Kansas soccer returns to motion Friday evening, internet hosting the UNLV Rebels at Kids’s Mercy Park. Coming off a 23-17 loss to Illinois, the Jayhawks might be in search of a win to get again on observe. Right here’s how the employees thinks Kansas will deal with the UNLV Rebels:
Liam Carson (@liamcarson74): sports activities editor
This is a wonderful bounce-back alternative for the Jayhawks. They return to Kids’s Mercy Park in entrance of fired-up Kansas followers in search of a win. The one factor standing in the best way is a UNLV Rebels staff in search of revenge for its 2023 Assured Fee Bowl loss to Kansas.
The underside line is that Kansas must feed the ball to senior working again Devin Neal and redshirt junior working backs Daniel Hishaw Jr. extra on Friday evening. Having two playmakers like Neal and Hishaw Jr. within the backfield ought to make opposing groups scramble to cease the run. 21 carries between the 2 is not going to reduce it in opposition to UNLV staff.
Alongside getting the run sport going, the Kansas protection can have its fingers full. UNLV comes into Friday evening’s matchup averaging 49.5 factors per sport, together with a 72-point efficiency in its win over Utah Tech. Lengthy story quick, the UNLV offense is an effective unit, and Kansas’s protection might want to present up if the Jayhawks need an opportunity to win. The Rebels will rating, however holding them from scoring a few instances must be sufficient.
I believe Kansas will fulfill my two keys to the sport: get its personal run sport going and decelerate the Rebels’ offense sufficient to win. With that, Kansas will win a high-scoring affair, beating UNLV 37-31 to bounce again and enhance to 2-1 shifting into convention play.
Jacob Delgado-Carpio (@CarpingAboutJR): employees author
Final week, Kansas succeeded in limiting Illinois for so long as it may, however because of the offense, the protection may solely bend to this point earlier than it broke. The offense’s shortcomings let the staff down, and it wasn’t only one factor that allow the offense down, it was the gameplan itself and the execution of the gameplan that finally led Kansas to fall to Illinois.
The opponent for its subsequent sport is much like Illinois, however extra harmful on the bottom. UNLV has rushed for nearly 700 yards by way of solely two weeks. On the defensive aspect of the ball, it has two game-wreckers in senior exterior linebacker Jackson Woodard and senior cornerback Jalen Catalon.
Sport planning in opposition to UNLV’s dashing assault is one thing the defensive coordinator Brian Borland is as much as as his protection held Illinois to 79 yards dashing. This sport on the offensive aspect of the ball is offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ second check. He failed his first check versus Illinois, but when he and redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels can bounce again from that sport, I don’t see Kansas shedding.
Nonetheless, the sport plan shouldn’t, I repeat, shouldn’t be centered round Daniels and the passing sport. Till I appeared on the field rating on Monday, I didn’t even know that Devin Neal had 101 dashing yards on 14 carries. Having that quiet and that good of a sport shouldn’t occur once more. The sport must be centered round him and Daniel Hishaw Jr., with the occasional move to considered one of many choices for Daniels.
I don’t see this sport in opposition to UNLV being that high-scoring, with the struggle hopefully coming from the trenches from each groups. If the protection holds agency in opposition to the run and if the offense can frequently pound the rock, I see Kansas leaving Kids’s Mercy Park with a victory over UNLV.
Kansas, 27-21.
Trenton Kraxner (@KraxnerTrenton): employees author
Nicely, to place it plainly, final week sucked. From the leap, the offense for Kansas simply didn’t look proper, as Jalon Daniels was picked off on his first drive.
Regardless of some success mixing and matching runs and passes on their scoring drives, the Kansas offense was too sloppy. Nonetheless, I do suppose it is a excellent bounce-back alternative.
I believe offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will make it some extent to run the soccer on Friday. With that, Daniels ought to have a better and higher time passing the ball.
On the defensive aspect of issues, this might be a real check for the Kansas protection. Whereas it has appeared strong two video games in, UNLV would be the finest offense they’ve confronted to this point. UNLV appears somewhat extra run-heavy to this point this season, in comparison with final season, as its senior quarterback Matthew Sluka leads the staff in carries.
If Kansas’s entrance seven can step up and maintain the run sport, I believe it’s going to win this one going away as their nonconference slate involves an finish.
All in all, I do suppose that this might be a high-scoring affair, much like the Assured Fee Bowl final season. As soon as once more, I do suppose Kansas comes away with the win.
Kansas, 38-30.
Kickoff at Kids’s Mercy Park in Kansas Metropolis, Kansas, is about for six p.m. central and might be broadcast on ESPN.