Three keys for the Kansas Jayhawks against the Oklahoma Sooners

Kansas is looking to bounce back after their first loss of the season. Here are some things to watch in Saturday's game.

The Kansas Jayhawks' incredible undefeated season, unfortunately, came to an end, falling to the TCU Horned Frogs 38-31. Even though this game was hard to move past, we learned a lot about this team. For one they are not the Jayhawks of old. After quarterback Jalon Daniels exited the game with a shoulder injury, the Jayhawks continued to play hard and were in it to the end. This is an important detail as we discuss the three keys heading into a huge matchup in Norman, Oklahoma against the Sooners.

Strong Quarterback Play

Jalon Daniels will be out versus the Oklahoma Sooners, and Jason Bean will step up in his place. Bean played about as good as he could coming off the bench in a meaningful game at home against the Horned Frogs. Bean completed 16-out-of-24 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns. He also added seven carries for 34 yards and had one mistake throwing an interception to linebacker Jamoi Hodge. Bean's playing style will bode well against the Sooners.

Oklahoma is having a disappointing season, to say the least, and Brent Venables' defense has been lackluster. The Sooners allow approximately 29.2 points per game and are giving up an average of 443.7 yards per game. When you break that down, they are allowing 223.7 yards through the air and 210 yards on the ground. With those abysmal stats, Jason Bean should be able to command the offense that is averaging 440 total yards.

Kansas Wide Receivers

The Kansas Jayhawks have been extremely impressive on the offensive side of the football and heading into this season, the running back room was highly talked about, especially with Leipold's history of running the football. Fast forward to the current week, and the Jayhawks' wide receivers have developed well. If you just look back on the highlight reel of catches in the TCU game, you will understand what I am talking about.

Luke Grimm leads the group with 25 receptions for 281 yards averaging 11.2 yards per catch and three touchdowns. The one wide receiver who has impressed me the most is Quentin Skinner. Skinner has 12 receptions on the season for 232 yards averaging 19.3 yards per catch and three touchdowns. One thing stats don't provide is the clutch moments he has been a part of this season.

The Sooners' secondary has been torched three consecutive weeks giving up 234 yards to K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez, 302 yards to TCU quarterback Max Duggan, and 289 yards to Texas freshman phenom, Quinn Ewers. In that span, the Sooners gave up eight touchdowns through the air and 830 yards through the air. If the Jayhawks stick with the trend it could be a track meet instead of a football game.

Neutralize the Road Environment

The Kansas Jayhawks will head on the road for the first time in 28 days, and that will be a tough environment in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners have taken their lumps this year losing three games, and the fans in Norman will not want to lose against the Jayhawks. So what can the Jayhawks do to neutralize the crowd? Shut down the Sooner offense.

Oklahoma has struggled mightily in the last three weeks as well, with Dillon Gabriel taking more than a half to get started against Kansas State and being very inaccurate against TCU before leaving with an injury. He is expected back against the Jayhawks, but Kansas has shown the ability to stop quarterbacks for significant stretches. If the defense can force Oklahoma to start slow, then the crowd will get restless and any advantage that the home crowd can give will instead turn into pressure.

It won't be easy, but the Jayhawks have a chance to impress even more people with a road victory over the Sooners this week before they head off to the SEC.

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