Kansas-TCU college football preview
When/where: 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence
TV/radio: Fox Sports 1; KCSP (610 AM)
The series: TCU leads 18-8-4
The line: TCU by 28
KANSAS (3-6, 1-5 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Sept. 6 | Southeast Missouri | W, 34-28 |
Sept. 13 | at Duke | L, 41-3 |
Sept. 20 | Central Michigan | W, 24-10 |
Sept. 27 | Texas | L, 23-0 |
Oct. 4 | at West Virginia | L, 33-14 |
Oct. 11 | Oklahoma State | L, 27-20 |
Oct. 18 | at Texas Tech | L, 34-21 |
Nov. 1 | at Baylor | L, 60-14 |
Nov. 8 | Iowa State | W, 34-14 |
Saturday | TCU | 2 p.m. |
Nov. 22 | at Oklahoma | 11 a.m. |
Nov. 29 | at Kansas State | TBA |
TCU (8-1, 5-1 Big 12)
Date | Opponent | Result/time |
Aug. 30 | Samford | W, 48-14 |
Sept. 13 | Minnesota | W, 30-7 |
Sept. 27 | at SMU | W, 56-0 |
Oct. 4 | Oklahoma | W, 37-33 |
Oct. 11 | at Baylor | L, 61-58 |
Oct. 18 | at Oklahoma State | W, 42-9 |
Oct. 25 | Texas Tech | W, 82-27 |
Nov. 1 | at West Virginia | W, 31-30 |
Nov. 8 | Kansas State | W, 41-20 |
Saturday | at Kansas | 2 p.m. |
Nov. 27 | at Texas | 6:30 p.m. |
Dec. 6 | Iowa State | TBA |
What’s at stake
Last week, Kansas defeated Iowa State 34-14, the program’s third Big 12 victory since the beginning of the 2010 season. The reward? Interim coach Clint Bowen and the Jayhawks play host to No. 5 TCU, another offensive juggernaut that could be headed to the inaugural College Football Playoff. Last week, the Horned Frogs handled Kansas State 41-20, and now TCU coach Gary Patterson, a Kansas native, can go for the Sunflower State double. The Jayhawks are four-touchdown underdogs, and not much is expected. If they can keep it respectable, that would be another solid outcome for Bowen.
Cheers if …
Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings can put up numbers against a top-five team. Cummings, who battled a shoulder issue last week, has been a pleasant surprise for Bowen. According to Adjusted QBR, a metric that measures quarterback play, Cummings has been better in the last two games than any KU quarterback under former coach Charlie Weis.
Jeers if …
TCU approaches 80 points on Kansas’ senior day. Earlier this year, the Horned Frogs defeated Texas Tech 82-37. The Horned Frogs’ offense is lethal, but Kansas has a defense (ranked fifth in the Big 12) to perform better than that.
Three things about TCU
1 TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin has turned into a Heisman contender under new co-offensive coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie, a former gunslinger himself at Texas Tech. Boykin leads the Big 12 and is fourth in the nation in total offense, averaging 359.7 yards per game.
2 The Horned Frogs, who are leaving the state of Texas for just the second time this season, are 26-3 as a ranked team under coach Gary Patterson. In TCU’s only other road game outside of Texas, they edged West Virginia 31-30.
3 In two matchups since joining the Big 12, TCU has defeated Kansas twice — but has yet to look dominant. The Horned Frogs won 20-6 in Lawrence in 2012 and notched a 27-17 victory last season.
Key matchup
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin vs. the Kansas defense: Boykin’s worst performance this season came on a windy and wet day at West Virginia; he completed 12 of 30 passes for 166 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Other than that, he’s been close to perfect. Last week, he passed for 219 and ran for 123 in a 41-20 victory over K-State. Can Kansas’ defense slow him down?
KANSAS OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 9 | Nigel King | 6-3 | 210 | Jr. |
WR | 8 | Nick Harwell | 6-1 | 193 | Sr. |
LT | 61 | Pat Lewandowski | 6-5 | 290 | Sr. |
LG | 63 | Ngalu Fusimalohi | 6-2 | 310 | Sr. |
C | 77 | Joe Gibson | 6-3 | 295 | Fr. |
RG | 65 | Mike Smithburg | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. |
RT | 78 | Larry Mazyck | 6-8 | 360 | Jr. |
TE | 41 | Jimmay Mundine | 6-2 | 240 | Sr. |
WR | 3 | Tony Pierson | 5-10 | 175 | Sr. |
QB | 14 | Michael Cummings | 5-10 | 210 | Jr. |
RB | 6 | Corey Avery | 5-10 | 195 | Fr. |
K | 17 | Matthew Wyman | 6-1 | 200 | So. |
KANSAS DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
N | 99 | Tedarian Johnson | 6-2 | 290 | Sr. |
DT | 98 | Keon Stowers | 6-3 | 297 | Sr. |
DE | 93 | Ben Goodman | 6-3 | 250 | Jr. |
LB | 55 | Michael Reynolds | 6-1 | 240 | Sr. |
LB | 31 | Ben Heeney | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. |
LB | 28 | Courtney Arnick | 6-2 | 205 | So. |
NB | 30 | Tevin Shaw | 5-11 | 192 | So. |
CB | 24 | JaCorey Shepherd | 5-11 | 195 | Sr. |
SS | 5 | Isaiah Johnson | 6-1 | 210 | Jr. |
FS | 33 | Cassius Sendish | 6-0 | 195 | Sr. |
CB | 12 | Dexter McDonald | 6-1 | 205 | Sr. |
P | 16 | Trevor Pardula | 6-5 | 212 | Sr. |
TCU OFFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
WR | 7 | Kolby Listenbee | 6-1 | 183 | Jr. |
WR | 20 | Deante’ Gray | 5-10 | 175 | Jr. |
LT | 59 | Tayo Fabuluje | 6-7 | 360 | Sr. |
LG | 77 | Jamelle Naff | 6-4 | 325 | Jr. |
C | 55 | Joey Hunt | 6-3 | 295 | Jr. |
RG | 65 | Brady Foltz | 6-4 | 320 | Jr. |
RT | 74 | H. Vaitai | 6-6 | 308 | Jr. |
TE | 43 | Cliff Murphy | 6-4 | 288 | Sr. |
WR | 13 | Ty Slanina | 6-0 | 193 | So. |
QB | 2 | Trevone Boykin | 6-2 | 205 | Jr. |
RB | 23 | B.J. Catalon | 5-9 | 190 | Jr. |
K | 33 | Jaden Oberkrom | 6-3 | 187 | Jr. |
TCU DEFENSE
P | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. |
DE | 94 | Josh Carraway | 6-4 | 250 | So. |
DT | 96 | Chucky Hunter | 6-1 | 305 | Sr. |
DT | 57 | Davion Pierson | 6-2 | 305 | Jr. |
DE | 93 | Mike Tuaua | 6-3 | 253 | Jr. |
LB | 54 | Marcus Mallet | 6-1 | 227 | Sr. |
LB | 47 | Paul Dawson | 6-2 | 230 | Sr. |
CB | 11 | Ranthony Texada | 5-10 | 170 | Fr. |
SS | 17 | Sam Carter | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. |
FS | 26 | Derrick Kindred | 5-10 | 210 | Jr. |
WS | 1 | Chris Hackett | 6-2 | 195 | Jr. |
CB | 25 | Kevin White | 5-10 | 174 | Sr. |
P | 37 | Ethan Perry | 6-4 | 230 | Jr. |
Rustin Dodd’s pick: TCU 48-20
Does momentum exist in college football? If so, Kansas should feel good about dispatching Iowa State last week. But TCU is proving itself the crème of the Big 12 crop. The Jayhawks should hope for a better outcome than its 60-14 loss at Baylor.
Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com
This story was originally published November 13, 2014 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Kansas-TCU college football preview."