4B
KANSAS 30, COLORADO 14
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008
FOOTBALL REWIND
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
teney, Jake's a hard working kid. He kept his chin up and continued to learn, and it's paid off for him."
Sharp's 31 carries were the most for a Kansas running back since Jon Cornish in 2006, and his 118 yards rushing were the most by a Jayhawk since Brandon McAnderson rushed for 132 yards against Oklahoma State last season.
"I guess for anyone who has ever doubted the fact that I can't do that, there you go." Sharp said. "If you keep working hard and plugging away it usually comes back to you. And it did."
Kansas led just 9-7 at halftime but could have trailed if not for a strong performance from the Jayhawk defense. Kendrick Harper and Darrrell Stuckey both had interceptions and Jake Laptad sacked Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins in the end zone for a safety, the first KU safety since Maxwell Onyegbule had a sack against Southeastern Louisiana last season.
"The defense bailed out the special teams" Mangino said.
The special teams unit struggled to say the least, having problems in almost every phase. Daymond Patterson and Dexton Fields both fumbled punt returns, Jacob Branstetter missed a 39-yard field goal and Marcus Herford averaged just 13 yards on two kick returns against the worst kickoff coverage team in the nation in the Buffaloes.
The Jayhawks' average starting field position on the first five drives was their own 16 yard line, with their best start in that span being just the 24 yard line.
"I'll make sure that we get that corrected," Mangino said. "That is my number one priority going into practice this week."
Reeing completed 27 of 34 passes for 256 yards and one touchdown, a five yard strike to Dezmon Briscoe that capped a 12-play, 78-yard drive that made it 16-7 Kansas late in the third quarter. Reeing now needs just six completions to move past Frank Seuer for the school record.
Sharp, who had just 21 carries his entire freshman season in 2006, added touchdown runs of seven and eight yards in the fourth quarter as the Jayhawks pulled away for the 16-point victory.
Kansas now travels to Oklahoma for a nationally televised ABC matchup on Saturday against the Sooners, who were ranked No. 1 before losing 45-35 to Texas on Saturday. After opening the season 5-1 and 2-0 in conference play, Kansas will now play four Top 10 teams in a span of seven weeks.
"I see an opportunity for our football program to make a statement." Mangino said.
notes
MEIER BANGED UP
Despite having nine catches for 94 yards, Kerry Meier appeared to be injured for most of the Jayhawks' 30-14 victory against Colorado. Meier had an obvious limp and was on the bench for several key third down plays, normally the time that he excels.
After the game, he sidestepped multiple questions about his health. Here was the brief exchange with reporters:
Question: Is your health a concern at all?
Meier: "Offensively and defensively, we played great tonight. Special teams needs to come along but we'll fix things this week and get ready for the Sooners."
Question: Are you at 100 percent?
Meier: "I go out and try to play 100 percent. I might not be all the way there, but I'm going to play my heart out and see how things go"
Question: Are you limited at all?
Meier: "Offensively, I think we played well enough to win the ballgame. We just made more plays than Colorado did and executed just a little bit more and came out on top."
OKLAHOMA
GAME AT 2:30
Edited by Rachel Burchfield
ABC announced this weekend that the Kansas—Oklahoma game on Saturday will begin at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on the network. The Jayhawks would have been traveling to play the nation's top team had the Sooners not lost 45-35 to Texas on Saturday. Instead, Kansas will now face a hungry and fired up Oklahoma squad wanting to make a statement.
Texas will play host to Missouri, who lost 28-23 at home to Oklahoma State, on Saturday at 7 p.m. That game will be televised by ABC as well.
B. J. Rains
Hawks' defense drives victory
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
Jake Laptap fired out of his defensive stance and rushed past Colorado's offensive line.
The sophomore defensive end is a quarterback's nightmare. He's 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds with plenty of speed to get up field in a flash, as he did midway through the second quarter.
With the offensive line behind him, Laptad tracked down Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins and wrapped him up for a sack — his team-leading fifth of the year — and Kansas' first safety of the season.
The strange thing was that the Buffaloes started the play at their own 16-yard line.
"I was really surprised." Laptad said. "I was expecting him to cut back in, but he didn't cut back in at all. He just kept trying to get farther away."
Laptad's safety put the Jayhawks up 9-7 and they never relinquished the lead, cruising to a 30-14 victory.
The play was unusual, to say the least, because Hawkins could have tossed the ball out of bounds at any time. Instead, he kept retreating towards his own end zone where Laptad took him down.
"Honestly, I didn't even think about a safety when that play started," junior safety Darrell Stuckey said. "But when it ended I was like, 'What line were we on?'
Laptad's safety set a defensive tone that helped carry Kansas until the offense finally came around.
The Jayhawks' offense started with three punts and a missed field goal, but luckily the defense was solid throughout the game.
That wasn't always easy, as Kansas' special teams often put its defense in tough situations.
"The defense balled out the special teams today," Mangino said. "You can do everything perfect with 10 guys and one can break down. But I'm not going to lie to you, there were two or three guys on some units today that didn't do their job."
Stuckey is one of the few starters who also plays on special teams.
"I don't think we lack the ability, but it's more about us going out there and being prideful about it," Stuckey said.
Weston White/KANSAN
Late in the first quarter, Alonso Rojas' punt from his own end zone traveled just 27 yards.
Sophomore defensive end Jake Laptad celebrates with Maxwell Onyegbule by showing the signal for a safety after Laptad sacked the Colorado quarterback in the end zone.
Colorado took advantage of the
short field with a quick drive and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Hawkins to Cody Crawford.
Crawford was open because he faked out cornerback Kendrick Harper with a double move and help didn't arrive in time.
Harper shrugged off the play and finished with three pass breakups and an interception. Harper has dealt with a plethora of injuries throughout his career, including being carted off the sidelines in week two. After the game Mangino called him a "happy cat" because he made it through unscathed.
"Poor guy, he finally played two weeks in a row." Mangino. "If we can just keep him healthy and keep him going, he'll get better as we go."
Hawkins was pulled from the game — by his father, no less — in the fourth quarter for freshman quarterback Matt Ballenger.
Kansas' defense tortured Hawkins all afternoon, as he completed only 8 of 22 passes with two interceptions and that one memorable sack.
The credit for that 16-yard loss may belong to Hawkins for simply not using his head, but Stuckey said Laptad's hustle epitomized Kansas defense.
"It showed desire, it showed effort and it showed a commitment and dedication to getting to the football on defense," Stuckey said. "Jake did everything he had to do to get to the quarterback, by any means necessary."
Edited by Adam Mowder
Junior running back Jake Sharp breaks the goal-line during a second-quarter touchdown run during
Sophomore defensive end Jake Laptad chases Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins into the end zone, where Laptad brought him down for a safety. The first half.
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