THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2008
TUESDAY SPETFMBER 2 2008
KU 40,FIU10
d FIU 40-
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
lt record
Leve wee of a ultim
Jon Goering/KANSAN
10 in the season opener at Memorial Stadium.
ed three tackles in the game
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COMMENTARY
Saturday: duly noted
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
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CRAWFORD INJURES ANKLE
Jocques Crawford's first game as a Jayhawk didn't go exactly as planned.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound junior-college transfer was limited to just 32 yards rushing on 11 carries before leaving the game with an injured ankle during the third quarter.
"I'm just kind of upset about the fact of getting injured," Crawford said Saturday night. "I'm happy about the win, though. I didn't do as good as I thought I was going to do. It hurt a lot that I couldn't get out there and do more, but you know, it happens to everyone, and when you go down, you just have to get out there and support your teammates."
Crawford, who had six carries for 28 yards and a touchdown in
SEE DULY NOTED ON PAGE 6B
Junior running back Jake Sharp tries to break a tackle during Saturday's game. Sharp rushed the ball nine times for 29 yards in the game.
Warton White/KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Wide receivers bring 'A' game to opener
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
He led his team out of the tunnel, gained six yards on the first play of the season, and when junior quarterback Todd Reesing needed someone to get open in the end zone, he was there to close the deal.
Sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe stepped up everywhere Saturday night in Kansas' 40-10 victory over FIU. Briscoe caught nine passes and tied his career-high with three touchdown-receptions — all inside the five-yard line.
With Briscoe as its star, the Jayhawk receiving corps looked like the only ready-for-primetime player on offense.
The rushing game was inconsistent and slowed by an apparent injury to junior running back Jocques Crawford. The offensive line broke-in two inexperienced tackles that suffered through several mental lapses. Reesing's solid numbers (37-of-52 completions for 256 yards) were more about crisp route running than stellar throws.
"We had a lot of plays where we got just enough for the first down, and that's what we're looking for," Reesing said. "We don't need to get 18 yards if we only need five. We just need to get the first down and keep the drive moving."
Kansas converted 11-of-19 third down attempts. Nine of those were Reeing passes. Seven of those nine were to receivers who gained what was needed for a first down or two yards more.
Junior wide receiver Kerry Meier tied Briscoe for the lead with nine catches, three of which were for third-down conversions that were just past the first down marker.
"When teams are getting a lot
of third-down conversions, I think it really takes a toll on the defense mentally as well as physically," Meier said.
Offensive coordinator Ed Warinier said getting past the sticks was a focus for his receivers during practice, and he was pleased with Saturday's results.
Ten players caught at least one pass and five had three or more. Sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Wilson hauled in the longest reception of the night with a 24-yard grab, but freshman receiver and punt returner Daymond Patterson stole the show in the big-play department.
Patterson fielded a punt in the second quarter at his own 25. Seventy-five yards, a few jukes and one memorable hurdle later, Patterson was celebrating his first collegiate touchdown in the north end zone.
"That just happened on the spot." Patterson said of hurdling FIU's Ashlyn Parker. "I was running and he fell and I ended up jumping him, but I think it was pretty cool."
"Briscoe and I were on the side-lines, and we were just amazed," Wilson said. "He looks like a little kid out there."
Wilson said he enjoyed the show from the sidelines.
Not everything went according to plan for the Jayhawk receivers. In fact, things started rather horribly when Briscoe took a shot over the middle from FIU linebacker Scott Bryant and fumbled during Kansas' first possession.
"Getting your bell rung is better sometimes than getting taught how to do it because you'll remember next time when you see zone to sit down and split the difference
SEE RECEIVERS ON PAGE 6B
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Junior running back Jocques Crawford makes a cut during the first half of Saturday's game against FIU at Memorial Stadium. Crawford, who rushed for 32 yards on 11 carries, had X-rays of his ankle taken after the game.