KU plays without two starting offensive lineman in victory

Kansas played without starting right guard Mike Smithburg and starting right tackle Damon Martin in its 24-10 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday.

Smithburg underwent an appendectomy on Wednesday, while Martin missed the game because of an undisclosed illness. Junior Bryan Peters started at right tackle, while junior college transfer Larry Mazyck started at right tackle.

KU coach Charlie Weis said he hoped both players could be back Saturday against Texas, though the recovery time for the appendectomy is expected to be seven to 10 days. After the game, Weis mentioned that, while he was the offensive coordinator with the Chiefs, quarterback Matt Cassel had the same procedure and returned in seven days.

“He’ll probably be cleared sometime in the middle to end of (this week),” Weis said of Smithburg. “So I think there’s a possibility.”

Praise for Love

Weis said junior linebacker Jake Love was the only player he singled out during his postgame talk in the locker room. Love finished with a sack and four tackles for loss — including two on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter.

“I think they ran the same play back to back,” Love said. “Luckily enough, I made a good read.”

Attendance watch

Kansas announced the attendance as 34,822 for Saturday’s game. That brings the season average — in two home games — to 35,698.

This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 9:14 PM with the headline "KU plays without two starting offensive lineman in victory."