KU travels to No. 16/15 Oklahoma for Saturday night showdown

 

Sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr., became the 11th KU player to reach double-digit TFLs since 2006 after recording 2.0 against Oklahoma State. 

at #16/15 Oklahoma
October 29, 2016 

Location Norman, Okla.
Venue Memorial Stadium
Time 6 p.m.
TV Fox Sports 1
Listen Jayhawk Radio Network
Video Weekly Presser
Notes Game Notes
  

 

REMAINING HOME GAMES
Tickets Iowa State (Nov. 12)
Tickets Texas (Nov. 19) 

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Snapchat @ku_footballLAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas football team heads back out on the road Oct. 29, as the Jayhawks travel to No. 16/15 Oklahoma for a Saturday night showdown in Norman that can be seen on Fox Sports 1 at 6 p.m.

OU (5-2, 4-0 Big 12) and Kansas (1-6, 0-4 Big 12) have played 106 times with the Sooners leading the all-time series 73-27-6. Fifty-four games have been played between the two teams in Norman with KU’s last victory in Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium coming in 1996.
SERIES HISTORY VS. OKLAHOMA

Overall Record: 27-73-6
Current Streak: Lost 11
Longest Win Streak: 8, 1903-10
Longest Winless Streak: 12, 1948-59
Last 10 Games: 0-10
In Lawrence: 14-34-3
In Norman: 13-38-3
Neutral Sites: 0-1-0
Under David Beaty: 0-1   
First Meeting: Nov. 7, 1901 (W, 17-5)
Last Meeting: Oct. 31, 2015 (L, 62-7)

KANSAS RECORD…

vs. Big 12 Opponents: 187-257-24
    First: W, 11-6 vs. Iowa State (Oct. 15, 1989)
    Last: L, 44-20 vs. OK State (Oct. 22, 2016)
On October 29: 8-7-1
    First: W, 44-0 at Ainsworth Medical (1898)
    Last: L, 43-0 at #24 Texas (2011)
vs. Ranked OU Team: 4-40
    First Win: 16-13 vs. #16 OU (Nov. 9, 1946)
    Last Win: 38-17 at #15 OU (Oct. 21, 1995)
 THIS DATE AT OKLAHOMA
The Jayhawks and Sooners have met two times on October 29, both times in Norman. In 1983, Oklahoma jumped out to a 21-0 lead thanks to big runs by Earl Johnson (76 yards) and Spencer Tillman (80 yards). Kansas rattled off 14-straight points to pull within a touchdown, 21-14. However despite four fumbles, OU scored 24-unanswered to seal the victory, 45-14. Quarterback Frank Seuer, father to current Jayhawk safety Frank Seuer Jr., finished the game completing 22-of-40 pass attempts for 263 yards and two touchdowns. Five years later, the two squads met again on Oct. 29 in Norman, where the Sooners outscored Kansas, 63-14. KU quarterback Kelly Donohoe completed 11-of-24 pass attempts for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Tony Sands rushed for 63 yards on 21 carries.

JAYHAWKS AT SOONERS IN BIG 12 PLAY
Kansas won its first-ever Big 12 Conference game on October 5, 1996, at Oklahoma, 52-24. Since then, the Jayhawks have lost five-straight games inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium having been outscored, 216-71. Oklahoma averages 43.2 points per game in Big 12 play at home against Kansas, who averages just 14.2. The closest KU came to beating OU on its home turf came in league play (Big 12 only) was in 2008 where the No. 16 Jayhawks lost their upset bid to the No. 4-ranked Sooners, 45-31.

QUARTERBACK SACK
Sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr., sacked the opposing team’s quarterback at least one time in five-straight games and leads the Jayhawks with 7.0 sacks on the season (1.0 sacks/game). Those numbers rank the Houston, Texas, native second in the league and ninth in the country with Pittsburgh’s Ejuan Price (1.29 sacks/game) atop the FBS charts. That five-game streak is also the longest by a KU defender since linebacker James Holt recorded at least one sack in six-consecutive games to finish the 2008 season. In addition, those 7.0 sacks by Armstrong moves him into the top-10 for single season sacks, tied at No. 9 with 10 other players.

TACKLING FOR A LOSS
Kansas added another 7.0 tackles-for-loss against Oklahoma State (Oct. 22) to round out its seven-game season total at 59. Collectively, the Jayhawks average 8.4 TFLs per game, ranking them second in the Big 12 Conference and eighth in the FBS. KU’s 8.4 TFL average would be No. 3 all-time in the Kansas history books if the season were to end today. To be No. 1, Kansas would have to average 11 TFLs in its final five games to eclipse the 9.4 TFL per game average set in 2007.

ALL HANDS ON DECK
Twenty-one different Jayhawks have combined to bring down opponents behind the line of scrimmage 58 times in 2016. Sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. (10.0), senior defensive end Cameron Rosser (7.0), sophomore defensive tackle Daniel Wise (6.0), senior linebacker Marcquis Roberts (5.5), senior linebacker Courtney Arnick (4.0) and senior defensive end Damani Mosby (4.0) combine to account for 62 percent (36.5-of-59) of the team’s total.

DOUBLE-DIGIT TFLS
Since 2006, only 11 Jayhawks can boast reaching the 10.0 TFL benchmark in a season, including defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. With his 2.0 TFLs against Oklahoma State (Oct. 22) the sophomore ran up his season total to 10.0 and averages 1.4 per game. Those numbers rank Armstrong second in the conference and 19th nationally, with UCLA’s Takkarist McKinley leading the FBS at 2.0 TFLs per contest. Among the 11 KU players to accomplish this feat since 2006, seven held a position on the defensive line – Armstrong, Jake Laptad, John Larson, James McClinton, Max Onyegbule, Toben Opurum and Michael Reynolds.

STEADY EDDIE
Senior safety Fish Smithson continues to be one of the most reliable defenders for the Jayhawks in the past two seasons. Against Oklahoma State, Smithson recorded a career-high 16 tackles – the most for a defensive back since Justin Thornton posted 16 against Missouri (Nov. 24, 2007). In the first quarter alone, Smithson recorded seven solo tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1.0 TFLs, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. That sack marked the first of his career.

60 YARDS TO BOOT
After picking up the Big 12’s Special Teams Player of the Week honors (Oct. 17), junior punter Cole Moos has come into his own at the position. Moos is one of eight punters in the FBS to record three or more punts over 60 yards and ranks third in that category. In addition, he ranks ninth in the FBS with 7.1 percent of his punts traveling that distance. In his last two games, Moos has punted the ball 12 times with six traveling a distance of 50 or more yards including the third-longest in Big 12 history at 82 yards (also kicked a 73, 66, 53, 53 and 52). Prior to his break-out game at Baylor where he averaged 50.4 yards per punt, Moos was just under a 40-yard average sitting at 39.6. Since then and in the last two games, he has averaged 48.3 yards per punt on 12 kicks. That weekly award Moos earned at Baylor marked the first for KU since Dexter McDonald took home the Defensive Player of the Week Award on Sept. 8, 2014. Trevor Pardula was the last KU player to snag a Special Teams Player of the Week award for KU as he was the winner on Sept. 23, 2013.

UP NEXT
Kansas continues its road swing Saturday, Nov. 5, as the Jayhawks head to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on the Mountaineers. Kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium is slated for either 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m., on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.

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