8C FOOTBALL IN REVIEW
KANSAS 76, NEBRASKA 39
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007
Blowout victory gains top-five ranking for Hawks
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
The Nebraska Cornhuskers visited the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, and the game was an absolute blowout. There's nothing unusual about that statement.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
What was strange about Saturday's game was that the Jayhawks were the ones doing the dominating.
For the better part of the last half-century, Nebraska pushed Kansas around, winning 37 of the teams' last 38 match-ups. Saturday, the No. 5 Jayhawks played the role of Big 12 bully, turning the tables and routing the Cornhuskers, 76-39.
With the victory, Kansas moved into fifth in The Associated Press and Coaches' polls and fourth in the BCS standings while securing its first ever 5-0 start in conference play and first 9-0 start since 1908. The Jayhawks 76 points set a school record for the most scored in a conference game and easily surpassed the team's previous high of 40 points against Nebraska (4-6, 1-5 Big 12). Kansas actually passed that mark by halftime, scoring 48 points before the end of the second quarter.
"Nebraska has a good tradition, and they always play hard," said senior wide receiver Marcus Henry. "So to look up and see that score on the scoreboard was pretty amazing."
The Jayhawk offense looked impressive the entire game, but the defense suffered through several rough stretches early in the game. Nebraska, which had relied on its strong running game all season, threw Kansas a change-up by going to the air early and often. In the first half alone, Nebraska junior quarterback Joe Ganz threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, leading two
solid scoring drives in the first 12 minutes of play.
"They threw the ball a lot," said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. "We did not anticipate them throwing the ball as much as they did because they had not done that all year. We were caught a little bit off-guard."
Sophomore quarterback Todd Reeing looks to make a pass. Reeing led the Jayhawks on a four-play, 61-1ard drive early in the second quarter, which extended the Jayhawks' lead to 14 points. Kansas defended Nebraska 76-39.
By the opening minutes of the second quarter, it was clear that high-powered offense would be the theme of Saturday's game. The teams combined for 35 points in the first quarter, and neither showed any sign of slowing down early in the second quarter. Every time Kansas looked primed to pull away and stretch its lead, Nebraska used its most potent weapon, senior wide receiver Maurice Purifoy, to crawl back into the game.
The defense stiffened and allowed just 15 yards on the next two Nebraska drives combined and held the team dormant long enough for the offense to score three more touchdowns before halftime.
Trailing 28-14 early in the second quarter, Ganz connected with Purify, who was streaking past Kansas junior cornerback Kendrick Harper, for a 60-yard gain down the middle of the field. After the long pass, the Kansas coaches adjusted the defensive secondary to keep junior cornerback Aqib Talib on Purify at all times. The challenging match-up did not faze Purify. Two plays after the 60-yard pass, Ganz lofted the ball into the air to Purify in the corner of the end zone. Purify, at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, muscled his way through Talib and to the ball to put six points on the scoreboard. With 9:44 to play in the first half, Nebraska and Kansas were tangled in a 28-21 shootout.
From that point on, Kansas patched up its imperfections and performed like the undefeated powerhouse the way it has all season.
After yielding four touchdowns on the Cornhuskers' first nine drives, the Jayhawk defense made adjustments in the third quarter, intercepting three passes and recovering a fumble. Sophomore safeties Darrell Stuckey and Justin Thornton had momentum-killing interceptions in the second half that set the offense up with prime field position, and Nebraska scored only one touchdown in the game's final 25 minutes. By that time, the reserves were on the field, and the game was all but over.
Sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing led the jayhawks on a fourplay, 61-yard drive that lasted only one minute and seven seconds to extend his team's lead to 14 points.
Kansas single-game record with six touchdown passes. Briscoe caught three touchdowns, and Henry gained 101 yards on six receptions.
"We went right back to our fundamentals and focused on our responsibilities," said junior linebacker Mike Rivera. "We tried to keep it simple, just reading our progressions and dropping into our spots. We came in at halftime and talked about that and got some things corrected."
Fortunately for the Jayhawk defense, the offense kept the team in the game during the first half by scoring three first quarter touchdowns and 48 first-half points. The Nebraska defense, which entered Saturday as the nation's worst run-stopping unit, stood helpless against an energetic and creative Kansas offense. Kansas gained 23 yards on an end-around run by Henry and 11 yards on a flea-flicker pass to freshman wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe.
Reeing executed offensive coordinator Ed Warinner's creative schemes with near perfection Saturday and finished with the most impressive statistical line of his career. The quarterback recorded 354 yards on 30-of-41 passing and set a new
"We have a lot of different things we can on offense," Reesing said. "We're not really limited by one thing, so depending on what the defense is going to do, we're going to pull out whatever we have to. They were moving the ball and we needed to counteract that and move the ball too."
Using a mix of daring deep passes and standard off-tackle runs, the Jayhawks engineered impressive drives throughout the game and put together one of the finest offensive performances in the program's history. The Jayhawks scored the third most points in a single game in school history, and at one point, they scored touchdowns on 10 consecutive drives.
"We just said, 'Let's keep running the offense; let's just see if we can keep rolling with our offense and run our system and let the kids continue to make plays.' Mangino said. "I didn't think wed score 76 points, but by the time we got to the middle of the third quarter, I knew we were going to score a lot of points."
The Jayhawk run game also showed little room for improvement, topping 200 rushing yards for the third time in the last four games. Senior running back Brandon McAnderson piled up 119 yards and four touchdowns and sophomore running back jake Sharp added 44 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly, the Kansas offense did not turn the ball over, forcing Nebraska to start drives from an average position of its own 27-yard line.
"We aren't beating ourselves," McAnderson said. "In the past, it
had been one of our huge problems. This year we have a different mentality, and we're more mature."
Nebraska entered the game in a tailspin and left Lawrence still spinning. The Cornhuskers extended their losing streak to five games and fell into a tie for last place in the Big 12 North standings. To add insult to injury, Kansas' 76-point outburst marked the most points Nebraska has ever allowed in a single game.
of the most disappointing teams in the nation, Kansas' decisive victory was impressive because the team did exactly what it needed to do: stay undefended and make a positive impression on pollsters and media around the nation.
A decade ago, Nebraska was the team routinely scoring more than 50 points and rolling to 9-0 starts. In 2007, Kansas is that team.
Despite Nebraska's status as one
—Edited by Chris Beattie
>> KANSAS 43, OKLAHOMA STATE 28
Victory against OSU secures first10-0 record for Kansas since 1899
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
STILLWATER, Okla. — One hundred and eight. That's how many years it had been since Kansas started a season 10-0.
With their 43-28 victory at Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Jayhaws cemented their first 10-0 start since 1899 and kept their dream season alive, moving up one spot to No. 4 in the AP and Coaches' polls.
Kansas (10-0, 6-0 Big 12) did what it has done all year: come up with defensive stops at just the right moments and respond to adversity with offensive firepower. Oklahoma State (5-5, 3-3) posted plenty of points despite the loss of its best receiver, but the Jayhawks countered two late Cowboy touchdowns with a perfectly orchestrated 89-yard touchdown drive to seal the victory.
"Our kids don't panic, and they keep their poise." Kansas coach Mark
Mangino said. "We did what we had to do to keep separation between us and Oklahoma State."
Kansas relied on heroes from sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing and senior wide receiver Marcus Henry to stay in the driver's seat for most of Saturday's game. After dropping the first pass thrown his way, Henry recovered to put together the finest performance of his collegiate career. The lanky receiver, who grew up two hours away from Stillwater and brought a bevy of family and friends, hauled in eight receptions for 199 yards and three touchdowns.
Henry's most crucial catch came with 8:26 remaining in the game. Oklahoma State had just engineered an impressive four-play, 89-yard drive to trim the deficit to five points and pull the home crowd out of a dormant state. The Jayhawks started their ensuing drive at their own 11-yard line, faced with the prospect
of marching into the teeth of a hostile and noisy crowd.
After pushing the ball all the way to the Oklahoma State four-yard line, the Kansas offense looked frozen. The Oklahoma State student section was full of fans bouncing up and down and screaming at full throat trying to halt the lajhayws, confronted with third-and-goal. Reeing took the snap from the shotgun formation, looked left to see senior tight end Derek Fine blanketed by two defenders and caught a glimpse of Henry streaking across the back of the end zone. Reeing's eye did not deceive him, and he delivered a perfect strike to the 6-foot-4 target.
"It's happened several times this season when a team's gone ahead or got a little close to us late in the game that the offense has responded well and found a way to get in the end zone," Reesing said. "We were moving the ball well all night, and that drive was definitely a huge drive
because it got us a little bit more of a lead and more of a comfort level"
The fourth-quarter connection between Reesing and Henry sucked the life from the fans at Boone Pickens Stadium and the hope from the Cowboy sideline. On the next Oklahoma State possession, quarterback Zac Robinson lofted a pass over the middle of the field and into perfect position for Kansas junior cornerback Agib Talib to seize. Talib returned the interception 17 yards and set up a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Scott Webb that stretched the Kansas lead to 15 turnover was the third of four forced by Kansas. In contrast, the Jayhawks never gave the ball away.
"We knew they were going to make big plays," junior linebacker Joe Mortensen said. "They have tremendous athletes and good ballplayers. We just kept trying to fight back and ended up making a big play and some turnovers, which is something we take pride in on defense."
in Lawrence last season. Bowman gained just 22 receiving yards on four catches and spent the second half of Saturday's game roaming the sidelines confined to street clothes because of the injury.
"The play was just a read for us," Talib said. "He threw it, and I made a good break on it. I hate to see (Bowman) go down like that, but I was just out there playing football."
Talib made the game-altering tackle late in the second quarter with Kansas leading by three points. On their next possession, the Jayhawks added three more points and went into halftime holding a tenuous 20-14 advantage.
With its best weapon standing on the sideline, Oklahoma State sputtered early in the second half. The Cowboys went three-and-out on their first two drives and fumbled the ball away on their third. Meanwhile, Reasing and the Jayhawk offense was firing on all cylinders. The Austin, Texas, native found Henry cutting across the field on a slant route that turned into an 82-yard touchdown when the receiver broke away from the Cowboy defensive backs and into the open field.
Four minutes later, Kansas marched 46 yards on five plays and scored on senior running back Brandon McAnderson's 12-yard touchdown scamper. McAnderson displayed great field vision and lateral quickness on the play as he made
his way into the left corner of the end zone to stretch the lead to 19 points.
"They took over and they checked run-or-pass for however we lined up," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "Their quarterback is a nice player. He does a nice job of getting the ball to receivers."
Reeing certainly enjoyed an impressive showing in Stillwater. The sophomore finished the game 27-of-40 with 308 passing yards and three touchdowns while continuing his interception-less streak to five games and 179 attempts. McAnderson provided the balance for the Kansas offense, gaining 145 rushing yards and finding the end zone twice.
Talib's interception helped seal the Jayhawks' tenth victory, but it might not have been his most important contribution on Saturday night. In the second quarter, Talib made a diving tackle in the backfield that sidelined Oklahoma State wide receiver Adarius Bowman for the rest of the game — the same Adarius Bowman who torched Kansas for 300 receiving yards and four touchdowns
For a 10th consecutive game, Kansas played so well as a team that no one player stood out above the crowd. Mortensen and Talib forced turnovers on defense, Reesing and Henry quieted the crowd on offense and the team further solidified its case for a BCS berth.
After making a habit out of mediocrity in the past few seasons, the 2007 layhawks are winning big and winning often. But even after 10 in a row, the feeling of success has not lost its novelty.
"It's different because I don't think I've ever been 10-0 in anything." Talib said. "It just feels good, man. It's better than 9-0."
— Edited by Ashlee Kieler
NOW TAKING RESERVATIONS
Seasonal Northern Italian Cuisine
Pizzas, antipastis, homemade pastas, salads, and wood-fired rotiesserie meats
DAILY SPECIALS
Sunday ALL DAY - Family Style Meals $13.00
Saturday Dinner - Local Farmers' Market Specials
Monday Dinner - All-You-Can-Eat Pasta with Salad $13.00
DAILY LUNCH EXPRESS - Pizza, pasta, sandwich, or salad $7.00
Book Your Holiday Party! See Our Catering Menu
Gift Cards Now Available for use at Genovese, La Parilla Parilla & Zen Zero
WED
K
Alte
treater
State
build-
with 1
Jayha-
time
else o
www.genoveseitalian.com
IOWA
team
missure
Missure
The Be
The Be
Okla-
klahoma
poll a
the kans
New
Play
941 MASSACHUSETTS
Ki Iowa soph adde alrea
785. 842.0300
R half game touc an i tive les
enovese
ITALIAN RESTAURANT
SUN-MON: 11AM-3PM
TUE-SAT: 11AM-10PM