In a Jiffy: Major Miners and Other Tidbits

I could talk for hours about KU football (and believe me, I would), but I don't think that anyone has that kind of time for listening.

So I, being a loudmouth but also a pretty good summarizer (after 19 years of practice), will do the best I can to relay all of my current thoughts on KU football and still make it to Christmas Dinner on time.

Here goes nothing...

Briscoe's Break...

...is over!  Reports all say that he is a go to hit the road against UTEP this Saturday.  KU's offense didn't look too shabby without him, but you can bet Todd Reesing and company are glad to have him back.

Official updates say that Jamal Greene and Jeff Wheeler will both be in uniform this week, but Raimond Pendleton has suspension time left to serve.

The Offense...

Todd Reesing and company looked very sharp in the season opener, but the most impressive piece of their game-plan was the effectiveness of the run game (despite the fact that normally I don't like to see Reesing take off so much).

I don't care who they played; the running game looked good for the entire game and KU's offense had an air of consistency about it that the Jayhawks searched for throughout the entire last season.

The Defense...

The scoreboard boded well for our defense last weekend, but I think they got away with one here. Northern Colorado also squandered some valuable opportunities, and there were some tackling inconsistencies as well.

The secondary looked okay, but look for Calvin Rubles to start next Saturday.  Rubles may not have caught many fans' attention last week, but got less attention from the officiating crew than Anthony Davis. Also, he matches up really well with UTEP's current-leading wide receiver Kris Adams (6' 3", 195 pounds).

This week I'll be watching...

...Tanner Hawkinson and Vernon Brooks.  Tanner, the young left tackle, looked pretty solid for his first go, and our entire offfensive line only got better as the game progressed.  Brooks, a head-hunting transfer linebacker, really contributes to our kickoff coverage athletically and looked nearly unblockable chasing down returners last weekend.

Both looked good in their KU debuts, but repeating their performances against a better UTEP squad would be a big step in the right direction for their young careers.

Some Major Miners...

You may already know who Trevor Vittatoe is, but it's hard to tell what to expect after UTEP's performance last week.  Several opportunities may have been squandered, but Vittatoe played pretty well individually. The key to Vittatoe's, and UTEP's, success lies in rhythm, something they never established last weekend against Buffalo. 

If KU can keep him off of the field and keep the pressure coming at him when he's on, they should have little chance of keeping up with the dangerous KU offense.  The success of KU's running game and defensive front could ultimately decide how good the Miner offense looks.

On defense, the Miners really did an acceptable job of keeping an average Buffalo offense at bay.  Safety Braxton Amy was injured for the 2008 season, but led the team in multiple categories in 2007 including tackles and sacks.

This year he's back to bolster a secondary that returns plenty of returning experience and could be a much bigger challenge for Todd Reesing and his receiving corps than most fans anticipate.

The biggest overall factor for KU could be how UTEP reacts after losing last week's heart-breaker to Buffalo on their home turf.  Will they hang their heads, or come out with a vengeance? 

Who knows, but the answer will be the difference between a great game and a fast one next weekend.