27 MONDAY,OCTOBER2,2006WWW.KANSAN.COM The Kansas City Chiefs blanked the San Francisco 49ers 41-0 on Sunday in Kansas City. Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard completed 18 of 23 passing and scored two touchdowns, including one to Tony Gonzalez. Gonzalez'touchdown moved him ahead of Ozzie Newsome for second all time among NFL tight ends with 663 receptions. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN SPORTS --- PAGE 12A inside sports The Kansas soccer team won one game and lost another during a weekend trip to Nebraska. The team defeated Nebraska for the second time but lost to Creighton. 11A He led the race for a short time,bu Emporia native Clint Bowyer crashed during Sunday's NASCAR race at the Kansas Speedway. 10A Home-court advantage wasn't enough for the Jayhawk volleyball team on Saturday, losing at home to the Iowa State Cyclones. 11A 11A For the second weekend in a row, the Kansas softball team played four home games, only this time it won all four. NEBRASKA 39, KANSAS 32 OT OUT OF REACH Jared Gab/KANSAN Jayhawk defenders are unable to catch up to Nebraska's punt returer Terrence Nunn and the Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, Kansas lost 39-32 in overtime FOOTBALL Barmann says he played bad; labels first-quarter play worst of his life BY RYAN SCHNEIDER LINGCOLN, Neb. — Adam Barmann called it the worst quarter of football hed ever played. In the first quarter of Saturday's 39-32 overtime loss to No. 21 Nebraska, Barmann tossed two interceptions in his first five passes. He didn't even complete a pass to his own team until early in the second quarter. "I just played bad." Barmann said. "High school, junior high, peewee football, backyard football — the worst quarter of my life." After playing nearly flawless football just a week earlier, it looked like the Barmann of old was back. He overthrew receivers, short-hopped passes to others and threw two picks in the span of just two minutes. Barmann returned to the sideline after one of his early mistakes and received a tongue lashing from his coach, Mark Mangino. Unlike his freshman year, there were no comforting words for Barmann after the turnovers. "I challenged him," Mangino said. "He's a senior, settling him down days are over." Evidently the message worked. Barmann led a serious second half comeback, tossing 223 of his career-high 405 yards in the final two quarters. His performance helped Kansas tie the game with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter. Despite the rally, it was a familiar ending for Kansas on the road. Another overtime game, another overtime loss. "We're not playing horseshoes, close doesn't count," Mangino said. Close doesn't count for Mangino, but that seems to be as close as his team his come on the road in the past two seasons. Kansas' road losing streak is now up to seven, with its last road victory in 2004 against Missouri. SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 6A missed opportunities While Kansas coach Mark Mangino said there was plenty to be encouraged about during Saturday's game, there were also several miscues that added up to hurt the Jayhawks. Here's a look at some of the plays that affected the game's outcome: Senior quarterback Adam Barmann fumbled the ball inside Nebraska's five-yard line. As Barmann tried to rush up the middle for the touchdown, a Nebraska defender stripped him of the ball. Senior long snapper Zack Hood's high snap on an extra point attempt in the third quarter. The snap bounced off the hands of senior holder Jonathan Lamb and was picked up by a Nebraska defender. Tight end Derek Fine dropped two touchdown passes in the end zone. Both bounced off his hands before hitting him in the chest and falling to the ground. After scoring a touchdown to take a 25-24 lead, Kansas went for a two-point conversion and attempted to take a three-point lead. Instead, Barmann never got a pass off, and was sacked after bouncing around in the pocket waiting for receivers to get open. - Ryan Schneider DANCING NACHOS Cornish does the right thing by deciding to sit out LINCOLN, Neb. — With Kansas down seven and time running out to tie the score, Jon Cornish proved why he is the smartest player in the Big 12. In the first quarter, when the Jayhawks fell behind 17-0, Cornish had four carries. In each of the final three quarters he carried the ball nine times, shouldering the load in a 39-32 Kansas overtime loss to No. 21 Nebraska. BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR MPHILIPS@KANSAN.COM When Kerry Meier went down with an injury two weeks ago, Cornish stepped up to be the team's offensive leader. New quarterback Adam Barmann has been effective, but the team rides or dies on Cornish's legs, which are, sadly, not made of steel. Football fans celebrate heroic efforts by injured athletes, but Cornish should be celebrated for not pushing himself to that point in the first conference game of the season. He finished with an average of 4.7 yards per carry, which will be enough to get him on the All-Big 12 team. However, he also finished with two sore legs, the reason he had to step out in the fourth quarter after 29 of his reps, or touches. He left the game The first two plays of the drive were both to Cornish, his 28th and 29th carries of the game. After that play he stopped for a second and grabbed his left thigh. He took one quick glance back at the huddle, then turned around and pointed at fullback Brandon McAnderson, cueing him to enter the game. "This was the first time I have taken 31 reps," he said. "I was getting really tired, and my body was taking a little bit of a beating from the great Nebraska linebackers." After sitting out the final drive, Cornish was right back in the game during overtime, exerting his influence not just by running the ball twice but by providing protection for Barmann to make his throws. "I think he was cramping a little bit, but he is one tough kid," Barmann said. SEE PHILLIPS ON PAGE 6A 5 1