Southern Miss (3-0) at #19/20 Kansas (3-0)
Thursday’s line: Kansas -14
First meeting: this one
Last time out: Southern Miss def. Virginia 37-34, Kansas def. Duke 44-16
Two high-powered offenses collide Saturday as the Golden Eagles travel to Lawrence to take on the Jayhawks. This is obviously a big game for Southern Miss, as it is a chance to add a little meat to its current 8-game winning streak (its longest since the 1958-1959 seasons) and unblemished 2009 record by knocking off a ranked team.
The Kansas offense is captained by senior QB Todd Reesing, who would be a household name if he played in any other conference or at any other time not in the shadow of his counterparts at Oklahoma and Texas. All Reesing has done in his career at KU (what’s up with those Plains state’s reversing the initials like that, anyway?) is lead the Jayhawks to 11 straight wins once he was given the reins, become the schools career passing leader with over 7500 yards in 3 seasons, and consistently provide Kansas with one of the 25 most potent offenses in the country. 23-6 as a starter, Reesing is obviously an excellent passer, but he’s also a capable scrambler/runner, and rarely does anything to hurt his team (32 TDs to 13 INTs in ‘08, 6-to-1 so far in ‘09). Essentially, he’s a super-powered mutant version of our own Austin Davis.
Among Reesing’s favorite targets are senior WR Kerry Meier and junior WR Dezmon Briscoe, who are picking up in ‘09 right where they left off in ‘08, when they both went over 1,000 yards and combined for 23 TDs. In Kansas’ first 3 games this year, the tandem has combined for 465 yards and 2 TDs. Also keep your eye on senior RB Jake Sharp out of the backfield, as he has 3 TD receptions on the year in addition to his 240 yards on 42 carries and 3 TDs on the ground.
If there is a weak link in the Jayhawks’ offensive armor, it is the inexperience of its line. The KU O-line entered 2009 having to replace its default starters at center, right guard, left guard, and right tackle, leaving sophomore center (formerly LT) Jeremiah Hatch and sophomore tackle Jeff Spikes as the only O-linemen with any starts under their belts. While the unit has performed admirably so far, Southern Miss may prove a step up in competition from UTEP and Duke.
On defense, Kansas is more experienced up front, with 3 of 4 on the line being returning starters. Tackles Caleb Blakesley and Jamal Green, and end Jake Laptad were expected to anchor the line, but it is senior end Maxwell Onyegbule who’s been providing most of the hurt in ‘09 with 3 sacks, 4 ½ tackles for loss, and an interception. In ‘08, Kansas was 28th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game, but that appears to be skewed by the pass-happiness of the Big 12, as their per-rush allowance ranked 31 spots lower. That gap has closed in ‘09, however, as Kansas currently ranks 8th in yards allowed per game and only 14th in yards allowed per carry.
Behind the line, Kansas replaced its entire linebacking corp for 2009, but junior Drew Dudley has emerged as a force with 3 sacks and a whopping 5 tackles for loss in the early stages of the season. Also, the Jayhawks are as experienced in the backfield as they are inexperienced in the middle, and per head coach Mark Mangino, the Jayhawks go with an extra safety instead of 3 backers 80% of the time anyway. Senior safety Darrell Stuckey has been dubbed the leader of the DBs by those in the know and is currently tied for 2nd on the team in tackles, 1 behind Dudley and CB Justin Thorton. Of note to both Eagle fans and the USM running back stable is the fact that 4 out of KU’s 5 leading tacklers at the moment are DBs. I’m sure Damion Fletcher & Co. would be OK with it if the majority of their plays come to an end in the secondary on Saturday.
