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SPORTS / MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
MISSOURI 35, KANSAS 7
FOOTBALL REWIND
Season was not as bad as it seems
BY MAX VOSBURGH
mvosburgh@kansan.com
Turner Gill's first season as coach at Kansas was a roller coaster ride. It began with a loss to FCS member North Dakota State and included a 59-7 loss at home to Kansas State.
But after the Jayhawks' loss to rival Missouri 35-7 on Saturday, the entire season can be more easily put into perspective and it wasn't all bad.
This season had more exciting moments than last year's 5-7 Jayhawk team had. There was a 28-25 win at home against 15th ranked Georgia Tech. Fans had the chance to rush the field afterwards in what was easily the most exciting moment at the time since the Jayhawks had won the Insight Bowl two seasons prior.
A couple months later, the Jayhawks pulled off the greatest comeback in school history, scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter to come back after being down 28 points to Colorado.
In the Jayhawks' last test of the season against Missouri, they stayed competitive for a large part of the game and found themselves only down 21-7 at one point in the third quarter before ultimately allowing the Tigers to take control.
"I think Missouri gave us more motivation and to come back after the offseason as a better team," sophomore quarterback Kale Pick said.
The layhawks will have plenty of players at key positions returning next season, including freshman running back lames Sims.
Despite an offense that struggled to score points the last three games of the season, Sims provided a glimpse of what could be the future of the lavhawk backfield.
Against Missouri, Sims ran the ball a season high 21 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers are one of college football's best defenses, giving up on average only 15.2 points per game.
"I need to give credit to Missouri's defense, they are a very good defensive football team." Gill said.
Sims' touchdown was his ninth of the season, despite not playing in the first game of the season. It capped one of the best freshman seasons from a running back in 17 years. His nine rushing touchdowns were the most by a freshman since June Henley rushed for 13 in 1993.
Sims also led the team in rushing yards. He recorded 742 yards on 168 attempts, a 4.4 yard per carry average. Second on the team was senior Angus Quigley who rushed for 262 yards on 71 carries.
"As a team we are very young and it has been hard to adapt to new coaches," senior cornerback Chris Harris said. "It's so nothing that we had to get used to, but I see a bright future for the program."
Gill said he was very confident about the Kansas football program heading into next season.
"Our guys improved every single day and every single week and we just need to go continue to move forward from that," Gill said. "We have a lot of pluses that we can take from this and continue to move forward in the offseason, recruiting, and also next season."
Edited by Anna Nordling
Season starts and ends with QB uncertainties
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeaux@kansan.com
There wasn't any reason for sophomore Kale Pick to be particularly enthused after Saturday's game.
Kansas lost to its biggest rival, Missouri, 35-7 and finished the season 3-9, fewer wins than what the Jayhawks expected coming into the season. As the starter in the Jayhawks' season opener, Pick was moved to wide receiver a couple of weeks ago and saw the field only after Junior cornerback Daymond Patterson suffered an injury.
Next year's returning players still have something to look forward to, as they can expect to battle for a position while acclimating further to coach Turner Gill's style.
But Pick doesn't even know if he will be at Kansas next year.
"I have to talk to the coaches and see what they have to say," he said after Saturday's game. "Kind of see what they're thinking for next year."
Rumors of Pick transferring spread earlier in the year, but he quickly dispelled them at the time.
He caught one pass for nine yards in the game against Mizzou and said he was pleased with how
quickly hed made the transition to wide receiver in just two games. But the jayhawks entered ended the season with the same question: Who is the starting quarterback?
Gill didn't have the answers either. And he was honest in analyzing how his three quarterbacks looked throughout the season.
"At best, maybe OK," he said.
From the first game forward, the constantly revolving door of starting quarterbacks made it difficult to fully grasp any of next year's candidates. Pick started one game and was benched. A concussion then sidelined him until he ended up as a receiver.
Freshman Jordan Webb was just that: a freshman. He got the bulk of the starts (seven) then injured his shoulder, which caused him to miss a few games. After the Missouri game, Gill said Webb suffered a concussion in the play just before he came out.
With Pick and Webb down, Gill called upon junior transfer Quinn Mecham to start a fourgame stretch, including the thrilling comeback against Colorado. Overall, his stats didn't jump off of the page and Webb's return put him back on bench.
Against the Tigers, all three players made an appearance. The
constant swapping in and out created an air of inconsistency. For instance, Mecham's first pass after Webb went down was an interception.
"It's frustrating for any position," Pick said about all of the substitutions. "I understand where Quinn is coming from, coming into the game down 21. I've been there."
Gill said he had a hard time dealing with injuries, but at the same time only saw flashes of great play this year.
"We hope we have a quarterback that can start 12 games and be there on a consistent basis;" he said.
Pick might not be one of those guys. He said he didn't know if he was going to compete for the starting job next year, even if he staved.
Just like everyone else, he couldn't give any insight to the quarterback battle. And with Pick's status up in the air, the Jayhawks may have left Saturday's game with more questions then they started it with.
"I'm not sure," Pick said of the future quarterback situation. "We've got something that we need to get figured out."
Edited by Dana Meredith
Kansas
Missouri
0 | 7 | 0 - 7
14 | 7 | 7 | 7 — 35
Jayhawk Stat Leaders
Rushing
Passing
James Sims 82 yds
Jordan Webb 45 yds
Receiving
Johnathan Wilson 11 yds
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Offense
Defense
Jordan Webb was disappointing in his return to the starting quarterback role, netting only 45 passing yards and two interceptions. James Sims didn't get as many carries as the coaches originally wanted, but he was still able to get 82 yards on the ground as well as grabbing the only Kansas touchdown on the day. C-.
The first 18 minutes were abysmal. The Missouri offense marched down the field and reached the endzone on three of their first four possessions, and that was enough for the rest of the game. The Jayhawk defense tightened up, but the damage was done. C.
Jacob Branstetter missed his only field goal attempt, a 43-yard midway through the first quarter. The Tigers often kicked away from D.J. Beshears, knowing his potential to break off a huge kick return. Beshears was only able to return three kicks for 54 yards because of Misouri's strategy. B.
Special Teams
Coaching
The coaches wanted to run the ball, but the first quarter onslaught by Missouri made that nearly impossible. Down 21 points most of the game, the coaches probably tried to stick with the running game too long, as their only scoring drive took nearly six minutes off the clock. The cornerbacks played well off their receivers, allowing Tiger quarterback Blaine Gabbert to slowly march down the field with short routes on their scoring drives. D+.
Turning Point
Missouri running back Kendial Lawrence's 31-yard touchdown run in the second quarter gave the Tigers a 21-0 lead.
- The Jayhawks passed for only 45 yards for the entire game.
- The Tigers' defense only allowed 141 total yards of offense to Kansas. It was the lowest total yards Missouri has given up in a game since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.
Kory Carpenter
Freshman quarterback Jordan Webb is hit hard by a Missouri defender Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jawhacks lost their final game of the season 35-7.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Senior linebacker Steven Johnson knocks Missouri running back Kendial Lawrence out of bounds. Johnson led the team with 13 tackles in the 35-7 loss at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Senior wide receiver Jhnathann Wilson gets tackled by Missouri's senior defensive back Kevin Rutland during The Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon. This was Wilson's only reception, which went for an 11-yard gain.
Chris Neal/KANSAN
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