ANSAN
2009
THE UNIVERSITY HAIRY KANSAN
MONDAY, OCTOBER 26. 2009
KANSAS 13,OKLAHOMA 35 5B
TBALL REWIND
Weston White/KANSAN
indoubtedly one of the tried football programs. though, the Jayhawks said use of awe or playing at aaint the Sooners. said that Kansas was heading into halftime. railed Oklahoma 14-6. he should've had a lead," her Jeremiah Hatch said. on their pants the same our pants. We felt like we in the game."
wed by Oklahoma
Jayson Jenks
Weston White/KANSAN
Sooner defense halts Reesing
on against Oklahoma. Branstetter longest in KU history." "I felt like the
Follow Clark Goble at twitter.com/cgoble89.
Senior running back Jake Sharp breaks away from the Oklahoma defense during a 56-yard reception, which his was longest play from scrimmage thus far this season. Sharp also rushed for 14 yards on seven carries in the Jayhawk's 35-13 loss.
BY CLARK GOBLE
cgoble@kansan.com
In Saturday's game against Oklahoma, Todd Reesing left the pocket to give his receivers time to run their deep routes.
Or, he left to scramble for a first down.
But most of the time, the 5-foot-11 Reeing had to leave the pocket just so he could get a throw off without it getting knocked down by Oklahoma's intimidating defensive line.
"Their front four is about as big and physical as you're going to see," Reeing said. "They did a pretty good job getting pressure on some of our longer, down-the-field throws. With the pressure they're able to get, with how good their defensive line is, it's a little bit tougher to sit in the pocket and wait for those to open up."
Coach Mark Mangino said that sometimes Reesing had to slide right or left to find a window, and other times he had to use a sidearm delivery to get the ball to his receivers.
Mangino praised Oklahoma's defensive front four for their ability to reach into the passing lanes and affect Reesing's throws.
Center Jeremiah Hatch, who squared off with top five NLL draft prospect Gerald McCoy for most of the game, said it was a big challenge to play against one
of the best units in college football.
"But we got to play as a team no matter who we're going against," Hatch said. "They were pretty good though."
The best play by the defensive line came in the first quarter when defensive Jeremy Beal deflected a pass attempt and immediately intercepted the next play — a pass from Reeing that defensive tackle Adrian Taylor had tipped high into the air. Beal was dropping into pass coverage and recorded his first career interception.
In the third quarter, McCoy also deflected a Reesing pass to go with his two tackles for loss. Beal and Taylor picked up two unofficial quarterback hurries each.
Senior running back lake Sharp said he first noted the Oklahoma defensive unit's strategies while watching a film of its performance against Texas. The unit continued to impress Sharp throughout the game by playing hard on every snap. Sharp picked up just 14 yards on seven carries.
Hatch said that he thought that the Sooner defensive line was only the first roadblock that the Jayhawks would hit in conference play. He said even better defensive lines were in store.
Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph
Freshman cornerback D.J. Beshears misses a tackle against Oklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles. Beshes recorded 7 total tackles from the game, second most for the team.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"Rough day at the office for us." Reesing said. "That's for sure."
For the second consecutive week, Reesing's first-half turnovers placed Kansas in the bottom of a hole, forced to claw and scrap to even reach level surface.
Against Colorado, Reesing's two turnovers led to 14 points. The same scenario happened Saturday when Reesing's miscues allowed Oklahoma to score an offensive touchdown and return an interception 85 yards for another score.
After the game, though, Reesing's teammates and coaches rallied around their quarterback.
Mangino said some of the blame should be placed on his shoulders. Reesing's teammates said that he would be fine and that bad games could — and did — happen to anyone.
If there was any resentment, Kansas players kept those cards face-down. They wanted to make one point certainly clear: Todd Rees is human.
"No one is perfect," sophomore center Jeremiah Hatch said.
"He's not Superman," sophomore cornerback Ryan Murphy said.
But the standard Reesing built with big plays and an Orange Bowl victory almost portrayed a superhero-type quarterback sent from Texas to rescue a middling football program.
"That expectation is there, and it's there for a reason," Reeing said. "If you don't have that kind of expectation then you're not doing something right. It's frustrating because I hold myself to the highest standard out of anybody. Nobody takes that performance harder than I do."
Fair or not — accurate or unrealistic that's become the level people in Lawrence expect.
The general thought around those who've played or currently play with Reesing is rather simple. He's going to scramble. He's going to attempt to make big plays. And more often than not, he's going to be successful.
Yet Saturday marked a rare game when Reesing simply faltered, digging an almost insurmountable hole considering the lockdown nature of Oklahoma's defense.
And the turnovers only piled more pressure onto Kansas' defenders, who held Oklahoma in check through the first half before allowing two touchdowns early in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.
"They put us in position to make good plays and get us in the ball game," Reeing said. "And we let them down today."
If not for a late touchdown with the game all but finished. Saturday would have marked the first time Kansas failed to score an offensive touchdown since 2005. In that game, Kansas played against — you guessed it — Oklahoma
The Sooners entered Saturday with plenty of hype surrounding their defense. The success started early with a relentless and physically loaded defensive line that routinely pressured Reeing, Kansas' receivers, meanwhile, struggled with separation against the secondary's speed.
"With how athletic their defense is and with how much overall speed they have, you can't be late on a read." Reesing said. "If you're a half-second on a
throw or just a little bit off the spot, they're going to be there to make a play on it."
Added senior wide receiver Kerry Meier: "What we saw today is about as good as you can get."
Justin Springer. Springer led Kansas with nine tackles, including two tackles behind the line of scrimmage. And he was a consistent presence in stopping Oklahoma's run attack: The Sooners rushed for just 85 yards.
Jacob Branstetter. Branstetter connected on both of his field goal attempts late in the second quarter, cutting Oklahoma's halftime lead to 14-6. Branstetter's second attempt sailed a career-long 57 yards. Plus, he erupted into a classic celebration, sprinting from midfield all the way to Kansas' locker room.
With 11 minutes left in the game, Memorial Stadium was more half-empty than half-full.
The student section was sparsely dotted with fans, the game day towels remained at people's sides and the electricity and noise from earlier in the afternoon had been switched off.
Reesing's three turnovers weren't the only reason for Kansas' loss, but they certainly placed the Jayhawks in a steep uphill battle they couldn't overcome.
Delay of Games
"The turnovers set the tempo of the game and put us in a hole early," coach Mark Mangino said. "We had to play catch-up football and we can't do that to ourselves. We've done that now a couple weeks in a row"
Game Balls
Sophomore cornerback Ryan Murphy on the struggles of senior quarterback Todd Reesing: "He's going to make mistakes sometimes, and he's not going to play a perfect game every single time. I mean, he's not Superman."
Edited by Amanda Thompson
Jeff Wheeler. In the first half Wheeler jumped offside, effectively negating senior Darrell Stuckey's forced and recovered fumble deep inside Oklahoma territory. Then, on the Sooners' first drive after halftime, Wheeler was flagged for roughing the passer after Kansas forced an upcoming third down.
Todd Reesing. Reesing tossed three first-half interceptions, including one that was returned 85 yards for a touchdown.Kansas' senior quarterback also struggled with his accuracy. He completed just 53 percent of his passes and missed a handful of open receivers.
Murphy
D. J. Beshears. Granted, Beshears did make his first start on Saturday and, at times, made nice open-field tackles. But he was flagged for two blatantly obvious pass interference calls and had to be replaced by sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson in the second half
Quote of the Game
Huldon Tharp. Tharp, a freshman, has continued to improve with more playing time this season. That trend continued on Saturday. Tharp recorded seven tackles and, at times, made big plays when defending the pass.
Play of the Game
Notes
STILL QUESTIONING...
After sophomore defensive back Ryan Murphy's interception, Kansas moved the ball to Oklahoma's 40 with only seconds remaining in half. Junior kicker Jacob Branstetter trotted onto the field and booted a career-long 57-yard field goal as time expired. The kick cut Oklahoma's lead to 14-6 and sent Branstetter sprinting to the locker room.
LOOKING AHEAD...
THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY..
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL..
BIGGEST ANSWER...
GOOD, BAD OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?
D-LINE DOING ITS JOB?
For the second consecutive week, Kansas' once-maligned defense played well enough to pull out a victory. The Jayhawks clamped down in the first half, consistently forcing the Sooners to punt. Kansas held Oklahoma to 14 first-half points and 85 rushing yards in the game.
The Big 12 North. No one, it seems, has any idea of what to expect in the North this season. Preseason favorites Nebraska and Kansas each have two losses. So, too, do Colorado and Iowa State. Kansas State sits atop the conference with a 3-1 record. Basically, the Big 12 North is still completely up for grabs.
Kansas was never really competitive with Oklahoma after halftime. The Sooners scored on their first two possessions, while the Jayhawks continued to struggle offensively. Oklahoma afforded Kansas a chance to grab a signature home victory. Instead, similar to last season, the Jayhawks failed to keep it close after halftime.
Kansas' defensive front didn't sack Oklahoma freshman quarterback Landry Jones. But, other than that, the Jayhawks played a solid game. Kansas didn't allow Oklahoma much room to run the ball, and the Jayhawks didn't give Jones enough time to find receivers for big plays down the field.
Kansas isn't ready to compete with the Big 12's top teams. True, Oklahoma entered Saturday 3-3. But the Sooners are still one of the conference's best teams. Kansas was never really in the game after halftime and appeared outmatched athletically at times.
Original prediction: Oklahoma 42, Kansas 35. Actual score: Oklahoma 35, Kansas 13. The Sooners entered the game with plenty of phy surrounding their defense, and the unit didn't disappoint on Saturday. Still, it's hard to ever predict that Reesing will toss three interceptions.
Kansas travels to the plains of Texas to face the pass-heavy attack of Texas Tech. The Jayhawks revamped secondary will be put to the Big 12's best test next week as the Red Raiders lead the conference in passing yards. Kansas needs two or three turnovers to keep it close.
FINAL THOUGHT...
The good news:The Big 12 North is still open for the taking as mediocrity seems to surround each team. The bad news:Kansas has arguably the most difficult remaining schedule of any team.
Jayson 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 2:30 p.m. on ABC
11/07 at Kansas State TBA
11/14 vs. Nebraska TBA
11/21 at Texas TBA
11/28 vs. Missouri TBA
12/05 Big 12 Championship TBA