sports
6A the university daily kansan
monday,november 17,2003
FOOTBALL: Kansas never recovers from halftime deficit
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12A
"I just put it up there and gave him a chance," Luke said. "He's got some big hands on him. I was pretty amazed."
Oklahoma State added two field goals to take a 16-10 lead at halftime, and the game was almost never the same again.
The Jayhawks intercepted Cowboys quarterback Josh Fields to start the third quarter, and Barmann re-entered the game with multiple layers of tape on his banged-up ankle. A Jerod Brooks 21-yard field goal pulled Kansas within three points, but then Morency took over.
Oklahoma's sophomore tailback entered Saturday's game with little expectation.
Regular starter Tatum Bell was out with an injury, as well as his backup Seymore Shaw. Morency broke off long run after long run in the Cowboys' 21-point third quarter to dash any hopes Kansas had of getting its first road conference victory since 2000.
"I just wish I could have transferred my yards over to Tatum today," Morency said. "He is my worst critic. When I do something wrong, he is the first one on me, and visa versa."
In a game where both defenses bent, allowing the opposition to consistently find the red zone without reaching the endzone, the Kansas defense was the first to break.
After the game, the words to explain the third quarter debacle were not easy to find. It marked the second straight week in
"I feel we've had a lot of games where we should have come out victorious and we didn't"
Mark Simmons Kansas wide receiver
which Kansas let go of a game early in the third quarter. Last week, Adam Barmann's interception at the Nebraska goal line spelled doom for the Jayhawks, but this week it was on the other side of the ball.
Frie Braem/Kansan
"We started off alight, getting an interception and everything," sophomore linebacker Gabe Toomey said. "It got away from us, I don't really know what to say about it."
Mangino spent the rest of the afternoon playing musical quarterbacks between Barmann and Luke, and the Jayhawks were unable to score again until late in the fourth quarter.
Most Kansas players who spoke with the media pointed out that this loss is already behind them, and the season now comes down to one meeting with Iowa State.
While a bowl is not guaranteed if Kansas gets its six victory next weekend, finishing with six victories is something the program has not accomplished since 1995. Even facing a team next weekend that is winless in conference play, for some it is hard to be satisfied in the midst of a four-game funk.
Oklahoma State's Vernand Morency rushed for a career-high 269 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Cowboys crushed the Jayhawks Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. Morency replaced Tatum Bell, the Big 12 Conference's leading rusher with 124 yards per game.
"I feel we've had a lot of games
where we should have come out victorious and we didn't," sophomore receiver Mark Simmons said. "People say that's progress,
but the way I look at this season, that's a downfall."
—Edited by Ashley Marriott
Oklahoma State runs around Kansas
By Kevin Flaherty
kflaherty@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
STILLWATER, Okla. — All-American candidate running back Tatum Bell didn't play for the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who were trying to bounce back from consecutive losses. His backup, Seymore Shaw, who averages more than six yards per carry, also missed the game.
It didn't matter.
Third-string running back Verand Morency ran for 269 yards and three touchdowns as the Cowbies handed the Jayhawks a 44-21 loss.
more running back, who spent a stint in minor league baseball, ranks among the school's best.
Morency even equated the experience of being in "the zone" with something experienced in his other sport.
That's when Morency exploded. Speeding through giant holes the offensive line created, Morency ran past, around and over lajhawk defenders on his way to 170 rushing yards for the quarter. He averaged more than 10 yards per carry for the game and his yardage total was the eighth best in Cowboy history. His accomplishments were all the more impressive considering Morency didn't even carry the ball in the fourth quarter.
"It was like getting a hanging curve ball and just hammering it," Morency said. "You don't even feel it coming off your bat."
The Jayhawks played well in the first half and started the second half with a bang as Kenneth Thompson intercepted a Josh Fields pass at the 15 yard line. Kansas only mustered a field goal out of the great field position to cut the Cowboy lead to 16-13.
Oklahoma State ran past a Kansas team that was only a few yards from taking the lead early in the third quarter. The 16-13 Cowboy lead with 11:52 left in the third quarter quickly grew to 37-13 advantage by the period's end. Just a few minutes later, Oklahoma State added another touchdown.
The performance of the sopho
The victory was the opposite of last week's crushing loss to Texas when the Longhorns utilized a large, second-half effort to steam-roll past the Cowboys.
Eric Braem/Kansan
Defensive end Greg Richmond said the Texas game served as a motivator when Oklahoma State came out for the second half.
But Morency wasn't the only standout player for the Cowboys. Wide receiver Rashaun Woods caught a late touchdown but had the 69-yard touchdown called back for an illegal block.
Kansas quarterback Brian Luke threw the football under pressure from Oklahoma State defensive end Greg Richmond in the second quarter. Luke set three career highs: throwing for two touchdowns, completing 22 of 38 passes and throwing for 193 yards while filling in for the injured Adam Barmann.
"We just wanted to come out and make a statement," Richmond said.
Gabe Lindsay had two long returns to give the Cowboys great
field position. Richmond added two sacks to his total and harassed Kansas quarterbacks all day.
While Oklahoma State fired on all cylinders, Kansas put together spurts of offense by playing musical quarterbacks.
OKLAHOMA STATE-44 KANSAS-21
BREAKDOWN
KANSAS OKLAHOMA STATE
First Downs 26 25
Rushes-Yards 36-136 36-295
Passing Yards 259 190
Total Plays 89 58
Total Yards 395 485
Penalties-Yards 7-43 6-71
Punts-Avg. 5-41.4 2-44.0
Interceptions 2 3
Third Downs 6-18 1-7
Fourth Downs 3-3 0-0
Red Zone Scoring 4-5 8-8
Time of Possession 38:23 21:37
KANSAS
PASSING
Comp. Att. Yards TD INT
Brian Luke 22 38 193 2 1
Adam Barmann 8 14 66 0 1
John Nielsen 0 1 0 0 1
RUSHING
Att. Yds. TD Avg.
Clark Green 18 77 0 4.3
John Randle 6 22 0 3.7
Brian Luke 3 18 0 6.0
John Nielsen 1 15 0 15.0
Adam Barmann 5 5 0 1.0
Austine Nwabuisi 1 3 0 3.0
Harold McClendon 1 0 0 0.0
Charles Gordon 1 -4 0 -4.0
RECEIVING
Rec. Yds. TD Long
Charles Gordon 9 72 0 19
Mark Simmons 4 56 1 19
Denver Latimore 4 32 0 10
Moderick Johnson 3 35 1 17
Brandon Rideau 3 21 0 10
John Randle 3 18 0 9
Clark Green 2 14 0 8
Harold McClendon 1 6 0 6
Gary Heaggans 1 5 0 5
OKLAHOMA STATE
PASSING
Comp. Att. Yards TD INT
Josh Fields 14 21 190 1 1
Jamie Beeghley 0 1 0 0 1
RUSHING
Att. Yds. TD Avg.
Vernand Morency 25 269 3 10.8
Shawn Willis 4 25 1 6.2
Tommy Devereaux 1 4 0 4.0
Greg Gold 3 3 0 1.0
Greg Jones 2 2 0 1.0
Josh Fields 1 -8 0 -8.0
RECEIVING
Rec. Yds. TD Long
Rashaun Woods 4 38 1 11
Chay Nease 3 64 0 32
Gabe Lindsay 3 17 0 12
D'Juan Woods 1 51 0 51
Vernand Morency 1 8 0 8
John Wohlgemuth 1 7 0 7
Charlie Johnson 1 5 0 5
While the Kansas-Oklahoma State matchup isn't generally considered a rivalry game, attitudes began to flair in the second half.
Already without the services of award-candidate Bill Whittemore, Adam Barmann injured his ankle with about five minutes left in the first quarter. Brian Luke entered the game and put together his best performance as a Jayhawk, completing passes for yards and touchdowns. Once Barmann's ankle was taped, Mangino rotated the two quarterbacks for the rest of the game, going with whichever quarterback had the hot hand. All three Kansas quarterbacks — John Nielsen threw a pass in the final minute — threw interceptions in the game.
Richmond smacked Barmann to the turf after he threw the ball and refused to help him up. Brian Luke took a late shot out of bounds that resulted in three penalties, one for the late hit and two on coach Mark Mangino for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The victory helped the Cowboys (8-3, 4-3) cement their place in upper tier of the Big 12 and gave the players hope of landing a strong bowl game.
Cornerback Thomas Wright, who intercepted a pass in the game, said Oklahoma State was not used to being in such a high position within the conference.
"It feels good not to be at the bottom any more." Wright said.
- Edited by Abby Sidesinger
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