There wasn’t much to say after this one. James Holt still tried.

Kansas’ senior outside linebacker sat back, looked straight ahead and tried to make sense of Kansas’ 35-7 loss against Texas. But really, what could he say? He had just played the last game of his career at Memorial Stadium — his last chance to find some of that 2007 magic. He was spent. He’d chased after Texas’ uber-gifted quarterback, Colt McCoy, for 60 minutes.

So really, what could he say?

“They’re just Texas,” Holt said.

And that’s all he could say.

Kansas is now 6-5. They’ve played three top five teams — Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech — and lost by a combined score of 143-59. And more than that, the Jayhawks have been humbled, beat up and exposed by the Big 12 gauntlet.

After a season of sweet, 2008 has been filled with sour.

So can you blame Holt or fellow seniors Mike Rivera and Ryan Cantrell — the three players with the postgame duty of explaining what it’s like to lose on your own senior day — if they didn’t have much to say.

“It sucks,” Holt said.

Holt didn’t want to go out like that. He grew up in Altus, Oklahoma. A place where you either hate the Texas Longhorns or you find a new place to live.

And this was senior day. There’s also something special about senior day. Maybe it’s a little schmaltzy, but there’s something idyllic about the seniors and the families and the culmination of a four-year career.

Holt and the rest of the seniors wanted to prove that this year was the fluke — not last year. They wanted to prove that Kansas could play with a team like Texas.

And for nearly two quarters, they did. Holt, Rivera and Joe Mortensen — Kansas’ three senior linebackers — played with the urgency of three seniors playing their last home game. The trio combined for 32 tackles, Holt recovered a McCoy fumble, and Kansas’ defense stopped Texas on three straight drives during the second quarter.

“We were playing like that old KU defense,” Rivera said.

Well, at least for awhile.

As Holt conceded, Texas is Texas. And Kansas’ offense sputtered. Todd Reesing, who practiced once last week, got knocked around, Kerry Meier, slowed by a hamstring injury, played on one good leg, and Jake Sharp went to the locker room in the first half after taking a big hit.

You can’t beat Texas with guts on defense and a wounded offense. You need more. You need perfection.

Nope. There wasn’t much to say after this one. Kansas played another great team. And Kansas isn’t a great team. So Kansas lost.

“I wish we could have had a better effort for those seniors,” Reesing said.

Reesing shouldn’t worry too much. Holt, Rivera, Mortensen, Cantrell and the rest of the seniors will be remembered for more than one lopsided score against Texas.

They helped Kansas finish bowl eligible for four years. They helped Kansas win the Orange Bowl. They helped Mangino build his program from scraps.

“They’ll go down in history,” Mangino said.

Holt sat forward. He looked warn down.

“Nobody got injured,” he said.

That was about it.

These seniors have one more shot. They can go to Arrowhead Stadium in two weeks and knock off the No. 12 Missouri Tigers. They can avenge last year’s crushing loss. They can feel good again.

“Either we’re going to lay down and die,” Holt said. “Or we’re gonna fight.”

And really, that’s all they can do.

— — Edited by Ramsey Cox