Staff Picks: Kansas football looks to bounce back against UNLV | Sports

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Kansas football returns to action Friday night, hosting the UNLV Rebels at Children’s Mercy Park. Coming off a 23-17 loss to Illinois, the Jayhawks will be looking for a win to get back on track. Here’s how the staff thinks Kansas will handle the UNLV Rebels: 

Liam Carson (@liamcarson74): sports editor 

This is an excellent bounce-back opportunity for the Jayhawks. They return to Children’s Mercy Park in front of fired-up Kansas fans looking for a win. The one thing standing in the way is a UNLV Rebels team looking for revenge for its 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl loss to Kansas. 

The bottom line is that Kansas needs to feed the ball to senior running back Devin Neal and redshirt junior running backs Daniel Hishaw Jr. more on Friday night. Having two playmakers like Neal and Hishaw Jr. in the backfield should make opposing teams scramble to stop the run. 21 carries between the two will not cut it against a good UNLV team. 

Alongside getting the run game going, the Kansas defense will have its hands full. UNLV comes into Friday night’s matchup averaging 49.5 points per game, including a 72-point performance in its win over Utah Tech. Long story short, the UNLV offense is a good unit, and Kansas’s defense will need to show up if the Jayhawks want a chance to win. The Rebels will score, but holding them from scoring a couple of times should be enough. 

I think Kansas will fulfill my two keys to the game: get its own run game going and slow down the Rebels’ offense enough to win. With that, Kansas will win a high-scoring affair, beating UNLV 37-31 to bounce back and improve to 2-1 moving into conference play. 

Jacob Delgado-Carpio (@CarpingAboutJR): staff writer

Last week, Kansas succeeded in limiting Illinois for as long as it could, but due to the offense, the defense could only bend so far before it broke. The offense’s shortcomings let the team down, and it wasn’t just one thing that let the offense down, it was the gameplan itself and the execution of the gameplan that ultimately led Kansas to fall to Illinois.

The opponent for its next game is similar to Illinois, but more dangerous on the ground. UNLV has rushed for almost 700 yards through only two weeks. On the defensive side of the ball, it has two game-wreckers in senior outside linebacker Jackson Woodard and senior cornerback Jalen Catalon.

Game planning against UNLV’s rushing attack is something the defensive coordinator Brian Borland is up to as his defense held Illinois to 79 yards rushing. This game on the offensive side of the ball is offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ second test. He failed his first test versus Illinois, but if he and redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels can bounce back from that game, I don’t see Kansas losing.

However, the game plan should not, I repeat, should not be centered around Daniels and the passing game. Until I looked at the box score on Monday, I didn’t even know that Devin Neal had 101 rushing yards on 14 carries. Having that quiet and that good of a game should not happen again. The game needs to be centered around him and Daniel Hishaw Jr., with the occasional pass to one of many options for Daniels. 

I don’t see this game against UNLV being that high-scoring, with the fight hopefully coming from the trenches from both teams. If the defense holds firm against the run and if the offense can continually pound the rock, I see Kansas leaving Children’s Mercy Park with a victory over UNLV.

Kansas, 27-21.

Trenton Kraxner (@KraxnerTrenton): staff writer

Well, to put it plainly, last week sucked. From the jump, the offense for Kansas just didn’t look right, as Jalon Daniels was picked off on his first drive. 

Despite some success mixing and matching runs and passes on their scoring drives, the Kansas offense was too sloppy. However, I do think this is a perfect bounce-back opportunity. 

I think offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will make it a point to run the football on Friday. With that, Daniels should have an easier and better time passing the ball. 

On the defensive side of things, this will be a true test for the Kansas defense. While it has looked solid two games in, UNLV will be the best offense they’ve faced so far. UNLV seems a little more run-heavy so far this season, compared to last season, as its senior quarterback Matthew Sluka leads the team in carries. 

If Kansas’s front seven can step up and hold the run game, I think it will win this one going away as their nonconference slate comes to an end. 

All in all, I do think that this will be a high-scoring affair, similar to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl last season. Once again, I do think Kansas comes away with the win. 

Kansas, 38-30. 

Kickoff at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, is set for 6 p.m. central and will be broadcast on ESPN.  


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Georgia Tech vs. Syracuse – Staff Predictions

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Benjamin Tankersley

Georgia Tech wins 35-14.

I probably should be more worried about this game, but honestly, Cuse didn’t impress against a pretty bad Ohio team. As long as things are tightened up with penalties, I think Tech cruises to an easy victory. I expect the playbook to open up a little more, and as long as the defense can try to maintain McCord, they should be fine.

Logan Sandor

Georgia Tech wins 36-30.

Weird things happen when we play Syracuse. Last year was a good example where we should have run away with the game, but somehow Syracuse stayed in the game while using a Tight End at QB and basically repeatedly running the ball up the middle on us. This year Syracuse obviously has more talent to work with and we should expect them to put up a very tough fight. Tech needs to stay confident and focused throughout the game. If there’s a weird fumble or some bad flags and we get down early Tech cannot afford to get tilted. We have seen our Jackets stay in games before and come out with the win, I expect that to happen here. Simultaneously I expect to see a lot of shenanigans and to be way more stressed than I should be.

Jack Purdy

Georgia Tech wins 31-28

Tech winning by exactly the spread? Creative, I know. This is going to be the first real test of our secondary (DJ I think we can all say ain’t good) with Kyle McCord. Ohio may have been basically made of ghosts last week, but Cuse got a chance to fully run what they want to do, which isn’t helpful for us. They will score on us if they’re having anything close to a normal day. Every team will. The Buster Faulkner factor is what keeps me hopeful for this game. We very deliberately ran simple stuff last week and coasted over Georgia State and managed to get to a spot where the starters were out (albeit not as soon as we may have wanted but we don’t do the coaching). Tech has shown a consistent trait in preparing well and having a path to victory. With a little help from Aidan Birr’s leg, I think we get there again.

Jeff Cramer

Georgia Tech wins 38-21

When I submitted the picks for the ACC Preseason player’s list I included LB Marlowe Wax and TE Oronde Gadsden for the respective positions. The problem for Syracuse is that Marlowe Wax was injured during the Ohio game and won’t return for some time. Last week against the Ohio Bobcats, Syracuse had serious trouble stopping the run game from an offense that only returned two starters from the year prior. They gave up over 200 yards to Ohio’s running back and without Wax being able to defend the center of the field Georgia Tech should have a great day running the ball.

Kyle McCord looked crisp from nice, clean pockets all game and Gadsden was a prime target as he had over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. WR Pena should be another target Tech should keep an eye on. However, many of the reception came with little pass rush and plenty of busted coverage from the Ohio secondary. I think Georgia Tech will present a big step up in talent level that Syracuse did not face in Week 1. I still believe Syracuse can move the ball fairly well but will be limited by how well Georgia Tech can maintain possession by running the ball.


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Trump campaign, Arlington National Cemetery staff clash at event

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Getty Images Trump lays a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery Getty Images

An Arlington National Cemetery employee was “abruptly pushed aside” by a member of President Donald Trump’s campaign staff while trying to warn them about filming at the burial site for military members, the US Army said.

The official was attempting to ensure Trump and campaign staff participating in a wreath-laying ceremony were adhering to rules, “which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds”.

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked,” a US Army spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

The Trump campaign denied the allegations and said it received permission from families of fallen service members to film. Federal law prevents use of the cemetery for political campaigning and the US Army said participants were warned of the rules in advance.

Though the incident was reported to the police, the employee decided not to pursue charges, according to the statement. The Army said it considered the matter closed.

Trump was at the memorial to honour the 13 US military service members who were killed during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago Monday.

The event took place in what’s known as Section 60 where troops killed fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried

NPR earlier reported that two members of Mr Trump’s campaign staff verbally abused and pushed the worker aside when she tried to prevent filming or photographing.

Defence officials told CBS, the BBC’s US news partner, that some Trump campaign staff were unprofessional and both verbally and physically aggressive towards the cemetery official.

Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, disputed that there was a physical altercation and said the campaign was prepared to release video to confirm its account.

The campaign did share some footage of the visit on social media on Tuesday, but the alleged altercation was not included.

In his statement, Mr Cheung said: “The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and for whatever reason an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony.”

The tone of that statement, and further attacks by Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance criticising coverage of the episode, have added further fuel to the row.

Some veterans’ groups have accused Mr Trump of using the graves of fallen soldiers as a campaign stunt at America’s most hallowed ground to its war dead.

While the families of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan accompanied Mr Trump at the ceremony and said they approved of the photos, the rules do not allow families to give permission for filming in the cemetery.

Mr Trump has repeatedly campaigned on his claim that the Biden-Harris administration lost control in Afghanistan, blaming them for the deaths of troops.

Questions over the filming

In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared a statement from family members of the fallen soldiers honoured at the event, expressing their approval.

“We had given our approval for President Trump’s official videographer and photographer to attend the event, ensuring these sacred moments of remembrance were respectfully captured and so we can cherish these memories forever,” the families said in Trump’s post.

But that goes against federal policy, an Arlington National Cemetery spokesperson told the BBC.

US law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities on the grounds of military cemeteries, including photographers, content creators or anyone directly supporting a partisan political candidate’s campaign, the cemetery spokesperson said.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who is running for re-election, also attended the ceremony and posted a photo on X of himself with Trump and the family of Staff Sgt Darin Hoover, of Utah, who was killed during the withdrawal.

But he later came under fire for using the photo in a campaign email, forcing an apology post via X on Wednesday that acknowledged it should not have been sent: “This was not a campaign event and was never intended to be used by the campaign.”

Sgt Hoover’s grave is next to that of Master Sgt Andrew Marckesano, who died by suicide after six tours in Afghanistan in 2020.

Sgt Marckesano’s sister said that despite her family’s support for the Hoover family, Trump campaign staff “did not adhere to the rules that were set in place for this visit”.

She urged visitors to remember that those buried there were “real people” who should be “honoured and respected”.


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