals longer than 35 yards: 1.5 “UNDER” = HIT (1)

• KU Defense points allowed: 17.5 “UNDER” = HIT (17)

• KU total points scored: 40.5 “OVER” = MISS (31)

4 out of 7 correct. Not bad… lets see how you do this week:

• Heaps TD throws: 1.5

• Rice QB Rushing yards: 90.5

• KU Total team penalties: 8.5

• KU FG longer than 35 yards: 1.5

• Marquel Combs tackles: 0.5

• KU Total points scored: 24.5

• KU Total points allowed: 27.5

newtonhawk

What will be the most successful part of the KU offense on Saturday? Will KU be able to run the ball heavily like they did last year against Rice, or will the WRs have to step it up and allow Weis to keep the gameplan more balanced?

Also, what is your prediction for the jersey combo on Saturday?

KGphoto

Rice is also implementing a 4-2-5 base defense and regularly adding a dime package when needed. It seems with all the spread offenses this is becoming the trend.

Since Kansas has the ability to run it all day (and did against Rice last year) you would think that would present a huge advantage for us. Our stable of RBs vs. a slightly watered down run defense. Plus it would help keep McHargue off the field.

I know Charlie wants a 50/50 run/pass balance, but c’mon, if they can’t stop the run…

The question: What do you think is the likeliest story after the game?

1. Charlie runs it down Rice’s throat! (my favorite)

2. Charlie switches to the pass, loses momentum in loss.

3. Heaps the real deal, dismantles Rice.

4. Other

rxdoc1973

Matt,

What are your thoughts after seeing the hawks in action last Saturday? Are you still predicting the same wins/losses? Are you backing off on some of the games you predicted close games or wins? I’m seeing quite a few on here chastise those that are fans but don’t have the optimism that you and some others show. I want us to win sure and I don’t think we’ll win more than 2 games this year after seeing what we did Saturday. That could change if we come out and play better this week. But going on what I have seen two seems like a stretch. The Big12 won’t be easier than SD at home. Please tell me I’m wrong and that we’ll compete going forward! I’m hoping Weis was very vanilla in his play calling for SD and we’ll open up against Rice but that still doesn’t account for multiple drops and the inability to get open consistently. Give me your thoughts however you like wheel or whatever.

KGphoto

USD was red,white,red. KU went with the white/blue/whites.

Rice will likely be all navy.

Chances we go all white?

Who’s making the uniform decisions anyway?

jzutterman

Thanks for all of your coverage Matt!
Which is most likely to happen:

1. KU throws for 250 yards or rushes for 250?
2. Rice throws for 250 or rushes for 250?
3. Will KU’s Defense or Special Teams win the game?
4. Will Rice’s Offense or Special Teams win the game?
5. Will the final score of the game be the deciding factor in who wins or will the winner win by multiple scores?
6. KU’s defense give up 400 yds or Rice’s defense limit KU to 150 yds rushing?

Now your pick and the score? Rock Chalk and keep up the good work!

Displayhawk

From all indications, this may be a close game throughout. Does Rice still have the kicker they had last year, or do we possibly have an advantage there? How about with the rest of the special teams?

hawk316

After last weeks game that saw several dropped passes by KU receivers, will hanging on to the football be an increased emphasis in the RIce game? And a related question: what KU receiver(s) is considered to have the best “hands.”

jmfitz85

Many people, including myself, noticed the lack of “swagger” in the USD game. Do you think this will change against Rice and what do you think it takes for a team to play with swagger?

HAWKS1

Hi Matt! Thanks for your great KU sports coverage. Do you expect we will see more of R. Colemen this week? Also, I don’t recall seeing Turzilli last week. Did he play? I think he has good size, speed and hands and was expecting to see him really step up this year. Can we expect to see him this week? Rock Chalk!!

jmfitz85

What is your biggest concern for KU going into this game? How can they overcome this concern?

jmfitz85

If you had to name one player that would have a breakout game this game who would it be?

Moderator

Good morning everyone and thanks for checking our the second installment of our Friday Game Prep chat with football beat writer Matt Tait. As was the case last week, we’ll pick the 10 best questions that pertain to this week’s match-up with Rice and then a bonus question to send us out. Matt’s gotta get to KC to catch his flight pretty soon, so we’ll try to move through this one quickly.

Tons of great questions once again so thanks for participating and, remember, if your question is not picked this week, be sure to fire away again next week.

Here we go!

jhawkrulz

What will be one of the key line-up changes from week 1 to week 2?

Matt Tait

The thing that jumped out at me first when I looked over the new depth chart was the fact that Tre’ Parmalee had been dropped to third string and Rodriguez Coleman was listed as a second-stringer all by himself.

I don’t think this is a negative toward Tre’ I just think it’s an indication that the coaching staff wants to get Coleman more involved. You saw that he has the ability to get open deep on the one ball that was just a tad overthrown. Now he needs more snaps and more targets to have a chance to make a difference. Could be this week.

The other major spot that stood out was on the D-Line, where Ty McKinney and Marquel Combs both were elevated to second-stringers by themselves instead of sharing the spot. McKinney was very active last week and should continue to take up space and make plays at his new spot and maybe this will be what Combs needed to get onto the field.

Time will tell but I think both Coleman and Combs could make an impact against Rice.

Matt Tait

Real quick… In case you haven’t seen it, check out the story on the NCAA ruling that KU cornerback Kevin Short has to sit out the 2013 season…

KU cornerback Kevin Short to sit out 2013 season

OK, back to the questions.

jhawkclassof02

Call it a measuring stick, a barometer, apples to oranges or whatever – but how much of a success indicator will this game be for the rest of the season? I think most of us fans have all of our eggs in one basket for this game. Please respond in cliche.

Matt Tait

I’m not sure I can pull off the cliche’ bit — as a writer, you try to avoid those at all costs — but I can tell you the significance of this game. And I think the players and coaches understand it 100 percent.

Here’s the deal: If KU can go on the road and beat a good Rice team, it’ll give them a major boost (both in the record and confidence departments) and make winning a couple of Big 12 games seem much more doable. In addition, it’ll give them some major momentum coming home against a Louisiana Tech team that has struggled in the early going.

If the Jayhawks go to Rice and lose, it might send the “Here we go again” thoughts rushing to their heads.

I think this is a different team and I think these guys are tough enough to handle whatever outcome takes place on Saturday. But there’s no question that, in terms of predicting how successful this team can be, this week’s game is enormous. And it should be a lot of fun.

Matt Tait

One more quick public service announcement for those looking to watch the game in Lawrence since the game will not be shown on Lawrence’s WOW! cable service…

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2013/sep/12/ku-rice-telecast-available-locally-bars/

OK… NOW back to the questions.

baldjedi

Matt,

The biggest discussion among fans has been the mundane play calling on offense. We all know the plethora of backs need their touches, but besides utilizing the running game do you believe we will put more of an emphasis on the pass game? If so, wouldn’t it be prudent to get the backs involved as pass catchers beyond throwing to just Pierson?. Finally, what wrinkles can you see being put in this week offensively?

Matt Tait

First off, I think it’s tough to read too much into one week against an FCS opponent as far as play-calling and personnel and packages and all of that.

Weis said this week that there were things that were done against South Dakota that were done on purpose and things that were NOT done against South Dakota on purpose. Pretty standard for an opening week game.

As for the play-calling and if we’ll see the Jayhawks open it up more this week, I definitely think that’s possible, but I also would not be surprised if Weis chose to rely even more on the running game to take the air out of the ball, control the clock and keep Rice’s offense on the sideline. They did this a ton last year but it was out of complete necessity. I don’t think that’s the case this season, but I don’t think Weis will change his M.O. of doing whatever he thinks gives his team the best chance to win either.

And this week, at least through my eyes, pounding away with the running game seems to be just that.

If they do that and do it will, look for some deep passes down the field at just the right time to open up a little more.

All that said, I do think Tony Pierson will be even more involved this week than he was last week.

gorilla10

Defense is going to be the difference in this game if you ask me. Whoever can get the key stops will come out on top. Do you see KU doing anything different against Rica defensively that we didn’t see last week?

Matt Tait

No question. I’m not sure I’d be able to tell you what exactly, but I think KU’s defensive gameplan against USD was pretty vanilla and I think they’ll change it up some this week.

Whether that means more blitzing (or maybe less), more stunting, more disguised coverages or what, I’m not sure. But I can tell you that the gameplan is likely to revolve around whatever keeps Rice QB Taylor McHargue from running wild, something he’s very capable of doing.

KU had great success containing McHargue last year, as he ran for just 18 yards on 12 carries. So, with that effort fresh in their minds and faster, better players on the field in a lot of positions, I think KU’s defense could be in for a solid game this week.

And I definitely agree with you that whichever team plays better on defense will win this game.

texashawk10

I got an over/under question for you Matt.

KU Offense

29.5 points
200 yards passing
250 yards rushing

KU Defense

29.5 points
200 yards rushing
250 yards passing

Matt Tait

Saw lots of over/under questions this week. Looks like I’m an easy guy to figure out. Oh well. Keep ’em coming. They’re fun and I think they tell a lot.

Here goes nothing…

KU Offense
29.5 points (OVER, 35)
200 yards passing (UNDER, 188)
250 yards rushing (OVER, 280)

KU Defense
29.5 points (UNDER, 27)
200 yards rushing (UNDER, 165)
250 yards passing (UNDER, 230)

KanFan27

How much of an impact will losing Kevin Short have on the secondary?

Matt Tait

Make no mistake about it; losing Short is a blow to the defense and a raw deal. But that’s mostly in terms of potential and how good this D could be, not how good it is now or will be this week.

Short has not played, he arrived later than most and did not have a ton of time to work with the defense to establish himself as a guy they cannot live without.

There’s no doubt that everyone would love to have him out there, but it’s not like the rest of the guys in the secondary or the coaches are going to be lost without him because they never really had him.

The pressure on Dexter McDonald to have a solid season goes up a tick now, but I’d say last week he showed he’s up to the challenge. JaCorey Shepherd needs to keep taking steps forward and Brandon Hollomon should have a bigger role now, too (which I think is a good thing because he can play).

Remember, there’s always the option to move Cassius Sendish back to CB, too, if KU needs help there.

KUGuyInTarheelLand

Kansas has not won a road game since 9/12/09. What kind of pressure is there on Weiss to win this game? How heavy is that monkey on his back this season? And will the road environment have any real impact on the team itself? % chance we win our first road game in over 4 years (big loss/tight loss/tight win/big win)?

Matt Tait

No one puts the kind of pressure on Weis to win that Weis does himself.

I think it’s a huge game for so many reasons but one of the biggest is that it’s a game KU can look at and really believe it should win. That’s not as easy to do vs. Big 12 foes, even though these guys still will do it.

Being that it’s the 2nd game of the season and there’s all this talk about having not won a road game since 2009, I think this game gives KU a great chance to get more than just a second victory this weekend. It’s almost as if a win would be worth two or three victories because of the momentum and good vibes that would come with it and carry over into the rest of the season.

There’s no heat on Weis. He wants to win. He was brought here to do just that, but everybody, including him, understands that this thing is going to be a process. Their hope is that the process moves faster than many might expect and I think this weekend’s game will give us a good read on whether expecting that (or hoping for that in the case of the fans) is realistic or not.

As for the environment, I don’t think you could ask for anything better if you’re KU. Rice historically has not had great crowds and I don’t anticipate that it’s going to be hopping and crazy down there, which should help KU’s new faces ease into this whole road thing. In addition, it sounds like there will be a lot of KU fans there, which can only help.

I remember a couple of years ago when KU went down to Southern Miss and just got swallowed up by that environment. The team they were playing had something to do with that, but the place was rocking and it did not look like KU was ready for that at all. I don’t think that’ll be the case in Houston this weekend.

TopekaGuy33

I have this gut feeling that Coach Weis knew we could run the ball at will in the last game and chose to pull a Snyder and not show anything. What do you think we will be surprised by in this game?

Matt Tait

That’s very possible and that could be why he did nothing but run the ball in the second half. But, it also could be because that’s the unquestioned strength of this team and they’re going to continue to lean on it as long as it works.

Here’s the deal, Weis said he would love to be more balanced. But we all know that, above anything, he would love to win. So if that means run, run, run is what it takes, you can bet that’ll be what happens from here on out.

Having said that, I think the passing game has great potential and I think Jake Heaps has enough talent to win games for this team as long as he gets some help.

I’ll take a wild stab here and say that I think you’ll see Jimmay Mundine featured more in the passing game this week. One: To get his confidence back up after a sub-par game a week ago. Two: Because Heaps is good enough to manipulate the Rice secondary with his pumps and his eyes and that could open up more space for Mundine in the middle of the field.

pmyers85

Matt,

Can KU not challenge the NCAA’s decision on Short any further?

Matt Tait

I’m not sure on that, but I don’t expect it to happen. I’ll knock out a blog with my thoughts/reaction on Short on the flight to Houston and post it later today.

* This did not count as one of the 10 questions, by the way.

namohcan_99

Last week we saw a lot of passes from Heaps ‘going for broke’ and never connecting with any of our receivers. What do you foresee from our passing game and will we have better success in this area in week 2 from our receivers? A lot of our problems were receivers not securing the football.

Matt Tait

I think you answered your own question there, but I’ll add to it. I think Heaps needs to get help from his receivers and backs and tight ends.

Coach Weis said it after the game and again Tuesday of this week: Jake was not the problem. I saw the same thing. I thought Heaps looked real solid out there, it’s just the guys he was throwing to were not making the catches.

It’s not about going for broke or being fancy or any of that. When KU goes down the field with the pass, it’s usually because it’s there and if the ball is put on the money, it should be caught.

I think KU may open it up a time or too in this week’s game with something different in the passing game, but again, I think the general recipe for success on the road is to control the game and KU’s running game is likely the best resource for that.

phatass311

Matt-what do you think will be the most improved area of the team from game one to game two?

Do you think Coombs will see any playing time against Rice?

Matt Tait

I’ll go with the overall defense. I think too many of KU’s defenders, particularly some of the new guys, were a little too amped up last week and may have missed some of their reads or overran plays because of their excitement.

I think getting that first game out of the way will allow them to all settle down a little bit and I think that will particularly be helpful against Rice’s rushing attack.

Moderator

Time for the bonus question. Good stuff today, guys. Thanks for joining us and have a great weekend!

rev4ku

Grantland’s article “what’s wrong with Kansas?” made espn’s front page. What do you think of his assessment of Coach Weis, the football team, and the Kansas fan base?

Matt Tait

Since this was such a hot topic this week, this is a good one to end on, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with Rice.

Frankly, I thought it was a lazy effort that did not reveal anything new or all that interesting. But, worse than that, it was full of inaccuracies (more than a dozen) and it used anecdotes and quotes from other publications and past stories (including ours) without giving any credit to those publications or writers. You just don’t do that. What’s more, the whole thing was written as if he had some big sit down with Weis but the reality was he never even met him.

I don’t have anything against the guy who wrote it, but I think he should be embarrassed by how it turned out. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being critical or writing a story that asks “What’s wrong with Kansas football” (other, of course, than the fact that I just don’t see how that plays to a national audience), but there’s everything wrong with lifting stuff from other places and getting facts wrong.

Matt Tait

One more quick note: I just was informed that the depth chart we were given this week had the wrong guys at KU’s Z receiver spot. I only bring this up because I mentioned above that Tre’ Parmalee had been dropped to third string but he hasn’t. He’s actually been promoted to first string, with Coleman now second string behind him.

Christian Matthews had been the starter at the Z spot and he’s no longer listed on the depth chart.

Sorry for the confusion. Enjoy the game and thanks for hanging out today!