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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. 2007
KU 52-CMU 7
5B
The Kansas football team runs onto the field before the start of the game against Central Michigan on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. More than 46,000 people attended the game.
Anna Faltermeyer/KANSAN
Attendance rises at season opener
BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com
26
NEWEST MEMBER OF RING OF HONOR
Former Kansas linebacker Willie Pless was added to the Memorial Stadium Ring of Honor during half-time of Saturday's game.
"it's hard to put into words, but I know there are not a lot of names on that wall," Pless said. "I was excited to have my family come down to share the experience with me."
Pless made 633 tackles in his Kansas career, good for first place in school history.
FRESHMEN DEBUT
Seven freshmen played for Kansas. Cornerback Chris Harris started and tied for the team high with nine nacks. Wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe scored a touchdown on his only catch. Running back Carmon Boyd-Anderson carried the ball three times for eight yards late in the game. Linebacker Drew Dudley and defensive end Jake Lentad played a few
Harris
snaps on defense and linebacker Justin Springer and center Jeremiah Hatch appeared on special teams.
ALMOST MISTAKE-FREE
Although coach Mark Mangino appeared pleased with his team's performance at the post-game news conference, he wasn't so laid back several times during the first half. Just ask sophomore safety Justin Thornton or sophomore wide receiver Raimond Pendleton. Thornton committed a fair catch infringement penalty and was promptly chased by the pencil. Pendleton scored on a 77-yard punt return and dove headlong into the end zone, which prompted a 15-yard penalty and what was undoubtedly a harrowing experience for the young player. Mangino sprinted the length of the sideline, latched onto Pendleton's jersey, and
let him have a half-minute verbal lashing. Mangino downplayed the penalty after the game.
"He's a young guy who made a young mistake," he said. "I'm not going to hold it against him."
TALIB'S TOUCHDOWN
Junior cornerback Aqib Talib's touchdown catch was his second career catch and his second career touchdown. His previous reception was a 42-yard screen pass-turned-score. In addition to the touchdown reception, he picked up three yards on another catch. He is a big play waiting to happen — his career yards-per-catch average currently stands at 31.3.
ATTENDANCE RISING
46,815 fans attended the season opener. The last time a home opener drew such a large crowd was in 1994 when Kansas played Michigan State. The student section filled up, but the crowd slowly dispersed after the 35-0 first half.
THE STAT SHEET
Central Michigan bested Kansas in only one big statistical category on Saturday; yards-per-punt. The Chippewas senior punter Tony Mikulec averaged 38.8 yards on each punt to Kansas' senior Kyle Tucker's 38.2. Milkulec got a few more chances, however. Tucker punted four times, and Milkulec punted 10 times.
Despite losing the battle for the starting job, sophomore Kerry Meier played well in limited action. With Kansas leading 45-7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Meier entered the game and engineered a 73-yard drive that lasted almost five minutes. He finished the game 6-of-6 with 47 yards and one touchdown.
QUARTERBACKS
KICKERS
The new NCAA rule that moved kickoffs back to the 30-yard line didn't seem to affect senior kicker Scott Webb. Of his nine kickoffs, he booed three into the end zone for touchbacks.
It was over when...
view from press row
Todd Reesing found Agib Talib streaking wide-open down the middle of the field for a 49-yard touchdown pass. The score put Kansas up 35-0 with 3:07 remaining in the first half. The Chippewas already were having a hard time hanging with the Jayhawks and Talib's catch was the icing on top of a tasty first half for Kansas.
Game ball goes to...
Central Michigan sophomore kicker Andrew Aguila only had two opportunities and never found the end zone.
Todd Reesing. The sophomore quarterback was lights-out in every aspect of his game. He completed 20-of-29 passes for 261 yards and exuded a contagious air of confidence. In the battle between highly regarded sophomore quarterbacks, Reesing emerged victorious over Dan LeFevour.
RUNNING BACKS
When Mangino said the team's run game would rely on a running back by committee approach, he meant it. Senior Brandon McAnderson and sophomore
Jake Sharp split the carries almost evenly and each gained more than 100 yards. McAnderson ran 16 times for 110 yards, and Sharp ran 15 times for 106 yards. The last time two Kansas players
ran for more than 100 yards in the same game was in 2005 against Nebraska, when Clark Green and Jon Cornish accomplished the feat.
Zero. That's how many turnovers Todd Reeing committed in the first start of his career. Against a potentially dangerous Central Michigan offense, holding onto the ball was key for the Jayhawks, and Reeing did an outstanding job. It's also the number of dropped passes by KU receivers.
McAnderson
Game to forget...
Asher Fusco
Stat of the game...
Butch Jones, the brand-new Central Michigan head coach, endured an inauspicious debut. His West Virginia-influenced spread offense failed to muster much of anything against a Kansas defense that flew to the ball, hit the quarterback and shut down the Chippewas' top receiver.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Redshirt freshman Tertavian Ingram started at wide-out despite not appearing on a recently released depth chart.
He split time with freshman Dezmon Briscoe and junior Marcus Herford and did not record a reception.
SECONDARY
Kansas utilized some unexpected defensive personnel in third-and-long situations. Sophomore Justin Thornton and senior Sadiq Muhammed entered the game as safeties in these situations. Both players fared well. Thornton finished with two tackles, Muhammed with one. Sophomore cornerback Anthony Webb, who started much of last season, didn't play until late in the fourth quarter.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Edited by Rachel Bock
Junior defensive tackle Todd Haselhorst, whose injury status remained questionable leading up to the game, played a few snaps in the second half. Sophomore defensive tackle Caleb Blakesley filled in admirably, punishing the inexperienced Central Michigan offensive line and disrupting quarterback Dan LeFevour's throws.
12 POWER RANKINGS
Each week, Sports Editor Travis Robinett, Associate Sports Editor Kyle Carter, football writer Asher Fusco and Big 12 football writer Case Keefer will vote on the Big 12 power rankings.
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Nebraska
4. Texas A&M
5T. Kansas
5T. Missouri
7. Texas Tech
8. Kansas State
9. Oklahoma State
10. Colorado
11. Baylor
12. Iowa State