On September 12, 2009, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated UTEP at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, by a score of 34-7. That was the last time Kansas won a game on the road. Interestingly enough, that was also the last time (and, incidentally, the first time) that Kansas faced off with the Duke Blue Devils, whom they defeated one week after beating UTEP. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, this is not the Duke team of 2009. This is not just a basketball school with a football team attached anymore (sound familiar, Kansas?). Thanks to David Cutcliffe, they have become one of the better teams in the ACC. Five years and one day after their last road win, could Kansas stun Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium?

From the outset, the obvious answer was no with the final score being 41-3 in the end. Not even three and a half minutes into the ballgame, Duke scored a touchdown on their first possession. Anthony Boone tore up the Jayhawks defense and they scored on a six-play drive that barely took two minutes of game time. Before the quarter ended, Duke scored twice more, a field goal from Ross Martin and the first of three rushing touchdowns from Shaun Wilson. Matthew Wyman hit a 34-yard field goal for the Jayhawks to at least prevent a shut out, but that was the full extent of Kansas' scoring for the day.

The Jayhawks' defense played pretty well throughout the second quarter. Ross Martin would kick another field goal for the Blue Devils, but that was all for their scoring. Boone went into a passing slump as well, completing just three of nine passes in the quarter. After halftime however, Boone snapped out of it and the rout was on. Duke would score three touchdowns in the second half on their way to the 41-3 drubbing of Kansas.

For Duke, Anthony Boone would finish 19 of 33 for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the ground, freshman Shaun Wilson ran for a school-record 245 yards on just 12 carries on his way to three touchdowns. The Blue Devils' leading receiver was Max McCaffrey, with 79 yards on 7 catches, including both of Boone's touchdowns. For the Jayhawks, quarterback Montell Cozart finished just 11/27 through the air for a measly 89 yards and 2 interceptions, and was eventually benched for back-up Michael Cummings. One bright spot for the Kansas offense would be that their two featured running backs, De'Andre Mann and Corey Avery, each had double-digit carries on the day while maintaining nearly five and a half yards per carry averages.

For Duke, this is the third straight big victory they have scored, etching out wins over Elon and Troy in the last two weeks. Anthony Boone has proven that he can be an efficient quarterback who can make the plays to win games when it is needed. While Kansas is not known for their offensive prowess, the Duke defense was stellar in this game, holding the Jayhawks to under 300 total yards (which equates to not even four yards per play for KU). Add on to that the fact that Shaun Wilson showed himself today to be capable of great things, and this Blue Devils team can be really dangerous again in the ACC, something that you never would have said last time these teams met up.

Next up for Duke are games at home versus Tulane and then away at Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech. Kansas is not the stiffest of competition, and it is always difficult to play on the road, but Duke is a team that can make plays on both sides of the ball and score plenty of points; they have to be the favorites to repeat as the winners of the ACC Coastal division, as they have given no reason to think otherwise so far.

In Kansas' case, there is no end in sight for the misery of the football program. This team has way more questions than answers. Montell Cozart has shown in the last two games, which has seen him throw for 285 yards on 23/51 passing, that he has not developed into the quarterback they need, but he is still the best option. Cummings has not proven that he is good at much of anything and Cozart is at least good with his legs (although he's afraid to use them). The defense is consistently inconsistent, even on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

Coach Charlie Weis can feel his seat getting hotter and hotter, as the team has not gotten better like they were expected to when he took over. If the Jayhawks can point to one positive thing, it is that the duo of De'Andre Mann and Corey Avery is very good coming out the backfield, probably as good or better than the Brandon Bourbon/Taylor Cox combination would have been. With Big 12 play starting next week against Texas (Kansas' homecoming game), it will not get any easier for the Jayhawks from here on out. They play West Virginia in Morgantown in two weeks; that seems like their best chance this season to break their road losing streak, and this is absolutely no sure thing right now. While Kansas continues the hunt for some sign of improvement, look out for Duke to make a run to the ACC championship game for the second straight year.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Brendan Dzwierzynski
Originally from just outside of Chicago, IL, USA, Brendan is a at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, USA. Brendan has a great deal of experience in broadcasting and journalism. He has won several awards for radio work, including the Best Sports Play-by-Play at the Columbia College Chicago High School Radio Awards, won during his senior year of high school. He currently serves as the FM Sports Director at KJHK-FM. In terms of writing, he currently writes for several publications, including VAVEL, RockChalkTalk.com (an SB Nation website), thewrestlinggame.com, as well as two personal blogs, titled Per audacia ad astra and Press Box Opinions (sports-only). Brendan is a fan of the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Cubs and White Sox, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks and all teams at the University of Kansas.