3afan
12-23-2005, 08:48 AM
gotta go for Couger Hi in this one .....
From CFN:
Kansas will win if... it gets up early and turns the game over to its defense. Nebraska game aside, KU isn't built to put more than 24 points on the board, so the defense has to control the game and force Houston to turn the ball over. KU has to prove it can win on the road going 0-5 away from Lawrence with absolutely no offense whatsoever in the five averaging a mere ten points per outing. Iowa State comeback aside, if Houston gets up 10-0, it might be over. KU simply isn't built for big comebacks, and as this year proved, it's especially not able to handle making a comeback on the road.
Houston will win if... it wins the field position battle. The Cougar punting game has been awful all year long, but the punt return game has been fine. KU's Charles Gordon is one of the nation's best punt returners, and Houston has to make it a top priority to keep him in check. As bad as Houston's defense has been, it should be able to keep the Jayhawk offense to under 20 points as long as there aren't any out-of-the-normal points like defensive scores, punt returns, or turnovers or big kick returns that turn into scores. Essentially, the Cougars have to do something it hasn't been able to do much of this year and play mistake-free; they just might be good enough to win this straight up.
What will happen: Houston will win a high-scoring game, but Kansas will win a tight battle. Expect the Jayhawk run defense to hold Gilbert in check, while the secondary will pick off Kolb at least twice. KU will win with fewer than 300 yards of total offense.
Line: Kansas -1.5 ... CFN Prediction: Kansas 23 ... Houston 20
From CFN:
Kansas will win if... it gets up early and turns the game over to its defense. Nebraska game aside, KU isn't built to put more than 24 points on the board, so the defense has to control the game and force Houston to turn the ball over. KU has to prove it can win on the road going 0-5 away from Lawrence with absolutely no offense whatsoever in the five averaging a mere ten points per outing. Iowa State comeback aside, if Houston gets up 10-0, it might be over. KU simply isn't built for big comebacks, and as this year proved, it's especially not able to handle making a comeback on the road.
Houston will win if... it wins the field position battle. The Cougar punting game has been awful all year long, but the punt return game has been fine. KU's Charles Gordon is one of the nation's best punt returners, and Houston has to make it a top priority to keep him in check. As bad as Houston's defense has been, it should be able to keep the Jayhawk offense to under 20 points as long as there aren't any out-of-the-normal points like defensive scores, punt returns, or turnovers or big kick returns that turn into scores. Essentially, the Cougars have to do something it hasn't been able to do much of this year and play mistake-free; they just might be good enough to win this straight up.
What will happen: Houston will win a high-scoring game, but Kansas will win a tight battle. Expect the Jayhawk run defense to hold Gilbert in check, while the secondary will pick off Kolb at least twice. KU will win with fewer than 300 yards of total offense.
Line: Kansas -1.5 ... CFN Prediction: Kansas 23 ... Houston 20