THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, OCTOBER 19,2009
KANSAS 30, COLORADO 34
5B
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Sophomore quarterback Tyler Hansen slips by sophomore nickel back Ryan Murphy. Hansen took Colorado down the field in 10 plays and 76 yards for the go-ahead touchdown to make the score 34-30.
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to Colorado Saturday night in Boulder. VISION WORK KARSEI
an opportunity to run the ball very well. It 's not on Jake."
Coaches revamp lineup
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing was sacked five times and Kansas managed just eight total rushing yards.
Colorado's tough defense puts pressure on Jayhawks
The Buffaloes consistently blitzed,
forcing Reeing to leave and pocket.
True, those statistics may reflect on the play of the offensive line. But Reesing said that Colorado's defense disrupted Kansas on offense.
"Sometimes they blitzted more than we had to block."Reesing said. "Credit to them because when they did that, they were playing man coverage.And we had some trouble early in the game playing against man coverage."
Kansas now begins the second half of the season, and the schedule does little to aid the Jayhawks' aspirations of capturing the Big 12 North crown. Kansas plays three ranked opponents, while also still facing its biggest competition in the North with Nebraska and Missouri.
"Every team in the North has a loss at this point," Reesing said. "No reason to hang our head. It's a long season."
Instead, the jayhawks only mud died the outlook even more.
Edited by Amanda Thompson
New faces join the line as defensive positions shuffle
BY CLARK GOBLE
cgoble@kansan.com
BOULDER, Colo. — With the 34-30 final score lit up on a small scoreboard above his head and the Colorado marching band blaring the fight song in the background, coach Mark Mangino said he still had faith in his defense despite numerous switches in the lineup.
Only senior safety Darrell Stuckey and junior cornerback Chris Harris have remained constants in a secondary that has been shuffled throughout the season.
"I think it worked out pretty well," Mangino said about the moves. "We've created competition at positions, and I think that some of those kids are going to be outstanding players for us."
A couple of "those kids," freshman safety Lubbock Smith and freshman defensive tackle John Williams, made their first collegiate start on Saturday. Cornerback DJ. Beshears became the second freshman to make an appearance on defense this season when he replaced sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson after the first drive. Freshman Huldow Tharp already plays regularly at linebacker.
Mangino said the defense knew for a couple of weeks that significant changes were coming and that the coaching staff had already moved two players from offense to defense.
Senior linebacker Angus Quigley, a former running back, also saw extended time.
Williams moved from offensive tackle to defensive tackle.
Follow Clark
Goble at twitter.
com/cqobble89
Mangino also said freshman Bradley McDougald moved from wide receiver to the defensive side of the ball, and McDougald saw time on the field on offense and defense against Colorado.
"I have total confidence in the adjustment of our coaches" Stuckey said. "I know that if they put a player out there, the player has a full ability to go out there and execute every play each and every way."
Stuckey and Harris both spoke to their faith that the most capable players are out on the field.
Harris said adding new parts to the offense and using new players on defense were completely different ideas.
"All we got to do is go out there and do our own job." Harris said. "It's not really like the offense in the way you got to gel together. Just
communicate with one another and we'll be fine"
But the difference in the game was probably Colorado's ability to convert two Todd Reesing turnovers into 14 points, and Kansas' inability to get touchdowns off Colorado's turnovers. Reesing's turnovers both came in Kansas territory.
Stuckey said that even with their "backs against the wall," the defense needed to play better.
"No matter what happens, no matter what yardage they are at, we got to bear down and make them kick a field goal instead of getting a touchdown," Stuckey said.
But Stuckey said as long as the rest of the defense prepared well, he wouldn't have any problems with further rearranging.
"When it comes to player by player, whoever is out there is going to have my full confidence in them because I know they went through the whole week learning everything just like I did," Stuckey said.
Edited by Amanda Thompson
Senior wide receiver Kerry Meyer looks for a pass near the corner of the end zone Saturday night against Colorado.
Colorado cornerback Jalil Brown knocked it down, and Kansas lost 34-30 before Folsom Field was rushed by Colorado fans.
COLUMN (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
that happened. But that, combined with Daymond Patterson's woefully inefficient punt return, only presented obstacles for the jayhawk offense to overcome.
fourth down pass in the end zone. Thus the pressure, once again, sat squarely on the shoulders of the Kansas defense. But, should the defense step up and force a punt, Reesing and Co. couldn't possibly fail again. Right?
And overcome them they would. Reesing would find Meier short, Briscoe long, and lead a drive down the field. With one final shot at the end zone, Reesing
The defense did, of course, force a punt. Granted, Colorado notched several first downs before
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would look to Briscoe one final time. Briscoe, a physical presence who seems never really to be covered, would go up in traffic — however condensed—and pull down the ball. Reesing would do that fist pump thing that he does. Kansas would win, and the team would be jubilant. layhawk nation would celebrate, comfortable in its collective knowledge that this particular story would always have a happy ending.
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Unfortunately, reality has a way of disallowing such narratives.
Kansas did work its way down the field, far enough to muster a couple of shots. Briscoe did elevate above the defense and get his fingers on the ball, but that's where the story took a twist. He couldn't come up with what would have been a fantastic, game-winning, catch. And so there was no fist pump, no Kansas victory. Jayhawk fans didn't get their familiar ending
Not in this game, at least. And although optimistic perceptions of Kansas' offensive dominance may have disappeared, they shouldn't be replaced by overly fatalistic ones. This particular story may have come to an end, but the season has not.
Edited by Amanda Thompson
Quote of the Game
Kansas coach Mark Mangino on the play of Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen, who made his first start of the season Saturday: "The quarterback from Colorado was the difference maker. It's unfortunate that they picked this week to take his redshirt off"
Mangino
Game Balls
3. Lubbock Smith: Smith was thrust into Kansas' starting lineup Saturday for his first start of the season. At safety, Smith made eight tackles and provided the Jayhawks with a solid tackler around the line of scrimmage.
1. Dezmon Briscoe: In what is developing as his expected stat line, Briscoe hauled in eight catches for 154 yards and a touchdown. And he made huge plays down the stretch to even give Kansas a chance.
2. Darrell Stuckey: Stuckey finished with 12 tackles — the second most stops for Kansas against Colorado. He also tacked on an interception in the second quarter.
Delay of Games
3. Daymond Patterson: After struggling against Iowa State last week, Patterson was replaced early against Colorado by freshman cornerback D.J. Beshears. Plus, Patterson lost seven yards when he returned a punt backward before Kansas' final drive.
1. Todd Reesing: Reesing led an impressive comeback in the second half, but he made two costly errors in the first half. His fumble and, later, his interception twice gave Colorado the ball at Kansas' three-yard line. The Buffaloes scored touchdowns each time.
Play of the Game
2. Offensive line: A week after turning in its best performance of the season, the offensive line turned in arguably its worst outing against Colorado. The unit allowed five sacks. Worse: Kansas couldn't find any room to run the ball.
Facing a third and 29 at Kansas '46-yard line, Reesing scrambled, pointed down the field and unloaded a Doug Flutie-looking pass deep down the sideline. With Colorado defenders dropping deep in coverage, Briscoe managed to separate himself before leaping to make a 41-yard catch.
Notes
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL ...
THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY ...
Kansas showed it won't simply roll over and die this season. The Jayhawks were backed into a hole at halftime and still managed to claw back to take the lead in the second half. Erasing what was once a 21-point deficit is never an easy order and Kansas must be praised for that.
The Jayhawks suffered a loss in a game they should have won. With the top teams in the Big 12 waiting on the schedule, Kansas certainly couldn't afford to lose to a 1-4 Colorado team. The offense severely struggled for much of the game and Kansas' rushing attack never was a factor. The worst part: Colorado isn't the best defense Kansas will face this season.
D-LINE DOING ITS JOB
BIGGEST ANSWER ...
Kansas' defensive line managed two sacks and accounted for one forced fumble. But the unit struggled to contain Hansen's speed. The Jayhawks also allowed the Buffaloes to move the ball with relative ease on the ground.
Mangino wasn't bluffing when he said that personnel changes could be made along Kansas' defense. That was certainly evident on Saturday. The Jayhawks featured two new players in the secondary, while little-used reserves such as senior linebacker Angus Quigley and junior defensive end Quintin Woods saw playing time.
What will become of this Kansas team? It's easy to point out flaws and negative trends after an upset loss. And surely the Jayhawks allowed plenty of room for skepticism. But Mangino has proven in his tenure that his teams usually have the ability to bounce back. Can this year's team turn things around quickly?
LOOKING AHEAD ...
The schedule doesn't present the Jayhawks with any favors. Awaiting Kansas are back-to-back games against Oklahoma at home and Texas Tech on the road. The Jayhawks need to sort through their problems in a hurry.
GOOD, BAD OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?
Original prediction: Kansas 31, Colorado 14. Actual score: Colorado 34, Kansas 30. OK, so anytime you predict the wrong result, that's never a good thing. In fact, that's just plain stupid. Kansas dug too deep a hole in the first half.
FINAL THOUGHT ...
Playing with a handful of new faces, Kansas' defense wasn't the reason for this loss. Last week against Iowa State, Kansas' defense played extremely poorly. That wasn't the case this Saturday. The Jayhawks weren't great, but they allowed the offense a chance to win this game. That's a small step of improvement.
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 2:30 p.m.
10/31 at Texas Tech TBA
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