B SOUTH FLORIDA 37, KANSAS 34
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
FOOTBALL WRAP-UP
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Running back Angus Quigley breaks a tackle on his way to a 20-yard gain on Kansas' final drive in the fourth quarter. Quigley was the Jayhawks' leading rusher again, gaining 22 yards on three carries. Other running backs Jocewald Cjockery and Jake Sharp combined for 26 yards.
stop the Bulls. After a Bonani field goal made it 20-13, Grothe found Taurus Jackson in the back of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown that tied the game at 20. The play was initially rulen an incomplete pass but was reviewed and overturned after the replay judge ruled that Jackson had control of the ball before he fell out of the back of the end zone.
"it's unexplainable," safety Darrell Stuckey said of the turnaround.
After once holding a controlling 17-point lead, Kansas now found itself down by 14 early in the fourth quarter.
After a Jamar Taylor 13-yard run made it 27-20 South Florida, Grotte found A.J. Love for a 38-yard score that made it 34-20 and capped a 31-0 run for the Bulls.
"We had control of the game in the first half," Reesing said. "The offense just didn't do anything in the third quarter. We fell apart."
But Reesing and company refused to go down without a fight. The Jayhawks responded with an impressive drive, converting four third down conversions before Reesing found Jonathan Wilson for his second touchdown of the game — an 18-yard grab that cut the defi-
— an 18-yard grab that cut the defi-
cit to seven with 9:51 to play.
"We got it going in the fourth quarter but it was just a little bit too late," said Wilson, who had 10 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
After the KU defense got a much needed defensive stand thanks to a James Holt 16-yard sack on third down, the KU offense went back to work. Faced with a third and 20 from the USF 45, Reesing scrambled again and found Kerry Meier
who had 11 catches for 120 yards
— for a leaping grab that went for 26 yards and gave the Jayhawks a rare first down.
Quigley led Kansas in rushing for the third straight game but had just 22 yards on three carries. As a team, the layhawks continued their struggle on the ground, accumulating only 61 yards on the ground on 21 attempts.
The KU defense got another big stop following the Quigley touchdown, setting up what the Jayhawks thought was going to be the game-winning drive.
"We had all the confidence in the world that we were going to drive down and score and win the game," Reesing said. "We had just had two big drives to tie the game and had a chance there for a big play but the ball was just a little
underdhrown and the safety made a hell of a play"
Coach Mark Mangino praised Reeing after the game, saying he had no problem at all with his decision on the last play.
"You play to win the game," Mangino said. "You're on the road — you're not playing for overtime. Those things happen. That's not the issue. There are other issues that we need to deal with but one of them is not Todd."
No longer worried about an undefeated season, Kansas will host Sarn Houston State on Saturday before opening Big 12 play after a bwee week at Iowa State on Oct. 4.
"It always hurts to come a long way and lose," Quigley said. "But it's early in the season and this doesn't have anything to do with Big 12 standings and our goal in the North. Obviously we're not where we thought we were, so we have to come out and go back to work."
Edited by Rachel Burchfield
QB says: Don't blame the D
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
TAMPA, Fla. — Todd Reesing swore the South Florida defensive line's pressure didn't bother him Friday night.
Todd Reesing and offensive lineman Jeremiah Hatch go wild after Reesing ran for a first half touchdown. The first half was all smiles and celebrations for the Jayhawks, as they built a 20-3 lead.
But he sure spent a lot of time eluding potential tacklers behind the line of scrimmage in Kansas' 37-34 loss to South Florida, Still, Reesing said he thought freshmen tackles Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch held up well against the Bulls' vaulted pass rush.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
"We had plenty of time. They blocked great," Reesing said. "In the third quarter, we just couldn't get things going."
Oh, the disastrous third quarter where the Bulls scored 17 points in the middle of a 31-0 run to take the lead from the Jayhawks. In less than 20 minutes, Kansas went from being ahead 20-3 to falling behind 34-20.
And much of the problems during that run came from an inability to stop South Florida's pass rush, while failing to supply quarterback pressure of its own defensively.
Kansas converted six of nine third-down conversions in the first quarter. Whenever South Florida appeared to have it stopped, Reesing stepped up in the pocket and calmly found the open receiver.
He didn't have that luxury in the second half. USF All-American defensive end George Selvie rushed past Spikes on the first third-down attempt of the second half and forced Reesing to throw the ball away. It didn't stop. It was merely a preview of the rest of the game.
Mangino said considering the wide splits and how much Kansas threw the ball - 51 times - he thought the offensive line played fine. Mangino, however, couldn't hide his disapproval with the effort from the defensive line.
"Their ends were split out very wide," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said, "and what their philosophy was is they wanted to beat those kids out of their stance."
While the Bulls forced Reesing to scramble sideline-to-sideline and make quick decisions, USF quarterback Matt Grothe often had all the time he needed.
He ran for a 28-yard touchdown to start the 31-0 run at the end of the second quarter after he scanned the field for several seconds without finding an open receiver. Grothe waited for senior receiver Taurus Johnson to outrun the coverage and delivered a 21-yard pass for the second USF touchdown, which tied the score at 20.
"We have to be able to get to the quarterback with a four man rush and we're not doing that," Mangino said. "We're not getting there."
"When we have to bring five or six that means we have to man up in some situations," Mangino said, "and we really don't want to man up with a couple of younger kids that are in the secondary. They're not ready for that yet."
A prime example came on South Florida's final touchdown. The Jayhawks sent a linebacker, which left sophomore cornerback Isiah Barfield alone covering USF receiver A.J. Love.
Mangino said Kansas would have to become more efficient on getting pressure on the quarterback without sending linebackers.
Kansas did record two sacks, but both came on blitzes. Senior linebackers Mike Rivera and James Holt each knocked down Grothe once.
Reesing brought Kansas back to tie the game despite plenty of green jerseys in the Kansas backfield. Selvie seemed to stall the tying touchdown-drive when he beat spikes off the ball and sacked Reesing for an 11-yard loss.
Barfield, in his first career start.
Salvie almost got another sack two plays later, but Reesing tossed a quick shovel pass to junior guard Angus Quigley for a 14-yard touchdown.
didn't stand a chance. Love blew past him for a 37-yard pass on a go-routine to make the score 34-27.
It wasn't enough, USF freshman kicker Maikon Bonani made a 43-yard field goal to win the game. Perhaps if Reesing benefited from better protection in the third quarter, the outcome would have been different. But that's not what Reesing thought.
"Everybody wants to say our tackles are young." Reeing said. "That's over with. They played their asses off, they fought hard and they did the best they could."
Edited by Ramsey Cox
South Florida kicker Maikon Bonani boots the ball past the outstretched hands of Phillip Strozie, right, and Jeff Wheeler, left, for the game-winning 4
Quarterback Todd Reesing walks off the field after the loss to South Florida, only the second one of his career. He threw for 373 vards and three touchdowns.
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