KU vs UTEP Preview and Prediction
While KU has played in the Sun Bowl before, they have never played UTEP in football. The fact that the Jayhawks are playing a game in Texas will certainly be exciting for the 35 players on the roster who hail from Texas. Of course they will also be playing later in the season in Lubbock and Austin. They are also hoping to play in the Big 12 Championship game in Arlington. That means several return trips to Texas before the end of the season.
UTEP has a potent offense led by a veteran quarterback in Trevor Vittatoe. How good is Vittatoe? His average yard per game in passing is fourth among active players. For reference, Todd Reesing is fifth. The KU secondary committed some awful pass interference penalties against Northern Colorado and they are definitely going to be tested. We'll find out if Clint Bowen was able to make the necessary adjustments to stop the pass this week. Another question that wasn't fully answered was whether the defensive line could put pressure on the quarterback. UTEP isn't as good as Big 12 teams, but presents a much tougher test than Northern Colorado. After this game, we should know a lot more about the KU defense.
UTEP is good on offense, but they struggle on defense. KU's passing game was not as potent last week as it had been the last two years. With the return of Dezmon Briscoe and a different opponent, I expect will see a lot more balls in the air. But I also expect that KU will continue to try and build on the rushing game they showed against Northern Colorado. It will be good to see Toben Opurum get into the game earlier so that Sharp won't carry as much of the load.
I definitely expect this game to be more competitive than we saw in the opener. Playing on the road is always a test and KU is 0-3 in their last three non-conference road games. That would be Northwestern in 2004, Toledo in 2006 and South Florida in 2008. That streak will come to an end on Saturday. My prediction is that the Jayhawks will win 45-17. I'll be back after the game to talk about what went right and what needs improvement.
UTEP has a potent offense led by a veteran quarterback in Trevor Vittatoe. How good is Vittatoe? His average yard per game in passing is fourth among active players. For reference, Todd Reesing is fifth. The KU secondary committed some awful pass interference penalties against Northern Colorado and they are definitely going to be tested. We'll find out if Clint Bowen was able to make the necessary adjustments to stop the pass this week. Another question that wasn't fully answered was whether the defensive line could put pressure on the quarterback. UTEP isn't as good as Big 12 teams, but presents a much tougher test than Northern Colorado. After this game, we should know a lot more about the KU defense.
UTEP is good on offense, but they struggle on defense. KU's passing game was not as potent last week as it had been the last two years. With the return of Dezmon Briscoe and a different opponent, I expect will see a lot more balls in the air. But I also expect that KU will continue to try and build on the rushing game they showed against Northern Colorado. It will be good to see Toben Opurum get into the game earlier so that Sharp won't carry as much of the load.
I definitely expect this game to be more competitive than we saw in the opener. Playing on the road is always a test and KU is 0-3 in their last three non-conference road games. That would be Northwestern in 2004, Toledo in 2006 and South Florida in 2008. That streak will come to an end on Saturday. My prediction is that the Jayhawks will win 45-17. I'll be back after the game to talk about what went right and what needs improvement.
posted by Foster D. Coburn III at
4:21 PM
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