6B
KANSAS 34, UTEP 7
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Kansas
THE UNIVERSITY OF HARRY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
3 | 17 | 7 | 7 - 34
UTEP
0 | 0 | 0 | 7 — 7
Jayhawk Stat Leaders
Rushing
Passing
Receiving
Kansas Passing
| Player | C/ATT | Yards | Avg | TD | Int |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Todd Reesing | 25/41 | 260 | 6.3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kerry Meier | 1/1 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 0 |
| Kale Pick | 1/1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 27/43 | 321 | 7.5 | 1 | 1 |
UTEP Passing
| Team | C/ATT | Yards | Avg | TD | Int |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 17/29 | 204 | 7.0 | 1 | 1 |
Kansas Rushing
| Player | CAR | Yards | Avg | TD | Lg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jake Sharp | 16 | 104 | 6.5 | 2 | 30 |
| Kale Pick | 2 | 87 | 43.5 | 0 | 55 |
| Toben Opurum | 16 | 62 | 3.9 | 1 | 16 |
| Rell Lewis | 5 | 17 | 3.4 | 0 | 8 |
| Todd Reesing | 3 | -15 | -5 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 42 | 255 | 6.1 | 3 | 55 |
UTEP Rushing
| Team | CAR | Yards | Avg | TD | LG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 20 | 4 | 0.2 | 0 | 8 |
Kansas Receiving
| Player | REC | Yards | Avg | TD | Lg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Dezmon Briscoe | 8 | 154 | 19.3 | 0 | 56 |
| Jonathan Wilson | 4 | 66 | 16.5 | 0 | 33 |
| Bradley McDougald | 3 | 48 | 16.0 | 0 | 37 |
| Jake Sharp | 6 | 29 | 4.8 | 1 | 12 |
| Kerry Meier | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 | 6 |
| Toben Opurum | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 5 |
| Totals | 27 | 321 | 11.9 | 1 | 56 |
UTEP Receiving
| Team | REC | Yards | Avg | TD | Lg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 17 | 204 | 12.0 | 1 | 75 |
Kansas Kick Returns
| Player | No. | Yards | Avg | TD |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Dezmon Briscoe | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 |
| Team | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 |
UTEP Kick Returns
| Team | NO | Yards | Avg | Lg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 7 | 124 | 17.7 | 23 |
Kansas Punt Returns
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Daymond Patterson | 6 | 69 | 11.5 | 49 |
| Team | 6 | 69 | 11.5 | 49 |
UTEP Punt Returns
| Team | NO | Yards | Avg | Lg |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 |
Kansas Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | Long | XP | PTS |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jacob Branstetter | 2/4 | 50.0 | 4/4 | 10 |
| Team | 2/4 | 50.0 | 4/4 | 10 |
UTEP Kicking
| Team | FG | PCT | Long | XP | Pts |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Team | 0/0 | 0.0 | -- | 1/1 | 1 |
Kansas Punting
| Player | TOT | YDS | TB | -20 | LG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Alonso Rojas | 2 | 75 | 0 | 1 | 38 |
| Team | 2 | 75 | 0 | 1 | 38 |
UTEP Punting
| Team | Tot | Yards | TB | -20 | LG |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
KANSAS FOOT
RECAP (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
ing Donayon Kemp to score on a 75-yard touchdown catch.
After the game, junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe walked down a concrete ramp with a simple, yet surprising, idea. Even though the Jayhawks piled up 576 yards on offense, they didn't play well.
"We shouldn't have let that happen," coach Mark Mangino said. "But it's hard to complain. We were really stellar on defense tonight."
In a way, he had a point. Kansas' offense played well enough to leave El Paso, Texas, with a victory. But the Jayhawks weren't exceptionally crisp, at least not by their own high standards.
"We left a couple points, a lot of points, on the field," said Briscoe, who played in his first game after being suspended for the season opener. "For us to have a bad day on offense and still score 34 points, I feel like that's good."
"If you look at pass numbers and when we put up that much total offense, we usually capitalize and put more points on the board," Sharp said. "But we put up enough points to win the game."
Sharp, who rushed for 104 yards, had a slightly different take.
With most of its nucleus returning this season, the offense and its skill players saw plenty of the spotlight this offseason. They've been on magazine and newspaper covers and are the largest reason for optimism in Lawrence.
But the real story from Saturday's game — the one players and Mangino highlighted most — was the play of Kansas' unit on the other side of the ball: the defense.
"We get a whole bunch of media attention as far as our offense," Briscoe said. "But our defense really stepped up today."
Edited by Amanda Thompson
Weston White/KANSAN
Senior cornerback Justin Thornton tackles a UTEP receiver Saturday evening in El Paso, Texas. Kansas held the Miners to four rushing yards on 20 carries.
Senior cornerback Justin Thornton pulls dow
Playmaker Patterson moves past sh
BY HALLIE MANN
The highlight of the night for Patterson was when he made a 49-yard punt return for Kansas in the third quarter. Patterson said the blockers opened up the middle for him and he ran straight through. Even after his foot was hit and he stumbled, he still managed the longest return of the game for Kansas. Patterson said he didn't know the return was going to be so big.
hmhifi@kansasan.com
The Kansas defense had an impressive game against UTEP on Saturday night, but special teams wavered a bit in its performance from last week. Daymond Patterson, who plays cornerback and does punt returns, made plays at both positions in Kansas' 34-10 victory against UTEP.
"It's really about how the punters punt and how we block." Patterson said. "You just never know."
Patterson's biggest defensive play was his interception made with cornerback Justin Thornton. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vortor toe slightly overthrew UTEP wide receiver Jeff Moturi and Patterson swooped in for the catch. Patterson said he caught sight of Justin Thornton behind him so he tipped the ball away from Moturi's hands and into Thornton's. The play resulted in a turnover, which led to Kansas' second touchdown.
Patterson had a total of six punt returns for 69 yards. In the first quarter, Patterson returned a punt to start Kansas' second drive with a penalty, came up with 3-yards. At the start of the second quarter, Patterson made a one-yard return and ended with an eight-yard return. In the fourth quarter he had another return that lost vards.
After the game, coach Mark Mangino said he wasn't happy that Patterson, who was worked up at the game's beginning, had missed a couple of balls on returns. The missed balls resulted in some short or negative yardage for Kansas early in the game. After being talked down by the coaches, Patterson smoothed out a bit and made his 49-yard return.
Despite his ups and downs on the returns, Patterson had six tackles. On UTEP's first drive, Patterson made two tackles and helped Kansas' defense stop UTEP from scoring. In the second quarter, Patterson and linebacker Drew Dudley tackled Miner running back Donald Buckram for a loss of one yard. Patterson made two more tackles in the third and one in the fourth.
"We can't let balls hit the ground; we just can't do that," Mangino said.
Follow Kansan football writer Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/halliemann11.
Overall, Kansas' defense only allowed 208 yards from UTEP. With six sacks for a loss of 29 yards, the Jayhawks had an impressive performance. The special teams struggled as two of the kickers were roughed by the Miner defense and had an average of only eight yards on kickoff returns. Whichever side of the ball Patterson was on, he made plays and said he knew there was room for improvement.
"I'm pretty happy, but I know I didn't play a perfect game," Patterson said.
"This was probably one of our better games of pressure on defense," Patterson said.
Edited by Brenna M. T. Daldorph
Sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson breaks free of a tackle for a 49-yard punt return Sa tackles in Kansas' 34-7 victory against UTEP.
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