Carter Stanley an Upgrade over the Kansas QBs We’re Used To

The Cowboys welcome the Jayhawks for a morning tilt this Saturday which means we have another quarterback to back matchup to preview.

Carter Stanley is a different level passer than we’re used to seeing behind center for Kansas. Let’s take a look at what he means to the Jayhawks offense as well as how OSU’s defense can keep him corralled.

But first, here’s a look at how Spencer Sanders and his counterpart Carter Stanley stack up through nine games.

Stanley didn’t play against OSU in either of the first two seasons at Kansas after his redshirt, but he had a productive go last year in Lawrence throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns while complete 75 percent of his passes. As you may remember, OSU won 48-28.

This year, his first as KU’s full-time starter, Stanley has proven to be a productive upgrade from what Jayhawks fans have grown accustomed to from their QB. As in, he’s a capable pocket passer who can spread the ball around free things up for prolific tailback Pooka Williams.

Stanley has quickly moved up the career lists in most career passing categories at Kansas including yards, touchdowns and completion percentage. Granted, that’s not a murder’s row of NFL passers. But Stanley’s been productive and a boon for KU’s offense.

In a three-game stretch against Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, Stanley completed over 63 percent of his passes, averaged over 300 yards per game and threw 10 touchdowns to just one interception. Stanley earned Big 12 POW honors for his 415-yard, three-TD performance in the win over Texas Tech. Kansas average 35 points per game during that span.

“It’s noticeable,” Mike Gundy said of KU’s improved offense. “It’s a bit of a tempo difference. They’ve got more of a vertical passing game, more big play passing game.

“They’re quarterback is a good player. I think he’s a senior now. Seems like he’s been around forever, but he’s really playing well this year. The adjustments they’ve made on offense are pretty evident over the last few weeks.”

“Tough, competitive leader,” is how Les Miles described his QB on Monday. “Talented enough to do the things that need to be done so looking forward to seeing him play in this one.”

Key to Limiting Stanley: Mix Things Up

Stanley is coming off probably his worst out of the season after going 13-of-23 for 115 yards, no TDs and two interceptions against Kansas State. The Jayhawks fell 38-10 and that lone touchdown came after Stanley had left the game.

Kansas State used a lot of disguised coverages and changed up their pre-snap alignments, which baited Stanley into those two picks. That’s something Jim Knowles has done a good job of during his tenure and it could be the key to shutting down Stanley and the Jayhawks offense before it has a chance to get going.