Jim Zebrowski wants more points in the red zone, talks UCF
For Kansas offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski, the message this week is clear. The offense needs to turn more field goals into touchdowns. Kansas currently ranks 105th in the nation in red zone offense, and while the unit is moving the ball, finishing drives has become the point of emphasis.
Looking back at last week’s film, Zebrowski said the missed chances stood out.
“Just different things for every drive,” he explained. “It hurt the first half. You look back, you never know unless they’re going to come back to get you until you see that they got you a little bit. I think first drive, we had an opportunity, just didn’t make a play and got points out of it, which is good.”
Even in the second half, the Jayhawks had chances but failed to capitalize.
“We did a great job until we fumbled,” Zebrowski said. “Because even though with the fumble, it was first and goal on the six. After we fumbled and after we had the penalty, it was like second and goal on the six and we got to the one. That’s just a fumble. I thought we had figured out pretty well the second half.”
For Zebrowski, the key is about continuing to practice red zone situations with the right detail and consistency. They are getting enough chances but they need to start turning those three points into seven.
“We’re getting points, we’re just not scoring enough touchdowns,” he said. “So that’s a point of emphasis in practice and keep on trucking. Do the situational stuff with the ball inside the 15 and get the looks you’re gonna see defensively from the team you’re playing against and go get it, keep going.”
He added that part of his evaluation is always about the balance between play-calling and execution. It comes down to having players in the right position, the right play, and continuing to practice those red zone situations.
“Like I’ve always said before, is it plays, is it not putting the right guys in the right spots?” he mentioned. “Should I call something differently? And there’s so many things I always add into it. So that’s how you do it. That’s how you practice. Excited to see what happens.”
Scouting UCF
Zebrowski has also turned his focus to UCF’s defense, which Kansas will face this week on the road.
“Overall, they’re sound,” he said. “I mean, they lost last week, but they’ve been sound defensively. Statistically, pretty good. Most of their stuff, statistically, they run well. I’m sure they’re going to put pressure on us from their front if they can.”
They are preparing for a defense that can be aggressive. They can play that way because they will use man to man defense in the secondary.
“They play a lot of man coverage,” Zebrowski said. “They run really well. So, I think they’re going to probably try to get pressure with their front four so they can trap play coverage in the back end.”
Evaluating the run game
Zebrowski closed by evaluating the run game, saying while the numbers weren’t explosive, the approach was effective in key stretches.
He felt the production was better in the second half. But they also stayed with the passing game for stretches because it was working.
“I thought the run game was solid in the second half,” Zebrowski said. “I thought we got what we needed out of it. To me, it’s like if you’re doing something well and they’re not stopping it, why are you going somewhere else? They were struggling to stop the short passing, and that’s it. Why do you need to just keep doing it? It’s just like when you run the ball well, you keep doing it.”
He continued: “I think we’ve done a good job doing things that keep drives going and do what the defense has given us.”
