Jayhawks Travel To Ames To Take on Cyclones Saturday
Oct. 31, 2011
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Game Notes 
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas football will hit the road for the second-straight game when it travels to Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is slated for 11:30 a.m., with a live telecast on Fox College Sports. An audio broadcast of the game will be available on the Jayhawk Radio Network, AT&T Jayhawk All-Access or Sirius Satellite Radio channel 138.
What To Watch For …
– Kansas (2-6 overall, 0-6 Big 12) is looking to get back in the win column when it travels to Iowa State for the second-straight season under second-year head coach Turner Gill (5-15 at KU, 25-45 overall).
– Kansas is taking on Iowa State for the 91st time in its 122 years of college football. The Jayhawks are 49-35-3 all-time versus the Cyclones, including a 22-20-3 mark in games played in Ames.
– Kansas fell to the Cyclones, 28-16, in Ames in 2010, but had won five-straight in the series prior to that, including games in Ames in 2006 and 2008.
– Kansas’ roster fields two players from the state of Iowa, while Iowa State’s roster features three players from the Sunflower State.
– KU is 7-11 all time in games played on Nov. 5. The Jayhawks last played on Nov. 5, 2005 picking up a win over Nebraska that snapped a 36-game losing streak to the Cornhuskers.
– Kansas senior LB Steven Johnson has recorded double-figure tackles in six of eight games this season.
– Jayhawk WR/KR D.J. Beshears needs 32 kick return yards to set the KU single-season kickoff return yards record. He also needs 263 kick return yards to set the KU career kickoff return yards record.
Kansas Head Coach Turner Gill
Turner Gill (North Texas, 1990) is in his second season at the Kansas helm, after being named the University’s 36th head football coach on Dec. 13, 2009. He has guided KU to a 2-6 mark in 2011 and owns a 5-15 overall mark in his second season with the program. In his first year at Kansas, Gill took over a team that had lost its last seven games of the 2009 season. After a season-opening loss, Gill guided the Jayhawks to a 28-25 upset victory against then-No. 15 Georgia Tech. KU would win three games in his first year, including a thrilling 52-45 victory against Colorado in a game that KU trailed 45-17 in the fourth quarter. Gill came to Lawrence after spending the previous four seasons as the head coach at Buffalo (2006-09) where he turned a down program into a conference champion in his third year. Gill was a highly successful player and assistant coach at Nebraska for a combined 18 seasons before spending one year with the Green Bay Packers and then taking over at Buffalo.
Iowa State Head Coach Paul Rhoads
Iowa State head coach Paul Rhoads is in his third season with the Cyclones and has a record of 16-17. Rhoads took over an Iowa State program in 2009 that had gone 8-27 in its previous three seasons. In his first season in Ames, Rhoads led the Cyclones to a victory over Minnesota in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. Rhoads has made a habit of upsetting ranked teams on the road. In 2009, the Cyclones upended a nationally ranked Nebraska team in Memorial Stadium, 9-7. Last year, ISU earned its first win at then-No. 22 Texas, 28-21, while last week, the Cyclones shocked No. 19 Texas Tech, 41-7, in Lubbock. Rhoads has led the Cyclones to a 4-4 overall record this season and a 1-4 mark in conference play.
Iowa State Scouting Report
Iowa State enters Saturday’s tilt with the Jayhawks at 4-4 overall and 1-4 in Big 12 play. ISU is coming off its biggest victory of the season, a 41-7 romp of previously ranked Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. The Cyclones have been one of the better teams in the league against the pass, allowing just 228.6 yards passing per game this season. The team has also held opponents to a 55.6 completion percentage and intercepted five passes. Linebacker Jake Knott leads the ISU defense, ranking second in the league behind KU’s Steven Johnson, with 70 total tackles. Knott has also forced two fumbles this season. On offense, ISU has averaged 25.4 points per game and 388.4 yards per game. Junior quarterback Steele Jantz has started seven games behind center and is 123-for-228 passing for 1322 yards and 10 touchdowns with nine interceptions. The Cyclones’ backfield boasts the sophomore tandem of James White and Shontrelle Johnson. The pair has averaged 4.8 yards per carry. White leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns and also has 16 catches for 108 yards. Senior wide receiver Darius Reynolds is eighth in the Big 12 with 66.1 receiving yards per game. Reynolds also leads the team with six touchdown catches.
KU-ISU Connections
Kansas has two players on its roster from the state of Iowa in senior TE Ted McNulty (Iowa City) and redshirt freshman LB Jake Farley (Cedar Falls). KU assistant strength and conditioning coach Ken Sheppard served in the same capacity at Iowa State.
DID YOU KNOW?
Kansas’ game at Iowa State marks the first time in five games the Jayhawks will not be facing a ranked opponent. Of Kansas’ first eight games, six opponents have been ranked at some point during the season, with a seventh having received votes.
Follow Kansas Football on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access
Kansas fans were able to watch the Jayhawks’ football season-opener vs. McNeese State on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access, the first of more than 200 events to air in 2011-12 on KU’s online network via kuathletics.com. This marks the eighth consecutive year that AT&T Jayhawk All-Access will broadcast Kansas Athletics events either with video, audio or both. In addition to the football season opener, Kansas football fans who subscribe to AT&T All-Access can also see:
-Turner Gill’s weekly press conferences
-Football weekly television show
KU Football Fans who subscribe may also listen to:
-The complete radio broadcasts of KU football, including the Jayhawk Network pre-game show, which starts 30 minutes prior to kickoff, and the 30-minute post-game show which includes an interview with Head Coach Turner Gill
-Hawk Talk with Turner Gill
Kansas football fans can subscribe to Jayhawk All-Access by going to www.kuathletics.com and clicking on the AT&T Jayhawk All-Access button on the right. Jayhawk All-Access subscriptions are only $9.95 per month or $79.95 per year.
DID YOU KNOW?
Kansas is playing on television for the seventh time in 2011 in its game at Iowa State. KU-ISU will air on Fox College Sports, marking the Jayhawks’ second game on the network this season. KU has also played on FSN (three games), Jayhawk TV/Longhorn Network and ESPN2.
Steven Johnson Bright Spot at UT
Jayhawk senior LB Steven Johnson was one of just a few bright spots for Kansas in its loss at Texas. Johnson, who leads the Big 12 and ranks fifth nationally in tackles, continued to dominate as he racked up 18 tackles in the game. Johnson’s 18 tackles mark the most in a single game for a Jayhawk since Nick Reid registered 19 stops versus Kansas State in 2003. Johnson has now recorded 10 or more tackles in six games this season and nine times in his Kansas career. The Media, Pa., native has 94 stops on the season, just one less than he recorded during the 2010 season.
Webb One of Most Improved Players
Kansas sophomore QB Jordan Webb has shown a great deal of improvement from his freshman season to his sophomore season in 2011. The Union, Mo., native has improved his numbers all around as the chart below shows:
Season Comp. Att. Yards TDS INTs %
2010 121 214 1195 7 8 56.5
2011 121 186 1456 12 6 65.0
