Sonny Dykes expects KU to use the ground game more than normal
The TCU defense is getting ready for what appears to be a challenge on paper when they face the Kansas offense on Saturday. The Horned Frogs are sitting 15th in the Big 12 in total defense and 14th against the run giving up 177 yards a game.
TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said during his weekly press conference he expects to see the Jayhawks utilize their ground game, which currently ranks second in the conference.
“Kansas already runs the ball 68% of the time,” Dykes said. “You know, my guess is it'll soon be 75% to 80% run. Yeah, I would certainly assume that. And, I mean, I would do the same thing. I would run the ball until we stop them.”
The stats might not tell the whole story since TCU opened Big 12 play against UCF, who leads the country in rushing. UCF sliced the TCU defense for 289 yards on the ground. He expects to see the Jayhawks go to the run game often on Saturday.
“They're very good at doing it,” Dykes said. “You look at what they do. I've never seen a team run the ball more in third and medium. When they get to six yards on third down, I mean, they're almost all run, and it's just because they're trying to get it to a fourth and short and go for it.”
Dykes said one of the challenges the TCU defense will encounter is an experienced Kansas team.
“You can tell they've got a system that they run,” he said. “The quarterback has been there for so long, and he's been doing it for so long, and these running backs have been doing it for so long. They just have a lot of experience at what they do, and they're very good at it.”
They have been running the system since Lance Leipold took over the program and they use a variety of ways to incorporate the rushing game. Dykes said Kansas uses the run game in a lot of different ways.
“They can run a million different schemes, and then all of a sudden, you start putting the option stuff in, the speed, the triple and all the stuff that they do, and that's some people's entire offense,” Dykes said. “And then they’ve got another entire run offense and then really kind of another entire run offense within that.
“When you look at their scheme, as I said earlier, those guys do a tremendous job of teaching all the things that they teach because, I mean, it's very difficult to execute the number of things that they do. But to their credit, they do it and they do it at a very high level.”
Kansas and TCU are searching for their first conference win and the game will be at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas played their first two home games at Children’s Mercy Park because David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is undergoing renovations.
“It’s going to be cool,” Dykes said. “I've never been to Arrowhead. I don't think many of our players have ever been there. I think we're excited about getting up there and play. We’ve got an opportunity to go win a football game against a good team on the road again, a preseason top 25 team and a team that's very talented.”