6C
FOOTBALL IN REVIEW
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2007
Kansas ends Manhattan losing streak,30-24
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
Junior defensive end Russell Brorsen celebrates with junior defensive back Aqib Talib and sophomore defensive back Darrell Stuckey after a big play. The Kansas defense powered the Jayhawks to the team's first victory in Manhattan, Kan., since 1989.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
MANHATTAN. Kan. — It took all of eight seconds for Todd Reesing's impressive progress as a starting quarterback to come to a screeching halt. But 59 minutes and 52 seconds of football later, Reesing stood atop the world of Kansas football after engineering a 30-24 victory, the Jayhawks first at Kansas State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) since 1989.
Kansas (5-0, 1-0) won the coin toss and elected to take possession of the ball in an attempt to silence the rowdy crowd of more than 50,000. After the opening kickoff sailed through the end zone for a touchback, Reesing and the Jayhawks took over at the 20-yard line with junior cornerback Aqib Talbil and sophomore quarterback Kerry Meier lined up at wide receiver.
The ensuing play was not quite as exciting as the KU formation. Placed under duress by the KSU pass rush, Reesing unleashed a medium-length pass that was adeptly snatched from the air by Kansas State sophomore free safety Chris Carney. At that moment, the optimism spurred by Kansas' 4-0 start seemed to evaporate. Fifteen minutes and only 38 yards of Kansas offense later, the Jayhawks trailed their in-state rivals, 7-0, after one disheartening quarter.
clinging quarters.
"Our first quarter was pretty poor," Reesing said. "We didn't get things clicking like we wanted to at the start of the game. I think we just had to get settled and used to playing on the road in a new environment."
Playing in a new and hostile environment certainly has not been Kansas' strong suit during coach Mark Mangino's tenure. Entering Saturday, Kansas had won only two of its 20
Big 12 road games. Mangino only had one road victory in the last year-and-a-half to his name — at Iowa State in 2006. After they walked off of the field Saturday, the Kansas players said they felt a new confidence surrounding the 2007 team.
"That was the kind of game we would've gave away last year with all of the immaturity we had on the field," Talib said. "This year we have more experience and we kept our confidence at the end of the game. The offense got first downs when last year we would have put the defense back on the field. As a team, it's a big win and a big step for us."
OVERCOMING EARLY ADVERSITY
The Jayhawks, still relatively inexperienced after playing their first four games of 2007 at home, had plenty to overcome Saturday afternoon.
Kansas State swung the momentum even further midway through the first quarter when sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman threw a perfect strike to senior wide receiver Jordy Nelson, who beat Talib down the sideline and raced 68 yards to the end zone. The touchdown, scored by Kansas State's most potent offensive weapon at the expense of Kansas' most acclaimed defender, brought the fans to fever pitch and buried the Jayhawks under a sea of noise and rotating power towels.
The Kansas offense punched back early in the second quarter with a quick 86-yard scoring drive. Reesing and sophomore running back Jake Sharp were the stars of the drive for Kansas. Reesing scrambled 10 yards to convert on third-and-four, and Sharp gained 40 yards on four carries, the last of which resulted in a touchdown and a 7-7 stalemate. Reesing and Sharp, the two smallest players on the field for much of the afternoon, often shouldered an enormous load. Reesing completed 22-of-35 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns and Sharp gained 77 yards on 17 carries, scoring once.
"Me and Todd have a certain element of swagger about us," Sharp said. "I guess we have little man syndrome — a chip on our shoulders. If somebody says that we can't do something, it's like, 'Well, watch this.'"
Kansas State did not stand by idly and watch Kansas take control of the game. The Wildcats traveled 80 yards on 11 plays on their next drive to take a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter. But the Jayhawks did not wait long to showcase their resilience, as junior defensive end Russell Brorsen intercepted a pass at the Kansas State 44-yard line, sparking a quick six-play drive that ended with Talib catching a five-yard touchdown that helped wash away the memory of Nelson's first-quarter score. Talib's score was his fourth receiving touchdown of the season and stretched his streak of games with a touchdown to six dating back to last year.
THE SECOND HALF
The Kansas defense and offense each buckled down in the third quarter. The defense held Freeman to 5-of-11 passing and forced the Kansas State offense to punt twice and settle for a field goal late in the period. The offense moved the ball with ease, as Reesing engineered an 80-yard scoring drive in fewer than four minutes. Beginning in the third quarter, the Wildcats brought blitzes of all varieties from their 3-4 defensive set, leaving open lanes for senior Brandon
McAnderson, who finished with a team-high 81 yards on 12 carries.
"They tried to bring pressure — they tried to man up and play some zone, and it worked." Mangino said. "They did some good things, but we had a good feel for the run game. They were giving us some opportunities in the run game because they were worried about some things in the pass game."
The Kansas defense was able to hold Kansas State to just seven points in the fourth quarter, providing all
the cushion Reeing and the Jayhawk offense would need. With 7:32 remaining in the game, Reeing completed two quick passes to push the Jayhawks to the Wildcat 30-yard line before firing a touchdown pass over the middle to junior wide receiver Dexton Fields. The Jayhawks would not relinquish their 27-24 lead over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the game, thanks to interceptions by Talib and junior cornerback Kendrick Harper.
Kansas displayed some of the
attributes it had obviously lacked in the past several years. The Jayhawks showed enough fight to overcome a slow start, enough heart to overcome a bevy of screaming fans and will allow to tame a Top-25 opponent.
"This was a hard fought game," Mangino said. "I'm especially proud of our players, who overcame some adversity. They never gave up and kept making plays on offense and defense."
— Edited by Meghan Murphy
KANSAS 58, BAYLOR 10
Rain or shine, Jayhawks storm past Baylor Bears
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
Freshman wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe pulls in a pass against the Baylor secondary. Kansas rolled over Baylor and moved its conference record to 2-0.
For almost two hours, Mother Nature spared the Baylor Bears a resounding defeat. But the Kansas Jayhawks spent the rest of Saturday afternoon making up for lost time and delivering an emphatic blowout victory that extended the Kansas winning streak to six games, ensured bowl eligibility and helped push the team to No. 13 in the BCS standings.
After a 98-minute pregame rain delay and a 30-minute lightning delay in the first quarter, Kansas (6-0, 2-0 Big 12) defeated Baylor (3-4, 0-3) 58-10. Strong thunderstorms steadily pummed Memorial Stadium throughout the morning, soaking the turf and driving both teams' players to the shelter of the locker rooms. Kansas did not burst out of the gate when the game finally started, instead relying on special teams and defense to spark a slow, steady and convincing victory.
"It got to be kind of a long day" Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "I was just concerned about the kids wearing down in the second half a little bit, but they didn't. They were very focused, and I think they handled the delays very well because we didn't make a big deal about it."
Neither team emerged from the extensive pregame delay looking sharp. Kansas lost two yards on its first possession, and Baylor gained just four yards on its first drive before punting. Kansas' special teams gave the sleepwalking offense an early boost when Baylor junior wide receiver Joe Bennett misplaced a punt return with 10:54 remaining in the first quarter. Kansas senior tight end Derek Fine recovered the fumble at the Baylor 36-yard line.
Kansas only managed two first downs on the resulting possession, but senior kicker Scott Webb converted a 27-yard field goal to give the Jayhaws a 3-0 lead. Baylor hung in the game for the next four minutes, finishing a 50-yard drive with a game-tying field goal.
That field goal would be the last good fortune the Bears would stumble upon for quite some time. Kansas junior wide receiver Marcus Herford fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 12-yard line and followed his blocks perfectly up the middle of the field. By the time Herford shot past midfield, no Baylor defenders remained between him and the end zone. As he crossed the goal line, a bright yellow lightning bolt shot out of the clouds east of the stadium, prompting a half-hour delay.
Once the teams returned to the field, the Bears found themselves face to face with another flood: the Jayhawk offense. Baylor could not find a way to plug the holes in its defense or track down Kansas running backs. Kansas scored touchdowns on three
of its four second-quarter possessions. Sophomore running back Jake Sharp sparked the jayhawk offense, gaining
52 yards on nine carries in the second quarter alone. The bad weather seemed inconvenient for the jayhaws at the
time, but it allowed the coaching staff to evaluate and change its game plan.
"It was kind of nice that we were able to make some adjustments and things like that in the locker room," Mangino said. "Although our coaches couldn't come downstairs, we got information from them and presented it to the kids. It was kind of like hockey - we had two intermissions."
Baylor scored its lone touchdown when sophomore wide receiver David Gettis returned a kick 97 yards for a touchdown. Baylor's inability to score an offensive touchdown and failure to put together a drive longer than 50 yards reinforced Kansas' defensive dominance.
Junior linebackers Mike Rivera and Joe Mortensen frequently found their way into the Baylor backfield, and the Kansas secondary intercepted four passes. Baylor's only measure of offensive success came from of senior running back Brandon Whitaker, who gained 54 yards rushing and 45 receiving.
Baylor's best asset — its versatile passing game — was hamstrung by Szymanski's inaccuracy and costly interceptions. The quarterback entered the game having thrown only nine interceptions in six games but threw three Saturday, thanks to pressure from the Jayhawks' defensive line. By the fourth quarter, Szymanski was standing on the sideline, replaced by junior quarterback Ryan Roberts.
“If you can rattle up the quarterback, then he'll know that you're coming,” senior defensive tackle James McClinton said. “He'll be noticeing the pressure coming from the defensive line when he's trying to throw the ball.”
Though Kansas recorded only one sack, by freshman defensive end Jake Laptad, the team's starting linebackers combined for 21 tackles.
The strong effort of the jayhawk defense simplified the game for the offense. The unit was charged with an easy task take over deep in Baylor territory and deposit the ball in the end zone against an overmatched defense. Kansas receivers struggled to separate from defenders and dropped a few passes, but sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing scrambled out of several potentially disastrous situations and the Kansas offense accumulated points quickly in the second half.
"In the pass game, we weren't very crisp," Reesing said. "We had some big plays and guys making catches, but we also dropped a few balls and I made some poor passes. But we're not going to press much. We're just going to look at film and make the adjustments that are necessary."
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Also, the Jayhawks' sixth win secured bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season, an achievement that Kansas players and coaches barely acknowledged at a post-game press conference. Reesing said the team was enjoying each victory and focusing on the immediate future rather than looking down the road at a possible post-season berth.
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The win lifted Kansas to its best start since 1992 and moved the team into 13th in the BCS standings, just ahead of perennial powers USC and Florida. The Jayhawks' blowout win over especially well with the computer rankings that factor into the overall BCS ranking — Kansas earned the eighth-highest computer ranking in the nation.
Despite a miserable 2-for-10 passing performance in the first quarter, Reesing finished the game with 186 yards and two touchdowns and avoided throwing an interception.
"The kids don't care," Mangino said. "They've set their sights so high that I don't think it's even entered their minds."
The nonchalant reaction to the news of bowl eligibility, which the fans shared, illustrated a change in the attitude surrounding the football program. When Kansas won its sixth game in 2005, fans deposited the goalposts in Potter Lake. At the conclusion of Saturday's game, the fans who stuck around until the end of the rout made the sixth Rock Chalk chant of the season sound almost routine.
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— Edited by Matt Erickson
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