Kansas comes off its bye week with a tough matchup against Iowa State. The offense has shown improvement over the past few games but will face a 3-3-5 defense that can give the Jayhawks challenges.
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes met with the media on Wednesday, discussing the Cyclones’ scheme, two players with rewarding games against Kansas State, and how the Jayhawks have remained positive amidst a tough season.
Iowa State’s scheme and mindset makes their defense difficult
The Cyclones boast the top defense in the Big 12, allowing just 15.5 points per game. Iowa State does a great job of limiting explosive plays. Opponents have a 6.8% explosive play rate, putting Iowa State in the 82nd percentile.
“They're a defense that's going to try to play on top of things and do everything they can to prevent explosive plays and see if you can move the ball down the field in a 12, 15, 18 play, drive and score,” Grimes said. “Very patient. And then he picks and chooses his moments to pressure and play man, and when they do, they do a good job of it.”
The 3-3-5 defense is built to stop the run at a high level. It’s difficult for defenses to know which safety is going to be in run support.
“Schematically, it can be a real challenge to try to get the hat on the guy who is the support player in a three safety defense,” Grimes said. “The support can come from the middle safety, it could come from either or both of the outside safeties. Or it could come from the corners when they play cover two and they trap the coverage, and those guys become support. Like I said, they do a great job of disguising it and you have to really have a scheme that allows for you to hopefully get to the right people.”
Grimes credited the Cyclones’ mindset of playing defense along with the difficult scheme. He said they take pride in stopping the run and want to win their one-on-one matchups up front.
“[I have] a lot of respect for how hard they play, how physical they are, and how they’re always in position,” Grimes said. “They understand their defense and they play it better than anybody does.”
Trevor Wilson, Sevion Morrison with standout performances against Kansas State
The Jayhawks got two strong performances from players who aren’t listed on the first team depth chart. Trevor Wilson was Kansas’ top receiver with four receptions for 69 yards. Wilson has been behind the Jayhawks’ top trio of receivers during his Kansas career but has kept a good attitude.
“It's been a challenge for Trevor, and I think it always is for a guy who may not be the main guy who's getting all the reps, but I appreciate the fact that he's really had a great attitude and he always wants to be in there,” Grimes said. “And you know, he's shown here that here late, especially the last few games, that he's a guy that can make a play when he's in position to. It just gives us more confidence as coaches that we can play multiple guys.”
Grimes said Wilson has improved in making contested catches. In the past, Wilson had been a deep-ball guy with a lot of speed, but his progression with defenders “draped all over him” has allowed him to be a more complete receiver.
Sevion Morrison also stepped up as Daniel Hishaw missed the game due to injury. After Neal was sidelined momentarily, Morrison broke off a 38-yard touchdown run.
“I was so excited for him, you know, in a similar fashion to what I was saying about Trevor, maybe even more because he hasn’t played much,” Grimes said. “But this guy shows up with a big smile and great attitude every single day and because of that, he was ready for his moment when it showed up.”
“Business-like approach” has allowed the Jayhawks to remain positive
Lance Leipold said on Monday that the team had a spirited practice on Sunday. Jeff Grimes echoed this, saying that the team’s spirits have been solid.
“One thing I would say about this group in general, maybe it has something to do with the experience and maturity of the group, but they show up in a very similar way almost every day,” Grimes said. “Very business-like approach to getting their work done.”
Kansas spent a lot of its second bye week trying to get healthier and prepare in-depth for Iowa State. The first time around, they spent time evaluating and retooling their strengths.
“With this bye week coming so quickly after the other and us being further along in the season and having a number of guys that were banged up and facing a challenging defense,” he said. “I always say, all those things led to less of that, a little bit more trying to get a lot of our older, more experienced players healthy and at the same time working towards this game plan. And really trying to get a jump on winning this game as opposed to what you do some other times when it's earlier in the season.”
