KANSAN
2009
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009
5B
KANSAS 10, KANSAS STATE 17
TBALLREWIND
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Weston White/KANSAN
aluates goals
ause of the loss, but
ing to keep fighting"
ough the team is dis-
jurior kicker lacob
aid that Kansas foot-
quit and hit the
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing's pass is broken up at the line by a Kansas State defender. The Jayhawks committed three turnovers and scored just one touchdown in the 17-10 loss to Kansas State.
ton the th is at of rarris ars issing would sea twin- ing
Stuckey said that it was difficult
"That's our goal, not
back pretty good, at least I'm fortunate in that respect. I don't have a lot of guys that feel bad for themselves and hang their heads"
's game against will be the senior class's last appearance at home in Memorial Stadium, but Stuckey downplayed the importance of that game to the seniors. He said he thought it was more important that the seniors leave a good impression of the team with their tudes.
"We are ready to get back to work tomorrow and shake this loss loose once again."
said that the teams quickly shifted to immediately after the
s are pretty resilient," said. "They bounce
KERRY MEIER Senior receiver
for him to pinpoint exactly what was going wrong this season, but that all the players would need a little faith if they hoped to see success. Every unit, from the defensive line to the wide receivers, needs to be willing to push
themselves to another level, he said.
"It takes believing in each other and being selfless," Stuckey said. "It itakes going out there and doing your job and sacrificing your body. Success takes sacrifice, and you have to be willing to do your job and your job alone."
"It's just frustrating right now," Meier said. "I'm frustrated. But I'm going to do what I can to get this team going. We are ready to get back to work tomorrow and shake this loss loose once again."
Meier said he thought the team had to move forward.
Edited by Abbey Strusz
Follow Clark Goble at twitter.
com/cgoble89.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
three more times — his eightth, ninth and 10th turnovers in the last four weeks. After the game, he struggled to verbalize his—and Kansas'—struggles.
"I have no idea." Reesing said. "Your guess is as good as mine. This week was probably the best week of practice we've had in a long time. Then to come out on Saturday and not perform in the manner that you practice is tough. I don't have any answers."
The point in the game where the tide shifted from one sideline to the other happened in a five-minute span stretching from the end of the first half to the beginning of the third quarter.
After scrambling down the field, Reesing lunged into two Kansas State defenders and the ball popped loose. The Wildcats recovered at the Jayhawks' 43-yard line and subsequently scored a touchdown.
Kansas State jogged into the locker room at halftime with a 10-7 lead.
On the Wildcats' opening drive in the third quarter, they marched through the Jayhawks' defense with a tone-setting drive filled with physical play. Kansas State picked up 79 yards on the ground, including 63 yards and the drive-capping touchdown by junior running back Daniel Thomas.
"He's a big guy," Mangino said of the 6-foot-2, 227-pound Thomas, who rushed for 185 yards. "You have to wrap him up to get him on the ground. And we didn't always do a good job of putting him on the ground."
Still, Kansas' patchwork defense — sophomore cornerback Anthony Davis played significantly for the first time since the season opener — continued its streak of relatively steady play for much of the game.
But the problem was that the Jayhawks failed to get stops in the game's most critical moments,
After Kansas cut the lead to 17-10, Kansas State started a drive with 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the game. In need of a stop, the lajahawks couldn't manage to find one. The Wildcats ran the clock to zero.
Kansas has now lost four consecutive games and the road ahead doesn't get much easier: Nebraska travels to Lawrence
next week followed by a game at Texas.
Yet Saturday also marked Kansas' first loss in the Sunflower Showdown since 2005.
"I think it goes without saying that when you lose to a rival, it hurts more than losing to somebody else," Reesing said. "We enjoyed a pretty good stretch there with three years in a row. This is the first time I've had a loss to K-State, and it's not what you want. It hurts. It stings."
Follow Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/JaysonJenks
- Edited by Amanda Thompson
Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas crosses the goal line after a five yard rushing touchdown. Thomas led the Wildcats with 185 of their 281 total yards on the ground in Saturday's 17-0 victory against the Jahawks.
COLUMN (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
then drift off into the sunset once more. Jayhawk fans saw him as a ghost of a long gone decade. As the game between the Wildcats and the Jayhawks approached, Jayhawk fans mocked him more than feared him.
In a sense, those expectations were fulfilled Saturday. Snyder didn't make magic. At no point
did K-State appear to be anything more than a solid team playing a smart, close-to-the-vest game. No one would mistake Snyder's current bunch for his past juggernauts.
It was the laj Hawks, rather who looked scary. And not in a good way.
There are any number of
superlatives that could apply to how Kansas' offense looked this Saturday, and none are flattering. But in this case, words paint a paltry picture when contrasted with the crass truth presented by raw numbers.
Kansas turned the ball over three times, one leading to a K-State touchdown. Over the last four games — all losses
— Kansas has committed 12 turnovers. These have resulted in nine touchdowns for the opposition. A quick scan of the boxscore reveals other disturbing trends: a poor rushing attack, a failure to capitalize when the ball is in possession, an inability to stifle the other team's ground game, etc.
2. Lubbock Smith. Smith was routinely around the ball while defending Kansas State's rushing attack. Smith recorded a career-high nine tackles, including one stop behind the line of scrimmage.
2. Jacob Branstetter. Branstetter missed two 30-yard field goals, including one on Kansas' opening drive. After the game coach Mark Mangino said that the blame didn't rest with Branstetter, and that's true. But those are two kicks Branstetter must make.
All of those things together resulted in the only statistic that truly matters — Kansas' conference record, a harrowing 1-4. It's extra horrifying because it's a flashback to the '90s — Kansas finds itself in the Big 12 North cellar, while Kansas State sits atop the standings. The thought of such a thing manifesting in the present is as horrible as the reappearance of the Backstreet Boys. Let's just say: sorry, Backstreet Boys, I don't want it that way.
1. Darrell Stuckey. Stuckey was easily Kansas' best player on the field Saturday. He returned the game's opening kickoff 67 yards to Kansas State's 32-yard line. And he recorded six tackles, including a touchdown-saving stop when he knocked speedy wide receiver Brandon Banks down with one hand along the sideline.
1. Todd Reesing. Reesing showed flashes of improvement on Saturday, and he passed for 241 yards and a touchdown. But he continued turning the ball over: He had three turnovers against K-State. One of those turnovers resulted in a K-State touchdown right before halftime.
Quote of the Game
Play of the Game
Mangino
Coach Mark Mangino on the difference in the game: "They didn't make a lot of mistakes and they didn't have a lot of turnovers or penalties. The team that does that usually wins the game."
Game Balls
3. Jake Sharp. Sharp simply hasn't been the same since returning to the lineup against Colorado on Oct. 17. Sharp rushed for just 35 yards on 11 carries. His longest rush was for nine yards.
Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph
After Kansas scored a touchdown to take a 7-3 first-half lead, senior safety Darrell Stuckey made a tackle that allowed the Jayhawks to keep the lead on the Wildcats' ensuing possession. After K-State executed a double-reverse that put the ball in speedy Brandon Banks' hands, Stuckey knocked Banks down with one hand along the sideline. Banks, it appeared, would have scored otherwise.
3. Dezmon Briscoe. On a day when Kansas' offense struggled to score, Briscoe gets the nod for delivering the Jayhawks' their only touchdown. He finished the game with seven catches for 76 yards and hauled in a 17-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Todd Reesing.
Notes
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL...
THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY...
The defense continued playing well enough to give Kansas a chance of winning. At the beginning of the season the defense appeared to be Kansas' biggest liability. Not anymore. Kansas allowed their fewest points since holding Duke to 16 points on Sept. 19.
GOOD, BAD OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?
The run game struggled once again. The Jayhawks haven't rushed for 100 yards in their last four games — all Kansas losses. Mangino reshuffled his offensive line before Saturday's game, but the unit continued to struggle to open up running lanes. That doesn't help an offense that hasn't clicked for much of the season.
D-LINE DOING ITS JOB?
It's hard to tell. Kansas' defensive line sacked K-State quarterback Grant Gregory just once and the Wildcats rushed for 266 yards. That's not usually a good sign for the defensive line. But Kansas' other defensive players also struggled to bring down Thomas on first contact, allowing the big running back to pick up extra yards down the field.
BIGGEST ANSWER...
Now that Kansas is all-but-erased from the Big 12 North race, the attention must turn to qualifying for a bowl game. The Jayhawks currently need one more victory to at least qualify for postseason play but no game on the remaining schedule is guaranteed. Nebraska and Missouri aren't playing well, either, but they still possess tough challenges.
STILL QUESTIONING...
The talk of Kansas winning the Big 12 North ended Saturday in Manhattan. True, the Jayhawks aren't mathematically eliminated from the equation. But they certainly don't control their own destiny. Plus Kansas still has to play the Big 12's best team, Texas, on the road.
LOOKING AHEAD...
What will happen with Kansas' offense? Before the season the Jayhawks talked of putting together one of the best units in Kansas football history. And, really, that didn't seem too unlikely. But Reesing and company simply haven't produced in their last four games. Can they get it turned around at this point in the season?
Original prediction: Kansas 24, Kansas State 23. Actual score: Kansas State 17, Kansas 10. Both teams needed a victory but Kansas appeared to enter the game in a more desperate situation. The Jayhawks simply struggled on offense in a more desperate situation.
FINAL THOUGHT...
Reeing certainly didn't shoulder all of the blame for the loss to K-State. But his continued sloppy play is puzzling. Reeing and Mangino both couldn't explain what has happened the last four weeks with Kansas' quarterback. Without a productive Reeing, the Jayhawks just aren't very good.
Javson Jenks
Schedule
Date Opponent Result/Time
9/5 Northern Colorado W, 49-3
09/12 at UTEP W, 34-7
09/19 vs. Duke W, 44-16
09/26 vs. Southern Miss W, 35-28
10/10 vs. Iowa State W, 41-36
10/17 at Colorado L, 30-34
10/24 vs. Oklahoma L, 13-35
10/31 at Texas Tech L, 21-42
11/07 at Kansas State L, 10-17
11/14 vs. Nebraska 2:30 p.m., ABC
11/21 at Texas TBA
11/28 vs. Missouri TBA
12/05 Big 12 Championship TBA