Looking Back at 2011

The 2011 season won't be one that stands out in any Jayhawk fan's memory, that much is certain.  The Jayhawks finished 2-10 and didn't win a conference game.  Their defense finished dead last in the country, that is 120th in scoring and total defense after giving up 43.75 points and 516 yards on average per game.

Just how bad was it for Kansas in 2011?  Their offense was the bright spot of the team, yet they still finished 95th in the nation scoring just 22.3 points per game and 106th in total offense averaging 326 yards per game.  Then there was the Texas game in which KU managed 46 total yards and picked up three first downs the entire game in a 43-0 drubbing.

The implosion that was 2011 and the failure to show any improvement over 2010 resulted in Turner Gill being removed as head coach after only two seasons in Lawrence.  Gill inherited a mess when he took over for Mark Mangino and two years later, it's hard to say much is better about the situation other than it is two more years removed from the controversy that surrounded Mangino's dismissal as coach following allegations of being verbally abusive to his players.

It's tough to find many bright spots in a season littered with bad losses, but if there is one it's is probably the Jayhawk young running backs, James Sims, Darrian Miller and Tony Pierson.  Sims was a just sophomore while Miller Pierson were freshman.  The trio rushed for 1682 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year.

Kansas rushed for 159 yards per game in 2011, not  an earth shattering number by any means, but for an offense that scored just 17 points a game, the young Kansas backs should provide something for Charlie Weis to build upon going forward (it should be noted, however, that Miller left the team or was dismissed upon Weis' arrival).

Kansas' defense was terrible, there's is simply no way to sugar coat it.  As mentioning in the opening, the Jayhawks gave up 43.8 points and 516 yards every time out.  The horrendous results didn't have much to do with linebacker Steven Johnson who more than did his part in totaling 124 tackles, tops in the Big 12.  You'd think that would earn the guy some postseason honors but he was left off the Big 12's first and second All-Conference teams.  He was able to participate in the East-West Shrine game last weekend in hopes of improving his NFL draft stock.

2011 Results:

As you can tell by looking at the results, there's not much worth remembering.  Some of the highlights (i.e. lowlights): they took Iowa State to the wire and had a chance to win had they not missed two field goals and fumbled at the Cyclones 14 yard line.  They also lead Baylor 24-3 heading into the fourth quarter before imploding and giving up 21 straight points and then losing in overtime to Robert Griffin and the Bears.  And there was the 20-0 start against Texas Tech before getting outscored 45-14 the rest of the way.

It might be hard to call those highlights, but when you finish 2-10, there's not much to go on.  It might also show that despite the tough go, maybe, just maybe, there is a glimmer of hope going forward.

On the flipside however, there was also the facts they gave 50 or more points four times, allowing Georgia Tech to rush for over 600 yards, and gave up 56 to Oklahoma State....in the first half.

Looking Ahead to 2012

Is Charlie Weis the man to turn around the Jayhawks?  Sports Illustrated certainly didn't think so giving Kansas an "F" in their new coaching hire grades.  But given the current situation in Lawrence, I say it might not be a bad hire at the moment.

It was going to be hard to lure any up-and-coming coach to Lawrence.  Remember, Turner Gill was highly thought of after turning around a morbid Buffalo program.  The Kansas job chewed up spit out Gill who's career took a severe hit by making the move.  That is something Weis simply isn't concerned about.  If it doesn't work out at Kansas, he can go right back to coordinating an offense somewhere and ride off into the sunset.

And then there is the currently expectation level.  Weis can likely be seen as a success if he can get Kansas back to say, a .500 record, while upgrading the talent in the process.  That in itself would make the job much more attractive should he decide to leave sooner rather than later.

It's far too early to tell exactly what Weis will be able to accomplish, but getting Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps to immediately transfer didn't hurt his cause.  Crist knows Weis' offense from their days at Notre Dame and should significantly shorten the learning curve versus starting with a quarterback from scratch.  And after Heaps sits out his transfer season, he should be able to pick up where Crist left off during the 2013.

Yes, there are questions about both Crist and Heaps and both are far from sure things.  After all, they both lose their starting jobs at their previous stops.  But given the alternatives, it's hard not to view both moves as positive going forward for KU.

Outside of that, Weis will inherit a very young roster in 2012.  After some early house cleaning of KU's roster already, the Kansas roster will include 25 sophomores and 14 freshmen that redshirted in 2011 heading into spring practice.  Add to that the incoming freshmen that Weis and his staff are currently trying to sign and Kansas will no doubt need some young guys to step up and be prominent parts of the team in 2012.  There are currently 16 seniors listed on KU's roster, and it will surely be interesting to see how many are able to contribute under the new coaching staff.

There's little question Kansas needs to improve in nearly every area, but it will have to start with the defense.  Weis' hiring of Dave Campo as defensive coordinator was interesting to say the least.  He hasn't coached at the college level since 1988 and doesn't, on the surface at least, seem like a guy you'd hire when you are trying to figure out how to defend some of the up tempo, spread offenses you are going to see in the Big 12.

Weis said he liked that fact that he and Campo will speak the same language and they'll definitely do that.  Whether Campo can figure out how to keep opponents out of the end zone given the current talent level is another thing entirely.  The Big 12 can be an unforgiving place to coach defense (see Phil Bennett and Chad Glasgow in the first year in the Big 12 in 2011) and Campo will surely have his hands full in year number one.

The Big 12 schedule has yet to be released, but looking at the conference opponents alone, it's hard to pick out many wins.  Newcomers West Virginia and TCU surely won't be easy.  Iowa State maybe, Baylor minus Robert Griffin maybe, Texas Tech maybe.  After that, it's going to take some upsets to see much improvement in the win-loss column next season.  That and some better coaching than Weis showed during his last several seasons in South Bend.