Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings didn't stand a chance in his first start.
It wasn’t anything of beauty. In fact, it was downright ugly Saturday for the now 1-6 Jayhawks who fell 56-7 to Oklahoma.
But getting slapped around by the Sooners is nothing new for the Jayhawks—nothing unexpected.
The talk throughout the past week revolved around the quarterback position and who would start under center for the Jayhawks.
We got our answer early, sort of, when redshirt freshman Michael Cummings made his first collegiate start. But after being largely ineffective and throwing several ill-advised passes, Weis again trotted out former starter Dayne Crist who himself struggled.
This juggling of bad and worse continued throughout the first half until Weis eventually settled on Cummings in the second half.
Cummings finished the game going 10/21 for 110 yards and two interceptions compared to Crist who finished 3/6 for 13 and a fumble.
In other words, who’s third on the depth chart?
It’s transfer Turner Baty by the way but that’s really not the point.
The truth is it doesn’t matter who’s playing QB for the Jayhawks because the pass protection and receivers are just woefully outmatched.
The Kansas offensive line has proven effective in the running game but against the pass just gets whooped. When coupled with the fact that their receivers can’t get any separation (even in single coverage) and have yet to score a single TD, neither Crist, Cummings, or Baty stand a chance.
Running back James Sims led the team in receiving Saturday night, gaining 56 yards on 2 receptions, was trailed by fellow RB Brandon Bourbon who finished with 3 receptions for 21 yards. Amongst the wide receivers, Kale Pick led the way with 3 catches for 18 yards.
We knew Charlie Weis had his work cut out for him in the resurrection of Jayhawks football but the Sooners showed everyone just how far he has to go. He’s got some pieces in players like Sims, Pierson, and possibly Cummings but until he improves the pass rush and receiving units, his offense will continue to struggle.
Of Note:
-One of the few if not only bright spots on the day was the continued improvement of running back James Sims. Sims finished the day rushing for 97 yards on 27 attempts and a TD while adding 56 yards on 2 receptions. Weis said earlier in the week that he didn’t see any reason Sims wouldn’t be playing on Sunday’s someday, we saw nothing on Saturday to dispute that claim.
-Former WR JaCorey Shepherd is continuing to garner playing time in the secondary. Although he gave up an early TD pass, he had good position on the play and was running stride for stride with the receiver. Sooners QB Landry Jones just made one of many extremely awesome throws. Shepherd joined the secondary group during fall camp but the way the Kansas receivers have struggled, Weis may opt to move him back.
-Go ahead and add extremely tough to running back Tony Pierson’s resume. Already an established threat out of the backfield and as receiver, Pierson played Saturday with virtually one arm but that didn’t stop him from rushing for 68 yards on 14 carries.
The Kansas backfield combined for 185 total rushing yards.
