UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Jayhawk FOOTBALL
Kansas 20 Houston 13
Matt Flickner/KANSAN
Houston wide receiver Charles West collapses on the 5-yard line where the Cougars' final drive stalled as time ran out in Kansas' 20-13 victory on Saturday. "It was pretty scary," Kansas sophomore linebacker Jason Thoren said. "We had done a good job of holding them out of the end zone, but thank God time ran out on that one."
MONDAY,SEPTEMBER 25,1995
SECTION B
RESULTS
Kansas 20
Houston 13
Iowa St. 57
UNLV 30
Kansas St. 67
Akron 0
Kansas fights and continues streak
Missouri 31
NE Louisiana 22
Nebraska 49
Pacific 7
Oklahoma 51 North Texas 10
Colorado 29
Texas A&M 21
Wyoming 45 Oklahoma St.25
Kansas went into the Top 25 for the first time this year. The Big Eight Conference has five ranked team including No. 4, Colorado, which defeated No. 3 Texas A&M.
AP Top 25
1. Florida St. (42) 4-0-0 1,528 1
2. Nebraska (18) 4-0-0 1,498 2
3. Florida (2) 3-0-0 1,399 4
4. Colorado 4-0-0 1,318 7
5. Southern Col. 3-0-0 1,293 5
6. Penn State 3-0-0 1,247 5
7. Ohio St. 3-0-0 1,220 6
8. Michigan 4-0-0 1,123 9
9. Texas A&M 2-1-0 1,012 3
10. Oklahoma 3-0-0 957 10
11. Virginia 4-1-0 929 11
12. Tennessee 3-1-0 851 15
13. Auburn 2-1-0 810 14
14. LSU 3-1-0 705 18
15. Noble Damie 3-1-0 623 21
16. Kansas State 3-0-0 601 19
17. Maryland 4-0-0 453 24
18. Washington 2-1-0 398 22
19. Oregon 3-1-0 379 12
20. Alabama 2-1-0 339 23
21. Texas 2-1-0 328 13
22. Stanford 3-0-1 264 —
23. Arkansas 3-1-0 240 —
24. Texas Tech 1-1-0 149 —
25. Kansas 4-0-0 118 —
Gormer resending result: Northeast 60,
Washington BN, BT, Colorado BN, B2, UU4
45, Illinois BN, 40, Iowa BN, 38, Missouri 17, Artope
35, Georgia BN, 15, Mississippi 18, Boston 12,
Virginia TN, 10, Miami, Ohio 4, Dymore 3,
Wisconsin BN, Michigan BN, Toledo 3
Kathleen Driscoll / KANSAN
The Associated Press KANBAN
The defense came up with another big stand earlier in the quarter which set up the go-ahead score.
"We all knew what was at stake; we all knew how to handle it," Kansas senior outside linebacker Keith Rodgers said about the young defense's stand. "You look everybody in the eye and say, 'It's your responsibility not to let them in the end zone.'"
"I thought it was absolutely great," an ecstatic Kansas football coach Glen Mason said. "It was a tough-fought game, and we've been on the short end of a lot of those games. We play the game to win, and we won."
Kansas senior quarterback Mark Williams scrambles away from the Houston defense during the Jayhawks' 20-13 victory against Houston on Saturday in Memorial Stadium. Williams was the second-leading rusher for Kansas during the game as he gained 71 yards on the ground.
With 2:54 left to play, the Cougars faced third down and 16 yards to go from their
own 17-yard line. Houston junior quarterback Chuck Clements threw a pass to sophomore fullback Ryan Burton, only to have the ball bounce off his chest and into the arms of Kansas sophomore line-backer Jason Thoren.
Emotions in the Kansas locker room following the team's 20-13 victory against the University of Houston on Saturday ranged from thrill to frustration, thankfulness to disappointment.
Two late stands by defense secure victory for Jayhawks
By Robert Sinclair
Kansan sportswriter
Thoren, who returned the ball 10 yards to the Houston 16-yard line, didn't even know he had made the play at first.
"I saw the quarterback throw it, and I reacted," Thoren said. "It happened to hit off the running back, and I was right there to catch it. I didn't even know until about two seconds after I caught it that I had the interception and was going the other way with it."
But everyone agreed that it was an exciting victory for the Jayhawks.
The Jayhawks won, but the game was close.
Kansas only led by five at the time and decided to go for a two-point conversion. Kansas senior quarterback Mark Williams hit senior wide receiver Ashaoundal Smith as he raced toward the sideline for the successful conversion.
After Kansas scored to take the lead for good with 1:46 remaining in the game, Houston junior wide receiver Charles West returned the ensuing kickoff to the Houston 45-yard line. With no time-outs remaining, Houston proceeded to march the ball 50 yards to the Kansas 5-yard line.
Mason said that he wasn't surprised it was Thoren who created the big play when it was needed.
As Houston desperately scrambled to line up for one last play, the crowd of about 37,500 fans counted the final seconds. The clock expired, the crowd erupted and the Jayhawks stormed the field to celebrate the win and their best start since 1981.
After the interception, the Jayhawks drove the ball inside the 5-yard line. On first and goal, Kansas senior running back L.T. Levine took the ball to the goal line only to have it marked just short. After a time out and a failed quarterback sneak, junior running back June Henley took the ball over the top of the line and flipped into the end zone.
"We had practiced on that a lot, and we were pretty sure that it would work when we ran it," Smith said.
"I felt that, to a certain extent, we didn't have a sense of urgency on offense," Mason said. "We were moving the ball, doing some good things, but we didn't make anything happen. L.T.'s run on the fullback dive was a big, big play."
"There are guys that make plays and guys who don't. He's the kind that makes big plays," Mason said. "Last night (Friday) at the Lawrence High game, somebody told me he'd make a lot of big plays. I didn't know it be today."
Houston fullback Bryant Henderson fumbles the ball early in the third quarter of Saturday's game. Kansas freshman linebacker Steve Bratt recovered the ball on Houston's 22nd line.
Matt Flickper/KANBAN
Place-kicker struggles against Houston
Special teams and punting make up for lost field goals
By Dan Geiston
Kansan sportswriter
As the Houston Cougars' last-gasp effort to tie the game stalled in Kansas' goal line, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from the fans at Memorial Stadium.
He had missed three field goals — one each in the second, third and fourth quarters — that allowed Houston to stay within striking distance.
But perhaps no one breathed easier than Kansas sophomore place-kicker Jeff McCord.
It was Kansas' special teams that kept the Jayhawks in and out of trouble all day long.
The tone was set on Houston's opening drive. On fourth down, Houston punter Ignacio Sauceda mishandled the snap, which was promptly blocked by Kansas sophomore linebacker Eric Galbreath. The ball caromed off Galbreath's hands and out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
"I heard everybody say 'oooh,' and I looked up," Galb breath said, referring to the crowd's reaction. He then slipped off his blocker and went for the ball.
Special teams came through again in the first quarter. After Kansas' first drive ended in a three-and-out, senior punter Darrin Simmons booted a career-best 62-yard punt that buried Houston deep in its own territory. He later had a 38-yard punt
that put Houston on its own 4-yard line. Neither drive resulted in a score.
"Special teams usually set the pace for the game. It really did today," Galbreath said.
But it was the unreliable kicking by the
normally sure-footed McCord that had the Jayhawks reeling.
"I never think about missing a field goal," McCord said. "Mentality is the biggest thing. It hasn't shaken my confidence."
McCord said he would have been ready to kick with the game on the line had the opportunity arose.
McCord ran into some bad luck on two of his attempts. In the second quarter, a 37-yard try into the wind hit the left crossbar.
A first-quarter field goal made him 12-for-13 on the year, but he missed his next three attempts.
He misstepped a potential career-high 49-vard field goal that fell short.
"My kicking will be worked out before the next game," he said.
Kansas quarterback Mark Williams said he had confidence in McCord.
"If we got the ball back and had another drive,we'd have complete faith in him," he said.
from the Kansas-Houston game. Page 2B.
STATISTICS: Team and individual stats
Buffalo Knights Home Run
1
NOTES AND QUOTES: What the Jayhawks said after defeating the Cougars. Page 68.
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