Rhode Island at Kansas: Turnovers, Pass Defense Burn Rhody in 55-6 Loss to Jayhawks

Rhody football ran into a determined Kansas team tonight as the Jayhawks trounced Rhode Island for their first win since 2014.

KansasJayhawks55

Welp. The Rhode Island Rams received a pretty rude welcome to the 2016 season tonight, falling to Kansas 55-6 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks offense scored almost at will — especially through the air — as the Rhody pass defense struggled mightily. The loss drops URI to 0-1 on the new season as their lone game against an FBS opponent is now out of the way.

This one got off to an ominous start for the Rams. After forcing KU to punt on the opening possession, normally steady return man Harold Cooper muffed the kick, allowing the Jayhawks to recover. It was a poor decision by Cooper, deciding to try and field a bouncing ball as he was swarmed by blue jerseys.

And Kansas made Rhody pay. Five plays later, the Jayhawks were in the end zone and on top 7-0. After a Rhode Island fumble and a three-play KU drive for another score, this one was all but over. The Rams did find their way to the scoreboard midway through the second quarter when Wes McKoy found Aaron Parker along the sidelines for a 23 yard score.

Aaron Parker. Full extension. Touchdown Rhody! pic.twitter.com/P5AonYJpnM

— RhodyFootball (@RhodyFootball) September 4, 2016

But that was it for the URI offense as Kansas took over from there. Especially in the passing game. The Jayhawks threw for 399 yards and six touchdowns (spread out among three different QBs) as they handled the Rhody secondary too easily for comfort. Rhode Island also committed three turnovers — two of them early on — although they were able to force a pair of their own.

It wasn’t a complete disaster for the Rams, however. Just check some of the numbers in the running game. URI tallied 170 yards on the ground, with three different players (McKoy, T.J. Anderson, and Markey Clarke) rushing for 40+ yards. And while the pass defense was less than optimal, Rhody’s run defense was able to contain KU’s running game for the most part.

Overall, though, it’s hard to heap much praise onto the D given the final score. The Big 12 program overpowered Rhody in this one. We’ll have some more in-depth thoughts coming up tomorrow.