NSAN 2009 THE UNIVERSITY DARY KANSAN MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2009 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2009 7B KANSAS 35, SOUTHERN MISS 28 TBALLREWIND to Opurum he thought velous job" ture to run that Sharp "and there at the Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN thing really rum avail but admitted different bruise in but Sharp udde. o return for iowa State, Opurum. help the team id backs,? munder and which we're da Thompson ng said Senior quarterback Todd Reesing (5) celebrates with freshman running back Toben Opurum after Opurum scored a touchdown in the first half. The Jayhawks won the game 35-28, improving to 4-0 on the season. MATTLE s., Kansas' ailed by aided, espe- init. rickoff 49 Darrell return, lackyard, pressure" your field, agged ounce in Jayson Jenks Weston White/KANSAN Senior receiver Kerry Meier hauls in a 62 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Todd Reesing Saturday against Southern Mississippi. Meier led Kansas with 141 receiving yards with two touchdowns in the Jayhawks' 35-28 victory. DINE. Hundreds of great-tasting options under $7.00 including Mexican, award-winning coffee, sushi, Chinese, organic and all-natural choices, artisan sandwiches house-made soups and more. Oh yeah, and we've got 20 places right here on campus (sorta helps when you're late for class). Hundreds of great-tasting options under $7.00 You can't get that on the outside. DINE IN with KU Dining Services. COLUMN (CONTINUED FROM 1B) ited at the end of a weighty week. In trying to find an answer for the root cause of the fights, Perkins resisted withholding emotion. "It's absolute bullshit," he said. Mangino and his players knew they would face questions following their 35-28 victory. They knew questions of the fights and the meeting staged last Wednesday would be peppered between questions of pass defense, Jake Sharp's health and Todd Reesing's temper. For the most part, the message from Mangino and Reeing was consistent with Self's "none of your business" take on how punishments will be handled and the conversations between the two sides. "it's over with; it's done," Reesenlb said. "I don't think we need to talk about it any more." Added junior cornerback Chris Harris, who was one of two football players questioned by police last Wednesday: "We're college students, we're young people, we all going to make mistakes. Everybody's cool, everything's done." For the most part, they're right. When someone you are responsible for does something wrong, it's your business to respond accordingly. But when that something occurs on campus and among fellow students walking between classes, it becomes a public matter. Should such an offense be repeated, the public deserves to be kept abreast of what is known by athletics and be given the option of reading or hearing a transcript on what was said at this hypothetical meeting. Perkins, Mangino, Self and the two teams deserve credit for the honesty and accountability demonstrated in the wake of last week's ordeal. There is little evidence that these offenses are being mishandled. I'm sure the players are well aware of the consequences of a rematch. An in-house offense is your business — an offense that could affect student safety is ours. In not allowing the week's off-field distractions to carry over into Saturday's game, the Jayhawks are now 4-0, have ascended to 18th on the Associated Press Top 25 and prevented us writers from having an unnecessary and counterproductive story angle. Instead we can write about an athletics department presently sporting a black eye but wearing one capable of being healed by increased awareness and further education of the dynamics behind how this conflict came to be. Should that black eye again creep onto campus, however, it becomes our business. Edited by Amanda Thompson Quote of the Game Quarterback Todd Reesing on being called for un-sportsmanlike conduct in the second quarter: "That was a fantastic call. Apparently, after you get tackled and you jump up, you're not allowed to drop the ball on the ground. I guess from now on whenever I get tackled I'm going to make sure I hand the ball to the referee so I don't get any unsportsmanlike penalties." QUOTE OF THE GAME... Reesing Game Balls 3. Jake Laptad. Laptad wasn't a huge factor in Saturday's game, but he did turn in the defense's biggest play. With Southern Miss facing a third and seven from its own 36, Laptad sacked quarterback Austin Davis for a 10-yard loss that effectively ended the game. 1. Kerry Meier. On the fourth play of the game, Meier hauled in a pass from senior quarterback Todd Reesing and outran a defender for a 62-yard touchdown. Meier had nine catches, including two touchdowns, and finished with a career-high 140 yards receiving. 2. Toben Opurum. Without senior running back Jake Sharp, who didn't play because of an undisclosed injury. Opurum shouldered the majority of Kansas' run game. He carried the ball 28 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. Delay of Games 3. Penalties. Kansas finished with 10 penalties that totaled 62 yards in losses. It didn't hurt the Jayhawks this game, but those mistakes can be costly in Big 12 play. 1. Pass rush. Kansas finished with just one sack and struggled to create a pass rush for three quarters. In turn, Southern Miss' offense looked fluid for much of the game. 2. Offensive line. Reesing was sacked five times and the offense struggled to run the ball in the fourth quarter. That's the time of a game when an offensive line must take over. Play of the Game With Southern Miss attempting to tie the game in the final two minutes, junior Jake Laptad worked his way around the offensive line before dropping quarterback Austin Davis for a devastating 10-yard loss. Sure, the defensive line didn't creature much pressure. But at least the unit has good timing. Game Notes THE GLASS IS HALF FULL ... The Jayhawks left Memorial Stadium with a victory, plain and simple. Southern Miss, especially offensively, is a very capable team. Many experts selected Southern Miss as an upset special before the game and for good reason. Kansas should be pleased with the victory, regardless if it was close. THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY... For the first three quarters, the defense was shaky. The Jayhawks allowed too many big plays while not creating enough pressure for much of the game. Those same tendencies led to lopsided losses last year against Texas and Texas Tech. The defense has to be more consistent throughout the game. D-LINE DOING ITS JOB? Not really. Laptad made a timely and game-altering sack in the final two minutes. But other than that, the defensive line wasn't a factor in slowing Southern Miss' pass attack. They made plays when it mattered most, but need to be more consistent. BIGGEST ANSWER... Toben Opurum is well worth the hype. In his first three games, Opurum was an effective piece of Kansas' offense. Against Southern Miss, though, Opurum carried the Jayhawks' run game, displaying the ability that led big-name programs to recruit him in high school. STILL QUESTIONING... The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on senior quarterback Todd Reesing. Reesing appeared to slightly bump a Southern Miss defender after a play, but it didn't appear to be anything worthy of a 15-yard penalty. After the game, Reesing hinted that he didn't fully understand the reasoning behind the call either. LOOKING AHEAD... Kansas has a bye next week. In his first collegiate start, Opurum was a more than adequate replacement for senior running back Jake Sharp, who didn't play because of an undisclosed injury. Still, Sharp is Kansas' featured back and the week without a game should allow him to fully recover. GOOD. BAD OR JUST PLAIN STUPID? Original Prediction: Kansas 38, Southern Miss 24. Actual score: Kansas 35, Southern Mississippi 28. The Golden Eagles were even more talented than expected, especially on the offensive side of the ball. This prediction has mediocre written all over it. FINAL THOUGHT... The Jayhawks only won by seven points, but they never seemed to not be in control of the game. Kansas never trailed and did exactly what it needed to do in order to defeat a talented — and capable — Southern Mississippi 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 TBA 10/17 at Colorado TBA 10/24 vs. Oklahoma TBA 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 1