Kansas-South Dakota State football preview

When/where: 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence

TV/radio: Fox Sports Kansas City; KCSP (610 AM)

The series: Kansas leads 2-0

The line: N/A

KANSAS (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (0-0)

What’s at stake

OK, here we go. Here comes the David Beaty era at Kansas, and a coach only gets one chance to make a first impression. Five years ago, Kansas lost 6-3 to North Dakota State — at home! — in Turner Gill’s first game as KU coach. Two years later, Charlie Weis guided the Jayhawks to an underwhelming 31-17 win against this same South Dakota State program. For Beaty and Kansas, this game is massive for a number of reasons, but let’s start here: The rest of the schedule is not friendly, and a loss on Saturday keeps a winless season in play. But there’s also this: Considering the recent debuts of Gill and Weis, Beaty can set himself apart with a convincing victory on Saturday. It won’t be easy — South Dakota State is a top-15 program in the FCS — but perhaps the Jayhawks can surprise some people with a new offense and attitude. Any victory would be welcome, of course, but it would essentially be holding serve. A clean performance and resounding result, however, would be the perfect start.

Cheers if …

The Air Raid offense takes flight. The name of the offense is a slight misnomer, of course. You can expect plenty of offense on the ground on Saturday. But still, the Jayhawks haven’t had a quarterback throw for more than 200 yards in a season opener since 2009. The tempo will be cranked up. Will the yards follow?

Jeers if …

Kansas comes out sloppy — especially on special teams. Beaty has put an emphasis on playing a clean, disciplined game and being improved on special teams. As Beaty says, it doesn’t take talent to get lined up right.

Three things about South Dakota State

1 South Dakota State, which was ranked 15th in the preseason Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll, finished 9-5 last season while advancing to the FCS playoffs. Two of those losses came against FCS champion North Dakota State, while one was a 38-18 loss at Missouri in the season opener.

2 The Jackrabbits lost standout running back Zach Zenner, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards three times, but they return standout receiver Jake Wieneke, who had 1,404 yards receiving last year. They return six starters on offense and nine on defense.

3 South Dakota State, which competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, has reached the FCS playoffs four times under coach John Stiegelmeier. The run includes playoff appearances during the last three seasons.

Key matchup

KU offensive line vs. South Dakota State: Theoretically, a Big 12 school should always have an advantage in the trenches over a team from the FCS. But the Jayhawks’ offensive line is somewhat patchwork. Junior Jordan Shelley-Smith is still new to the tackle position, while juco transfer De’Andre Banks, a guard, is making his KU debut.

KANSAS OFFENSE

KANSAS DEFENSE

S.D. STATE OFFENSE

S.D. STATE DEFENSE

Rustin Dodd’s pick: Kansas 34-27

KU offensive coordinator Rob Likens summed it up pretty well this week: “I just kind of want to see how good we are,” he said. There is so much unknown around this Kansas team. Can the offense move the ball? Can a rebuilt defense hold up? We’ll know a lot more about the Jayhawks by Saturday evening.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Kansas-South Dakota State football preview."