THE UNIVERSITY OF DALY KANSAS
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2006
KU 49 - NSU 18
Jared Gab/KANSAN
bit scared" after halftime, rushed for a career-high 140 yards during the game.
PHILLIPS (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Marcus Herford, sophomore receiver, charges down the field for an 88-yard kick return against Northwestern State on Saturday. Herford's return set up the Jayhawk offense for the Jayhawks' first touchdown of the season.
Perhaps more importantly, he is willing to defer to his teammates and take their advice.
When he was feeling nervous Saturday afternoon, he asked his offensive linemen for advice.
come to you."
I've warned people all spring not to jump to conclusions, but Saturday night Kerry Meier made even the most cautious fan a little excited about the Jayhawks' future.
"Everybody that's been here, they all gave me their two cents worth, and I really took it to heart," he said. "Every one of them had something good to say about just being relaxed and letting the game
Edited by Aly Barland
Phillips is a Wichita senior in journalism.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
and 70-yard punt return for a touchdown by senior Brian Murph, ignited the Jayhawks' first two scores.
Kansas trailed early after two special teams blunders led to two field goals for Northwestern State. On the team's first possession, junior punter Kyle Tucker had his punt blocked because of a high snap. Tucker had problems on Kansas' next possession as he bobbled and then fumbled the snap. He recovered the ball, but it set up Northwestern State's offense at Kansas' 13 yard line.
Considering their experience, Mangino was surprised at the mistakes by Tucker and junior kicker Scott Webb, who missed a 27-yard field goal.
"The little things are important: Snapping the ball to the punter and the punter catching it and our kicker kicking it through the uprights," Mangino said. "We have spent a lot of time on special teams and we are going to have to refocus a little bit more, not just on special teams, but on the specialists themselves."
Kansas' defense, which was a question mark coming into the game, fared well early holding Northwestern State to two field goals when they were driving deep in Kansas territory. On both possessions, the Demons had the ball inside the Jayhawks' 20-yard line, but only managed six points.
The stops, sophomore linebacker Mike Rivera said, provided much needed momentum for the team.
"It it was crucial," Rivera said. "I'm glad we held them, it still shows we can play a little 'D'."
Despite the first-quarter stops, Kansas' secondary gave up more than 200 yards passing. The secondary is still not complete, with redshirt-freshman safety Darrell Stuckey and sophomore cornerback Aqib Talib missing Saturday's game.
Kansan senior sportswinter Ryan Schneider can be contacted at rschneider@kansan.com.
Edited by Aly Barland
Kansas special teams unit determine game's outcome
BY SHAWN SHROYER
The Kansas special teams unit set the pace for Saturday's game.
While early punting blunders gave hope to a young Northwestern State team, Kansas' return units gave a boost to a struggling Kansas offense.
Facing a 4th and 1 on its own 40-yard line in its opening drive, Kansas sent out the punting unit. At the same time, fans chanted for the layhawks to go for it.
"The special teams didn't get us off to a slow start, the specialists on the special teams did." Kansas coach Mark Mangino said.
To the fans' displeasure, the offense remained on the sideline only to see the snap from freshman long snapper Kayl Anderson go over junior punter Kyle Tucker's head. Tucker tried to get a quick punt off only to have it partially blocked.
On the ensuing drive, for a moment, it seemed the botched punt wouldn't come back to hurt Kansas. Instead, Northwestern State sophomore kicker Robert Weeks' 30-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright and went between the posts.
The Jayhawks were forced to punt again on their second drive. This time, Tucker fumbled the snap and was taken down at the Kansas 13-yard line by Northwestern State senior defensive tackle Tory Collins.
The change of possession deep in Kansas territory resulted in a second Northwestern State field goal.
With Kansas fans biting their fingernails, waiting for Kansas to show some signs of life against Division 1-AA Northwestern State, the Kansas kickoff return team eased their anxiety.
Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Herford fielded the ensuing kickoff at the Kansas five and, as he said after the game, could see a hole from the moment he looked upfield and in a matter of seconds he was weaving back and forth inside the Northwestern State 20-yard line before being taken down at the seven-yard line.
"If I would have just kept vertical and went harder, I would have probably scored." Herford said.
However, the Jayhawks' special teams woes weren't completely behind them.
On the snap, Kansas sophomore wide receiver Dexton Fields broke through and blocked the punt. As Fields celebrated the block, junior wide receiver Jeff Foster covered up the ball for the third straight Kansas touchdown.
Bad luck struck Northwestern State when Kansas senior wide receiver Brian Murph fielded a 42-yard punt at the Kansas 30-yard line. Three jukes later, Murph was racing down the sideline and into the endzone.
The Kansas punt block unit got into the action in the second quarter. With the ball on the Northwestern State three-yard line, Demons junior punter Marshall Burton stood in the end zone, dangerously close to the line of scrimmage.
Later in the quarter, Kansas junior kicker Scott Webb lined up for a 27-yard field goal. The attempt sailed left.
After going the entire second quarter without having to punt, the Kansas punt unit was back on the field in the third quarter on its own 11-yard line. Tucker's punter went untouched, but it only reached the Kansas 39-yard line before going out of bounds.
Tucker, who was named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watch list, received sarcastic cheers from the crowd for the 28-yard punt.
"We're going to have to refocus a little bit more, not only on the special teams, but on the specialists themselves," Mangino said.
Northwestern State's special teams had mixed results for the remainder of the game.
Facing 4th and 16 in the third quarter, Northwestern State was forced to punt. However, Burton's punt never elevated past waist level. Instead, his kick dribbled down the field like a ground ball up the middle in baseball.
"I saw him try to kick it and I just saw the ball start rolling and it just kept rolling." Murph said about the kick from his vantage point. "I came running up and I'm trying to tell everybody to just get back."
Kansas freshman safety Justin Thornton tried to cover the ball up after it had traveled 20 yards, but couldn't hold on. The Demons recovered for a first down.
The last scoring drive of the third quarter proved historic for Weeks when he connected on a 36-yard field goal. The field goal was his fourth of the game, breaking the Northwestern State school record for made attempts in a game.
After the game, Mangino said he was surprised by some of the struggles his team endured on special teams, but was pleased with the big-play capabilities his units showed.
He said starting Sunday, the special teams units would work to make sure the same mistakes didn't happen next Saturday.
"There no reason for that. Those were veteran guys," Mangino said. "Give them a mulligan tonight. We won't next week."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
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Jed Mayes, Dearborn, Mo., senior, helps create a wave of noise as Northwestern punts on a fourth down during the Jayhawks' home opener Saturday night. Mayes is a yell leader for the KU Red Cheer team.
— Edited by Nicole Kelley
Kerry Meler, rodshirt-freshman quarterback, throws a pass during the first half of Kansas home opener against Northwestern State Saturday night.
Ryan McGeoney/KANSAS
Drian Murphy, senior receiver, runs down the sideline, returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown during Kansas' season opener against Northwestern State on Saturday night.