KU-Duke preview

[IE]

---kansascity.com


What?s at stake

A trip to the Sweet 16. Oh, wait. The football programs at these two ?basketball schools? are at totally different levels. For Kansas, a win Saturday doesn?t mean much. For Duke, it would mean everything to have a win on the road against a top-25 team.

Cheers if ?

KU quarterback Todd Reesing passes for 300 yards. KU can talk all it wants about how the offense is just taking what the defense gives it, but deep down, the Jayhawks know they should be able to move the ball through the air against their nonconference opponents. After being critical of his play against UTEP, Reesing will bring his A-game.

Jeers if ?

The Jayhawks don?t improve on special teams from last week. KU kicker Jacob Branstetter missed two field goals, Dezmon Briscoe fielded a kickoff out of bounds at his 3, and Daymond Patterson displayed a nasty habit of running backwards on punt returns.

Three things about Duke

1 Duke cornerback Leon Wright returned two interceptions for touchdowns late in the Blue Devils? 35-19 win at Army.

2 Duke is averaging just 44.5 yards rushing per game.

3 The Blue Devils may play two quarterbacks. Redshirt freshman Sean Renfree rallied Duke to a win last week in relief of struggling senior Thaddeus Lewis.

Key matchup

Duke defensive tackle Vince Oghobaase vs. the interior of KU?s offensive line. Oghobaase is second on the ACC active list in sacks (12) and tackles for losses (31 1/2 ) and will be a challenge for first-year starters Brad Thorson and Sal Capra inside. If KU runs the ball as easily as it has the first two weeks, that will be a great sign for the Jayhawks.



Look for the Jayhawks to be crisp in the passing game and jump out to a big halftime lead.

 

[IE]

Duke to take on powerful Kansas

By Bill Cole

JOURNAL REPORTER


Duke has already played a defending national champion but will take a step up in quality of opponent today when it plays at unbeaten and No. 22-ranked Kansas at noon EDT.

Coach David Cutcliffe said that his Blue Devils will have to play a sharp, all-around game to overcome quarterback Todd Reesing -- a Duke recruiting target four years ago -- the Jayhawks and the demands of the early kickoff (11 a.m. Central).

"They're a team that's driven by a quarterback that's just an unbelievable playmaker," Cutcliffe said. "He may be the most accurate passer on a scramble that I've ever seen. They've done a tremendous job. They've changed the expectations of Kansas football."

Cutcliffe will stick with Thaddeus Lewis as his starting quarterback, although Lewis struggled and backup Sean Renfree led a win at Army last week. Lewis missed summer practice time with injuries, and Cutcliffe thinks that the lack of preparation is showing. Cutcliffe said he hasn't lost faith in Lewis, but he hopes that Lewis quickly finds the rhythm that has made him one of the top passers in school history.

Lewis completed 5 of 16 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown against Army but said he's still confident in his ability to lead Duke (1-1).

"I feel I left a lot on the field (last week)," Lewis said. "I didn't play to the best of my ability. I told myself that I screwed up and to not let it happen again."

Reesing, who was interested in Duke while he was in high school, has led Kansas (2-0) to wins over Northern Colorado and UTEP, completing 38 of 61 passes for 468 yards and three touchdowns, with just one interception. Kansas has averaged 561.5 yards of offense and 25.5 first downs a game.

"They were my only other school that I was looking at that I had an offer from before I came here," Reesing said. "I had a chance to go up there and went to their camp. It is a school that obviously academically was very interesting for me.

"After I came here, I kind of knew that here is where I wanted to go. (Duke) was definitely a school I looked at. It is a school that has a very good reputation academically, and they were looking to build their program at the time, and it was something I saw as an opportunity."

 

[Destructor D]

Respect Duke, but really respect KU's defensive line which looks awesome, bunch of 6-5 to 6-7 kids that can play... Rock Chalk Jayhawk!