Monday, December 1, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Quarterback Todd Reesing could barely lift his throwing arm early in the week, running back Jake Sharp was questionable with bruised ribs and wide receiver Kerry Meier played with just one healthy leg.
The Big 12 title wasn’t at stake and a trip to a bowl game was already guaranteed. The list of reasons why Kansas had no business winning or even caring about Saturday’s game went on and on.
Sophomore defensive tackle Jamal Greene lifts the Lamar Hunt Border Showdown trophy after Kansas defeated Missouri 40-37 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Nothing mattered to a badly bruised Kansas squad against Missouri except one thing — pride.
The wounded Jayhawks used sheer determination and grit to build a 33-30 lead against their favored rival late in the fourth quarter. But when Derrick Washington scored on a 6-yard run with 1:50 to play, the Tigers went ahead 37-33 and it looked as if the valiant Kansas effort was going to be in vain.
Not so fast. As heavy snow continued to fall, the Jayhawks knew that plenty of time remained for them to go on the drive of their lives. They simply weren’t going to lose this one.
The drive — engineered by Reesing and capped by a 26-yard touchdown pass to Meier on a fourth and seven with 27 seconds left in the game — already has become etched in the lore of this 117-year-old Border Showdown. Meier’s second touchdown of the game, and fourth TD pass by Reesing, put Kansas ahead again 40-37, and when a last-second Missouri field goal attempt failed, Kansas had a victory coach Mark Mangino and the team’s fans will remember forever.
Photo Gallery
Kansas vs. Missouri
Photo gallery of Saturday's game against Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
“I’ve been waiting for a situation like that,” Reesing said. “Big game and it comes down to a fourth down play on the last minute drive — that’s what you dream about as a kid.”
As Reesing looked down the field trying to find an open receiver, he also had to elude an all-out Missouri blitz. Scrambling and trying to keep his eyes open for both would be tacklers and a receiver, Reesing called for some divine intervention.
“They brought both of their linebackers,” Reesing said. “The initial read wasn’t there. I tried to go to (Dezmon) Briscoe but he slipped or something. Then I started moving around and praying. I shotputted the ball. It wasn’t really a pass. I just kind of floated it up. Kerry said he didn’t even see me throw it. It’s the kind of play you draw up in the dirt and it worked out.”
When Meier saw the blitz, he had slipped behind safety Justin Garrett, and just hoped that Reesing could get him the ball. He did.
“It’s the guttiest win that we’ve ever had since I’ve been the head coach at Kansas,” Mangino said about the instant classic, which will go down as one of the best in the storied history between the two rivals. “We are a very banged-up team. We had some guys limping around for two weeks and how some of them played today, the only way I can describe it is courage.”
Reesing didn’t practice much of the week, forcing an injured Meier to practice at quarterback instead of resting his injured quad. Sharp barely practiced as well, which left Mangino crossing his fingers about his starting running back’s availability all week. The list of injuries didn’t stop there.
“You know I don’t discuss injuries,” Mangino said. “But I will tell you that if I had to discuss injuries leading up to this game, a roll of toilet paper wouldn’t be long enough for all of the names and injuries that would be on it.”
But Reesing and Meier knew it was going to take more than a bruised shoulder and injured leg to keep Kansas from one of the biggest wins in recent school history. The two hooked up five times as the Jayhawks drove 67 yards in just over a minute to pull off the stunning comeback. Meier’s school record 14th catch of the day was the game winner.
Despite the sore shoulder, Reesing completed 37 of 51 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns. He refused to let two interceptions faze him and had several highlight reel plays — none bigger than the final strike to Meier that gave the Jayhawks the signature victory that they badly craved.
The list of the game’s heroes may have have begun with Reesing and Meier, but it certainly didn’t end there. Safety Darrell Stuckey continued his stellar season, intercepting two Chase Daniel passes and stripping him of the ball after the Mizzou quarterback had run for 54 yards in the first quarter.
Briscoe returned kicks for the first time in his career and gave Kansas its best average starting field position of the season. Kicker Jacob Branstetter and punter Alonzo Rojas deserve some credit as well, using strategically placed kicks to keep the ball away from Missouri’s All-American returner Jeremy Maclin.
Kansas controlled the ball for 36 minutes compared to just 24 for the Tigers. The Jayhawks led 19-10 at halftime and upped it to 26-10 on a 19-yard run by Sharp on the Jayhawks’ first possession of the second half. But Missouri scored three straight touchdowns and stormed back to take a 30-26 lead with just 6:52 left to play in the game.
But just when it looked like Kansas was going to cave, Reesing led the Jayhawks on the first of two dramatic drives and found Meier for an 8-yard strike that put Kansas back in front at 33-30, setting up the final dramatic finish.
“I’m proud to be associated with them,” Mangino said of his players. “It’s hard to describe the feeling that you have for them. You’re just so glad because they showed courage. They gave everything they have to the program today, and hard work is rewarded.”
— — Edited by Rachel Burchfield
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