THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY NOVEMBER 10 2000
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10,2008
NEBRASKA 45, KANSAS 35
Weston White/KANSAN
NU REGAINS RESPECT
Despite injuries, Nebraska QB Joe Ganz made plays boosting team's morale
FOOTBALLWRAPUP
Huskers lingered on the field and danced around while fans started chants for each of their conquering heroes as they jogged off into the frigid night. It might have been a bit much, but success-starved fans in Lincoln appreciated what the victory meant.
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
each home
collect your
ALLEE
iss.com.
FREE!
LINCOLN, Neb. — Judging by the postgame celebration in Memorial Stadium, one could think that Nebraska just won the Big 12 title.
Nebraska is now bowl eligible — it seems destined for the Sun Bowl — and with closing games at Kansas State and against Colorado, an 8-4 record is possible. Saturday's victory averted any doomsday scenarios and cleared the nightmares of last week's 62-28 blowout at Oklahoma.
"It's about the kids on this football team and they needed this," coach Bo Pelini said. "They were heartbroken after what happened last weekend and I wanted it for them."
Quarterback Joe Ganz has hobbled by an ankle injury in the second quarter and a banged-up knee in the third. Limping badly up to the line of scrimmage, Ganz rarely showed signs of injury once the plav started.
Pelini and Ganz each believe they would win that fictional sideline fight. Ganz even joked that the other 113 players would help him take Pelini down in order for him to stay in the game.
"Joe's the man," Pelini said. "You'd have to scrape him off the field to get him out of there. He would have fought me before he would have let me take him out."
That's the kind of postgame fun you earn with a hard fought victory. And some trickery.
Nebraska reached into its bag of tricks for three atypical plays and each one gained either a first down or touchdown.
On their second drive of the game, the Cornhuskers pushed the ball down to the four-yard line. Once there, running back Marlon Lucky took a direct snap, faked a run with a hard step forward then pulled up for a touchdown jump pass to Mike McNeill.
In the fourth quarter, Kansas cut its deficit to 31-28 with a nine play, 80-yard drive. Nebraska's response was big, to say the least.
frenzy and its released hundreds of red balloons in celebration.
"Everybody gives me a hard time, but I think personally I have good hands for a big guy," Suh said.
The touchdown put a cherry on his day, which also included a career high in tackles (12) and sacks (2.5).
The final trick came on Nebraska's final scoring drive.
Ganz drove down to Kansas' 2-yard line, and in marched 300-pound defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. The Huskers used Suh as a lead blocker for one of Roy Helu Jr's two touchdown runs earlier, and it appeared he would reprise the role.
On fourth and eight, kicker Alex Henery lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt. Instead of kicking it he took a flip pass for a nine-yard gain and a first down. Henery fumbled on the play but recovered it. Five plays later Ganz hit Nate Swift to make the score 45-28.
The play sent the crowd into a
After Helu gained no yards on first down, however, Pelini called the big man's number and he was wide open for a touchdown reception. Suh said he was never worried about dropping the pass.
"We just wanted to come out and try to regain some of that respect that Kansas may have lost for us as a program," Potter said. "We're still Nebraska and they're still Kansas."
Quarterback Iodd Reesing was under fire all game, getting sacked five times and taking some brutal hits by the Nebraska defense. He was unable to talk to the media after the game because he was receiving treatment from the team's medical staff but coach Mark Mangino thought Reesing would be fine.
"Hopefully its nothing real serious," Mangino said. "I don't think it is. I think he'll be OK."
Nebraska's defense hasn't practiced with its famed black shirts all season and surrendering 422 yards and 35 points won't get them back, but they did make a few stilting plays.
REESING BANGED UP
Besides Suh's monster game, defensive end Zach Potter also came up big. On the first play from scrimmage following Suh's touchdown, Potter snared Todd Reesing's pass from the air for an interception.
TRICKERY DOESN'T WORK
Last year Nebraska lost 76-39 in Lawrence, and Potter said it felt good to end that trick.
COLD CONDITIONS
After practicing for most of the week with sunny skies and temperatures near 70 degrees, Kansas was treated to a kickoff temperature of 35 degrees on Saturday with winds of more than 20 miles per hour. The brutal conditions didn't seem to affect either team or the 85,486 fans who packed into Memorial Stadium for the 296th consecutive sellout.
Alonzo Rojas' punt went for just 27 yards and Nebraska running back Roy Helo Jr. scored on a 52-yard run on the next play to put the Cornhuskers up by 10 and essentially seal the game for NU.
Trailing by three entering the fourth quarter, Kansas had a second down and one at its own 32-yard line. Instead of running Jake Sharp to get the first down, Kansas tried a reverse to wide receiver Kerry Meier. Meier was tackled for a loss of seven yards and Kansas had to punt after an incomplete pass on third down.
Kansas tried to come back but the margin was too great.
"They caught us in a good call!" Mangino said. "If that linebacker doesn't come over the top, their whole defense is into the boundary and we've got a big play. But credit to him, he made a good football play."
football notes
B. J. Rains
Nebraska quarterback Joe Ganz passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns and running back Roy Helu Jr. had 115 yards and two touchdowns, including a back-breaking 52-yard touchdown scamper early through the fourth quarter that put Nebraska up by 10 points and sent many of the 85,000 freezing fans into a frenzy.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
After being tied 14-14 at halftime, the Kansas defense struggled to even slow down the Nebraska offense. The Cornhuskers scored on five of six second-half possessions and led by as many as 17 in the fourth quarter before a late Kansas score brought the final margin to 10 points.
"The things that we said we had to do today, we did not do," coach Mark Mangino said. "We said all week that we had to stop their run, and we did not do that effectively, at least not in key situations. We said that we had to run the ball well, and we did not do that. Their defensive line disrupted our run game."
The offensive line, which seemed to gel during the Kansas State game, got manhandled up front by the Cornhusner front four. Running back Jake Sharp finished with 90 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, but had just 29 vards on 11 carries in the first half.
The line struggled to protect quarterback Todd Reesing, who was flushed from the pocket several times and took a couple of brutal hits that kept him from speaking with the media afterwards while he received treatment from the medical staff.
Kansas won the turnover battle 4-1 but couldn't take advantage of the Cornhusker miscues. The Jayhawks had a fourth down stop, a James Holt interception and a fumble recovery — all in the first half — but weren't able to turn any of them into points.
"I've never seen him on the turf as much as he was today," Briscoe said of Reesing. "But there's a first time for everything."
"We're going to show up and play both of them," Mangino said. "And we're going to play hard and see what happens. Two good football teams, but we're good enough if we play well that we can stand with anybody. We'll be ready to go against Texas. We're disappointed but not discouraged."
The layhawks entered the fourth quarter down by three points, but Reesing had completed just eight passes on 14 attempts. Reesing finished 15-30 for 304 yards and three scores but was sacked five times and had a costly interception in the fourth.
Kansas now sits in third place in the Big 12 North standings and needs a miracle to reach the goal for their season, the Big 12 Nnth title. And with their title hopes all but gone, Kansas now has two top-15 teams awaiting on the schedule.
"You have to have takeaways to have a chance, especially on the road," Mangino said. "But at the end of the day, when you have takeaways like that, you like to think you're going to win the game."
Edited by Ramsey Cox
— Edited by Rachel Burchfield
COMP/ATT YDS TD INT
28/37 324 3 1
No. YDS TD
7 111 1
8 61 0
IT WAS OVER WHEN...
VIEW FROM THE PRESSBOX
Joe Ganz hit Nate Swift for a 14-yard score with 3:48 remaining. The touchdown pushed the score to 45-28 and Nebraska easily withstood Kansas's last-ditch effort in the final minutes.
GAME BALL GOES TO...
"Their defensive line is probably the strongest part of their football team. They're very good, anyone that's played them knows that. We needed to be able to get some runs on the inside, take some pressure off the quarterback in the pocket, and we were not able to do that."
GAME TO FORGET...
Kansas' offensive line.
The Nebraska defensive line terrorized Kansas all game and sacked Troy Reeseing five times.
The Jayhawks' front don't open many holes for the rushing game and looked very overmatched
UP TO 30% OFF!
OUOTABLE.
GAME TO FORGET...
Every Tuesday following a KU football game, the KU Bookstores offers a 5% discount for each touchdown the KU football.team scored the previous weekend, with a 30% maximum discount.
Coach Mark Mangino on his offensive line's inability to control the line of scrimmage:
game
So get
or in the
TOUCHDOWN TUESDAYS
*Discount is available in-store or online at kaukobookstores.com and does not apply to electronics, textbooks, consumables, or sales items. All online orders placed 12 a.m.-11:59 p.m. CST on Tuesdays following a KU football game will see the discounted price(s) on the final purchase receipt.
KU BOOKSTORES
KANSAS UNION
BURGESS UNION
EZWANDA'S CAMPUS
(785) 864-4440
kubo@bookstore.ku.edu
Weston White/KANSAN
Sophmore Alonso Rojas attempts to kick the ball after a Kansas touchdown. Rojas had trouble getting a good kickoff because of the windy conditions at Saturday's game in Lincoln in Kansas' 45-35 loss.