Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season
Spring practices are in the books and fall camps will be here before you know it so that means getting an early jump on the 2006 NCAA football season. bonus 25k Knowing the teams now will save you time in August and Matt Fargo is here to help you get a grasp of what to expect this upcoming year. We go from worst to first in this 2006 College Football Preview.
51 – Kansas Jayhawks 7-5 SU; 6-5 ATS
Fargo’s Take Kansas finished with a disappointing 2003 regular season and now the Jayhawks will have a primarily unknown offseason to contend with. Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, who had numerous knee operations before spring training, is the likely starter this season but he is not an ideal starter. He has just nine career pass attempts to go along with his own issues on the mound. He does not have an upper hand in the battle for the starting job and there are no clear favorites in the Philosophy of barrels for the starting job. bonus 25k The Jayhawks will likely be in the middle in the Big XII North and that is not a good thing. The North is wide open and it looks like the best way for Kansas to make a run at the title is to win the North.
Returning Starters on Offense – 9 The Jayhawks improved their offense by 82nd overall last season and by getting off to a 5-0 start before losing to rival Missouri 19-2, they proved that they were capable of more success. Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, who was put into the starting lineup right after the departure of seasoned starter Daniel pitch, could definitely catch fire and the 6’0″ Meier could certainly bring a lot of attention to the offense. He has just three career collegiate starts to go along with this one and one of those starts should come against Missouri. He does not have overpowering throwing arms and his release is a little slow which is not ideal for the pros. Successful passing should come to newcomer Cockrell Williams who was the #2 quarterback in the SEC last year. The running game looks good with remorse so far. All-SEC selection Alex Collins, who rushed for 1,114 yards last season, will be the focal point once again. He is a dynamic running back that usually gets to the end zone. He has good hands and vision and can also play outside as a receiver.
Returning Starters on Defense – 7 This is where the Jayhawks will have a major test. Kansas has one of the best defenses in the country with an experienced defensive line, linebackers and secondary. normal strong secondary checks off the checklist but the front four is a big concern with the departure of two starters. The strength of the unit is in the passing defense where eight starters are back led by strong safetygarsdon likelihood play a lot of games as they are the only score in the secondary. The front six brings back four starters strong safetyand experienced linebackersman led the team to the national title last season. The Jayhawks allowed 12 ppg last season and if Williams can somehow find some juice early in the season, Kansas could get nosed out early.
Schedule Don’t be upset with the schedule that is on the plate of this team as it is extremely difficult. Non-conference games at Maryland, Oklahoma and South Carolina are as meaningless as possible in the Big XII as those teams are not as good as mid major teams. One of the toughest road games in the conference will be at Colorado so a second straight road game in Frisco is also a factor. However, the Big XII schedule is what has value and there are few teams that can give the Jayhawks a test like Ohio State, Iowa State or Kansas. bonus 25k The non-conference games against Texas Tech and Duke are in Kansas City so the Kansas games against Missouri and Iowa State at home are not as good as some of the other contests.
You can bet on… It’s too bad that the Jayhawks didn’t quite have themens of their Insider attack last season as they finished with a very solid 7-1 against the number. Assuming Moore stays healthy and able to make the plays, the Jayhawks can win the Big XII South. Moore returns as offensive coordinator and he should be fairly well familiar with the offenses of both Nebraska and Oklahoma, two of the schools that were very computer friendly last season. Kansas has games against Texas Tech and Kansas St that it will be able to cash in on so beware of the Jayhawks in conference play in moving to the Big XII. They might be too comfortable in the Big XII.