Jayhawks comeback after a scoreless first half

Monday, October 6, 2008

AMES, Iowa – With a 20-0 lead in his back pocket and the end zone in his sights, Iowa State quarterback Austen Arnaud took a snap three minutes before halftime. The sophomore charged up the middle after faking a hand-off.

Kansas senior linebacker Joe Mortensen sprinted to the line of scrimmage and ripped the ball from Arnaud’s clutches. Mortensen then recovered the fumble to secure the Jayhawks’ first turnover and complete one of the only first half plays in which something went right for Kansas.

Photo by Allison Richardson

Junior running back Jake Sharp struggles under the weight of ISU's Michael O'Connell during Saturday's game in Ames.

In the first 30 minutes Kansas had four punts and turned the ball over three times.

While Kansas was falling all over itself, Iowa State was busy gliding up-and-down the field.

Iowa State running back Alexander Robinson scored the first touchdown on a 16-yard scamper and Arnaud hit Marquis Hamilton on an eight-yard strike for the second score. The Cyclones had a lot of fun early in Ames.

“I loved it,” senior wide receiver R.J. Sumrall said. “I had a smile on my face the whole entire time.”

Still, coach Gene Chizik wasn’t comfortable with a 20-point halftime cushion. Especially since his squad had the ball down to Kansas’ 13-yard line before Arnaud’s fumble.

“I never felt the lead was safe,” Chizik said. “Not against them. They’re too good on offense.”

Added Arnaud, “There’s no way the Orange Bowl Champions are going to roll over and give it to us. We’ve got to go take it and we didn’t do that.”

Sure enough, the Jayhawks flipped a magical switch in the locker room and ran roughshod over the Cyclones in the third quarter, scoring 21 points with the ease of a greased axel.

Kansas opened up a 28-20 lead on a drive set-up by an Arnaud interception on a dump-off pass. Jayhawk defensive end Maxwell Onyegbule stepped in front of Arnaud’s screen pass and rumbled down to the six-yard line.

“We run it in practice and it wasn’t a look that we’ve ever seen and he just cut up field,” Arnaud said. “He made a great play.”

Backed into a corner, the youthful Cyclones came out firing.

Arnaud’s okie-doke froze cornerback Kendrick Harper and he connected with Sumrall for a 22-yard strike to bring the score to 28-26. However, the two-point conversion attempt failed and coach Mark Mangino’s squad responded with another touchdown.

Showing great poise, Arnaud responded in kind, driving 55 yards and throwing his third touchdown pass of the game and the second one to Hamilton.

On the ensuing onside kick, Grant Mahoney perfectly placed the ball high in the air 10 yards downfield, where freshman Sedrick Johnson snagged it for a last ditch effort.

Arnaud and the offense took over at their own 41-yard line with 1:13 to move the ball into field goal range.

“Everybody’s anticipating a score,” Arnaud said. “They look in my eyes and they look at every one around. We’re confident we’re going to go score.”

The drive started ominously with two dropped passes and one deflection. On third down he threw a perfect strike to Sumrall, who couldn’t hang on.

“I dropped the slant, and it hurt,” Sumrall said. “It could have been a first down, or real close, and we wouldn’t have to run a deep route.”

That deep route was also a pass to Sumrall, who gained a step and a half on Harper. But the throw sailed just beyond his reach and Sumrall was only able to get a couple of fingertips on it while diving hopelessly.

“The last series there was pretty abysmal,” Chizik said.

The Cyclones upset bid fell short at 35-33. Two weeks ago they lost 34-31 in overtime at UNLV.

Losses like that can destroy a team, but Arnaud gave his young team some post-game perspective beyond his years.

“You wonder what if we did this, what if we did that,” Arnaud said. “The bottom line is we didn’t do those things so there’s no ifs ands or buts about it. We didn’t take care of business today.”

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