6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2007
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
line, but Missouri tight end Martin Rucker recovered the ball and scored on a one-yard pass three plays later. The Tigers' first scoring drive showcased its array of offensive options. Daniel completed passes to five different receivers, and four players ran the ball.
"That is the most talented offensive team we've played this year, without a doubt," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "They are just really talented — they've got playmakers all over the place and a good offensive line. That is a very, very good offensive football team. There's no question about it."
Daniels' second touchdown pass was one example of Kansas coming within inches of making a key play. Leading 7-0 early in the second quarter, Missouri faced third-and-goal at the Kansas 11-yard line. The Jayhawks pressured Daniel and forced him into a quick retreat to the 30-yard line. Just when Kansas junior defensive end John Larson got within striking distance of the Missouri quarterback, a blocker cut him down. After what seemed like an eternity of desperately scrambling, Daniel found Alexander cutting across the field at the 5-yard line. Alexander reeled in the pass and dove into the end zone, giving Missouri a comfortable 14-0 lead.
"We did an all right job slowing them down at times," sophomore safety Justin Thornton said. "We felt like we could get stops and turnovers, but we didn't come up with any tonight and that hurt us. We weren't able to make the big stops on the third downs when we needed them."
Scott Webb twice could have helped Kansas cut into Missouri's 14-0 lead in the second quarter. The senior kicker's first kick, a 33-yard attempt, bounced off of the right upright to the delight of the Missouri faithful seated behind the end zone. Less than five minutes later, Webb's 45-yard attempt sailed wide of the left goalpost. The kicks missed their
intended target by a just few inches, but they cost the Jayhawks six points and needed momentum.
"It's tough on our kicker and the snapper and the holder because it's tough to kick a cold ball," Meier said. "We missed those field goals, but we had a lot of other opportunities to execute that we didn't capitalize on. We just needed to execute a couple more plays to get us over the hump, but that's the way the game went."
In the second half, the Tigers extended their lead by capitalizing on layhawk errors. Kansas was efficiently marching down the field on its first drive of the second half before Reesing barely missed senior wide receiver Marcus Henry on a throw over the middle. The pass tipped off of Henry's left hand and into the hands of Missouri cornerback Castine Bridges. Bridges returned the interception 49 yards to the Kansas 40-yard line, and Missouri scored its third touchdown seven plays later on running back Jimmy jackson's one-yard plunge.
The lajhawks finally found the end zone midway through the third quarter when they engineered a 67-yard drive capped off by senior running back Brandon McAnderson's one-yard touchdown run. Freshman wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe's highlight-worthy catch was the key play of the drive. Briscoe streaked down the middle of the field as Reesing lofted a pass toward the goal line. The ball appeared out of Briscoe's reach, but he leaped to make the catch and fell at the 5-yard line.
The Tigers punched back with a quick 65-yard touchdown drive and stretched their lead back to 21 points. But Kansas did not surrender its undefeated season just yet. Led by Reesing, who scored a touchdown on an impressive fourth-down bootleg run, the Jayhawks spent the fourth quarter climbing back into the game. When Kansas marched 57 yards in just more than a minute to score and pull within 10 points, the Jayhawk
fans loudened their cheers.
"This is a tough bunch of guys on this team," Reesing said. "We have a lot of confidence in ourselves, and we knew we would be able to bounce back after the first half. We knew if we fought hard we would have a chance to win at the end of the game."
Missouri kicker Jeff Wolffert made his second field goal of the game with 3:26 to play, leaving Kansas with little time to come back. Reesing and the Jayhawks responded with a 63-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:23. Reesing looked like his typical gun-slinging self on the crucial drive, finding senior wide receiver Marcus Henry in the back of the end zone for the touchdown.
Kansas, down by only six points,
tried to increase its chance to win
with an ensuing onside kick, but
Missouri easily recovered, and
Kansas needed almost a miracle.
The Kansas defense did its job, holding Missouri to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession. Kansas sent 10 players to try to block the punt and sent Agjib Talib deep to return it. Without any blocking, Talib tried to shake away defenders but was quickly tackled.
Left with only 17 seconds to cover 89 yards, the Kansas offense could not muster any heroics. Missouri defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams sacked Reeing in the end zone for a safety, cementing the final score at 36-28.
Kansas came close to a comeback victory on Saturday night, close to a perfect regular season and close to a berth in the Big 12 Championship game. But the small things that Missouri did right and that Kansas did wrong decided the Border Showdown outcome. The Jayhawks' uncharacteristic mistakes — overthrown passes and barely missed field goals — caught up with them and ended their quest for perfection.
—Edited By Chris Beattie
SMU hands Kansas first loss
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
Kansas split its pair of games during the holiday break, downing Drake 69-64 on Friday night before falling to host team SMU 68-56 on Saturday.
In the Drake game, sophomore guard La Chel d a Jacobs came off the bench and led Kansas with 15 points. Jacobs played only 20 minutes but shot
Jacobs
a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. Sophomore guards Danielle McCray and Sade Morris added 14 points and 10 points, respec-
The Jayhawks shot an impressive 48 percent from the field despite missing all six shots from beyond the arc.
tivelv.
SMU played host to the tournament and was its favorite to win going into the weekend. The Mustangs played up to the expectations.
In game one.
McCray
SMU trounced Western Michigan 86-61, thanks to 21 points from center Janielle Dodds. The senior secured tournament MVP honors with 29 points against the Jayhawks the following night.
Kansas played SMU close through the first half, and the
teams entered the break tied at 25. But Dodds' dominant post play and Kansas' 24 turnovers proved too much to overcome.
McCray scored a season-high 21 points, Jacobs poured in 12, and senior forward Taylor McIntosh achieved her sixth career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
None of that could keep the Jayhawks from falling to 3-1 on the season.
In their victory against Drake, the Jayhawks shot from the charity stripe 31 times but made only 11 trips to the line in their loss to the Mustangs.
Kansas takes the court again Tuesday when it plays Creighton at 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse.
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Edited by Chris Beattie
guys rebounding the ball. They are just not going after the ball like they should."
Kansas still won the game despite its imperfections. The Wildcats withstood an early run, defended well on the perimeter and made the best of a great night from Budinger. The Jayhawks have a game against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, and on Sunday they play Southern California, a team that could challenge them as Arizona did.
After struggling with a Top 25-caliber team for 45 minutes, Rush thinks Kansas should be ready for any upcoming game.
"It was an overtime game, a grind-it-out game," he said. "I'm glad we had one of these games. We needed it."
—Edited by Chris Beattie
Jon Goering/KANSAN
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Junior guard Brandon Rush pushes past an Arizona defender for a layup. Doctors cleared Rusn for only 20 minutes of playtime, he played 32.
MLB Cordero reaches four-year contract worth $46 million
CINCINNATI (AP) — Free-agent closer Francisco Cordero has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement on a four-year, $46
million contract with the Cincinnati Reds.
The 32-year-old Cordero was second in the National League with 44 saves last season for Milwaukee and made the NL All-Star team.
Associated Press
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