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| Sunday, August 12 Updated: August 13, 10:45 PM ET Defense solid, but QB needs to step up to lead offense By Todd Cooper Special to ESPN.com |
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Kansas Jayhawks 2000 Record: 4-7 (2-6) Coach: Terry Allen (5th year, 18-27). Starters returning: 6 offense, 6 defense. Outlook: Coach Terry Allen has a new boss (Kansas athletic director Allen Bohl), a new staff (seven assistants) and a new quarterback. Now, he just hopes he doesn't need a new job. Allen is on borrowed time. He is the only Kansas coach to lead a team to four straight losing seasons and return for a fifth. Unfortunately, he won't find any job security in the 2001 season. The Jayhawks simply have too many holes remaining from a team that was woeful last year. At quarterback, Allen will pick from two -- one with 12 career passes and one with zero. Sophomore Zach Dyer and redshirt freshman Mario Kinsey are both athletic but they need time to develop -- something Kansas doesn't have. The good news is both will be throwing to a talented trio of seniors -- Harrison Hill, Termaine Fulton and Roger Ross. Running back Reggie Duncan has jets to keep defenses off-balance, if the quarterbacks can complete a pass. Nosetackle Nate Dwyer and linebackers Marcus Rogers and Algie Atkinson anchor a defense that should be decent. But the Jayhawks desperately need help in the backfield, where they lost headhunters Carl Nesmith and Kareem High to graduation. Keep an eye on: Nate Dwyer. Dwyer, who sported an untucked shirt and a tangled mess of hair at the Big 12 media day, "looks like a defensive lineman, dresses like a defensive lineman and combs his hair like a defensive lineman," Allen said. Fortunately for Allen, the 6-3, 300-pound brute plays like an All-American, recording 14 tackles for losses last year. Key game: UCLA (Sept. 8). If the Jayhawks can scare the Bruins in Lawrence, they could build momentum for a horrendous Big 12 slate that includes Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Nebraska and Texas. It's a good year if... One quarterback develops quickly to bring stability to a young offense and peace of mind to a coach whose job is on the line. With its schedule, Kansas' only realistic hopes of an upset come against Texas Tech, Missouri and Iowa State. Todd Cooper is a staff writer for the Omaha World-Herald. |
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