Saturday, September 20, 2008
Kansas 38, Sam Houston State 14
End of the game.
Jake Sharp has finally made an appearance in the KU backfield. He's handling the mop-up duties, along with sophomore quarterback Tyler Lawrence.
The final score will tell a tale of dominance, but this game was anything but that. Kansas used the first quarter to work on some pressing issues, and they failed. The pass rush was slow, the cornerbacks got beat and the rushing game couldn't punch the ball into the end zone.
KANSAS 38, SAM HOUSTON STATE 14
9:24 left in the fourth quarter
Angus Quigley returned to the backfield in the fourth quarter and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season.
Quigley, who sat on the bench while Crawford carried the ball in the third quarter, dove in one yard to cap a 79-yard, 16-play drive. It took longer than expected, but Kansas' offense has forced its will on the Sam Houston State defense.
On the play before Quigley's score, Reesing withstood a vicious facemask penalty from defensive end John Goree. Goree took a cue from KU fans and ripped Reesing's head off, leaving the helmet lying next to him on the ground.
Photo Gallery
Kansas vs. Sam Houston 3rd Quarter
Kansas 31, Sam Houston State 14
End of the third quarter
Jocques Crawford carried the ball on the first and last plays of the third quarter. He handled all of the rushing duties in between, as well.
In the first half it was Angus Quigley taking the carries, but he struggled in the second quarter, gaining only one yard on three carries. In the third quarter, Crawford looked sharp and scored his second touchdown of the season.
Speaking of sharp, opening day starter Jake Sharp hasn't seen a single play in the backfield yet. The only time he's been on the field is on kick coverage.
Kansas 31, Sam Houston State 14
1:15 left in the third quarter
For the second time this season, Darrell Stuckey gave Justin Thornton the assist on an interception. With Sam Houston State in Kansas territory and the third quarter clock winding down, Rhett Bomar tried to fire a pass into triple coverage.
Stuckey put his hand out and deflected the pass, while Thornton nabbed it out of the air for KU's third interception of the night.
KANSAS 31, SAM HOUSTON STATE 14
3:13 left in the third quarter
Branstetter atoned for his earlier miss by drilling a 24-yarder to put Kansas up three possessions.
Todd Reesing has continued to excite in the backfield. On third down, a Sam Houston State linebacker blitzed after the quarterback untouched, but Reesing juked him out and nearly hit Kerry Meier for a touchdown.
Kansas 28, Sam Houston State 14
8:06 left in the third quarter
Jacob Branstetter just missed a 36-yard field goal, the first missed field goal of the season for Kansas.
Reesing and his receivers were strong on the drive, but the defensive line forced a lot of pressure in the backfield once it was backed up. Bomar was shaken up on a running play and he's now running with a noticeable limp.
KANSAS 28, SAM HOUSTON STATE 14
12:58 left in the third quarter
It took the Bearkats less than a minute to respond to the Jayhawks' score.
Rhett Bomar drove 79 yards in 44 seconds, capping it with a 46-yard pass to Justin Wells. Wells streaked right past cornerback Corrigan Powell, one of several corners Kansas has tried to use without any positive results.
On the play before the touchdown, Bomar completed a 33-yard pass to running back James Aston. Aston is a very physical back who bowled a couple of defenders over before going down.
KANSAS 28, SAM HOUSTON STATE 7
13:46 left in the third quarter
Jocques Crawford dove two yards for his second touchdown in a Kansas uniform. The play was set up by a 31-yard pass from Todd Reesing to Dezmon Briscoe.
Briscoe probably could have scored a touchdown himself if he cut back to the inside, but it was still a nice grab.
In the second quarter, Angus Quigley became human again, gaining only one yard on three carries.
Kansas 21, Sam Houston State 7
14:30 left in the third quarter
Jocques Crawford started in the backfield and gained 11 yards on the first play of the second half. I haven't seen him run that hard since his first carry as a Jayhawk.
However, on the next play Crawford showed why he hasn't seen as much of the play. He dove to block a blitzing Bearkat and grasped nothing but air. He has a lot to learn.
Photo Gallery
Kansas vs. Sam Houston 2nd Quarter
KANSAS 21, SAM HOUSTON STATE 7
Halftime
Reesing ran back and forth for 11 seconds, evading Bearkat defenders left and right before hurling a 57-yard bomb to a streaking Dezmon Briscoe for his second touchdown pass of the night.
Briscoe slipped behind the secondary while Reesing put on a show behind the line of scrimmage. Because of a 15-yard penalty on Jeremiah Hatch, Reesing's throw was further than the official drive. That's the type of spark Kansas needed heading into halftime.
The running game is still very unreliable, but Mangino knows they can throw the ball effectively whenever they like.
Kansas 14, Sam Houston State 7
1:12 left in the second quarter
A long pass from Reesing to Meier was ruled incomplete by the officials. Reesing threw it about 30 yards through the air and it's surprising when Meier doesn't come up with a catch like that.
On the next play, freshman Jeremiah Hatch was flagged for a personal foul, putting Kansas into a 3rd and 25 stiuation with less than a minute to go before the half.
KANSAS 14, SAM HOUSTON STATE 7
2:01 left in the second quarter
On 2nd and goal from the eight yard line, Bomar called his own number and ran untouched into the end zone to give Sam Houston State a big boost of momentum before halftime.
The drive started after Reesing tried to run a quarterback sneak from his own 36-yard line on fourth and inches. Sam Houston State's defensive line stood strong and pushed him back. On the next play, Bomar completed a 28-yard pass to Jason Madkins. Bomar and the Bearkat players are jacked up after the score and this Memorial Stadium crowd is completely stunned.
Bomar's Bearkats looked poised to take advantage of the good field position right before halftime with a 28-yard pass to Jason Madkins.
Kansas 14, Sam Houston State 0
5:00 left in the second quarter
Joe Mortensen just recorded his first sack of the season...sort of.
Rhett Bomar took off to towards the sidelines after finding no one downfield, and Mortensen forced him out one yard behind the line of scrimmage. Not your typical sack, but the box score doesn't see the difference.
Kansas 14, Sam Houston State 0
6:30 left in the second quarter
Jake Sharp saw the field for the first time tonight, and it was on kickoff coverage.
Sharp seems to be locked in the dog house and Mangino isn't likely to break out the keys tonight.
Kansas 14, Sam Houston State 0
7:02 left in the second quarter
Just as I entered that last update, Todd Reesing hooked up with Kerry Meier for a 68-yard touchdown on third and 18.
It seems like the passing game is working just fine, but Mangino is trying to see what his offense can do when they rely on the run. The result thus far? Not much.
Kansas 7, Sam Houston State 0
7:43 left in the second quarter
One play after Bomar gained three yards on fourth and one, he threw his second interception of the night.
This one wasn't his fault. Receiver Catron Houston was open on a crossing route, but let the ball bounce off his hands into the air, where Isiah Barfield swooped in for the pick.
Crawford is in the backfield again and Kansas just had a delay of game on third down. This team doesn't look comfortable at all.
Kansas 7, Sam Houston State 0
9:30 left in the second quarter
The Jayhawk pass rush is still painfully slow.
They can't get any pressure with a four-man rush, which forces a linebacker to blitz and the cornerbacks to play one-on-one. Rhett Bomar has all day to find his receivers.
KANSAS 7, SAM HOUSTON STATE 0
10:24 left in the second quarter
With third and 19 at his own two-yard line, Rhett Bomar dropped back and looked for wide receiver Chris Lucas. Instead he found Darrell Stuckey, who returned the interception to the one-yard line.
On the next play, Todd Reesing ran an option to the right and dove his way into the end zone for the first score of the night.
11:00 left in the second quarter
Richard Johnson and Russell Brorsen just applied the first real pressure Bomar has felt all night, and it resulted in a sack for a six-yard loss.
Sam Houston state just used its second timeout. The Bearkats are facing a third and 18 from their own three-yard line, and barring a miracle the Jayhawks should get the ball back with good field position.
12:08 left in the second quarter
Todd Reesing's pass on a third down attempt was plain ugly. He overthrew his intended target by about five yards and it was nearly intercepted.
The Bearkats have failed to take advantage of the Jayhawks' poor play thus far, but Bomar and his wide receivers were starting to get into a good rhythm in the first quarter. We'll see if they can pick it up again.
Photo Gallery
Kansas vs. Sam Houston 1st Quarter
End of the first quarter
KU fans haven't had much to be excited about thus far, so it's fitting that the biggest cheer of the night came in between quarters when the men's basketball team was recognized on the field.
Wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Daymond Patterson haven't seen much of the field. Briscoe was only in for one series, and Patterson was in for just one play. On that play, Patterson caught a pass and then promptly fumbled it.
Kansas has made a concerted effort to run the ball more, and it's making them look awfully bad so far.
55 seconds left in first quarter
Bearkat kicker Taylor Wilkins shanked a 39-yard field goal try that would have put Sam Houston State on top. He hit a 45-yarder in week one, but the ball looked awful off his foot and it quacked deftly to the right of the goal post.
1:00 left in first quarter
This crowd is trying desperately to energize the defense as Sam Houston State is knocking on the door at the 21-yard line.
2:00 left in first quarter
Bearkat running back James Aston looks sharp. He just busted through the middle for a 12-yard gain.
Bomar just connected with Catron Houston for a 25-yard gain. They've run the route several times, but Bomar finally put it in just the right place.
Houston, my player to watch in Friday's Kansan, is burning past whomever tries to cover him. Without safety help over the top, he won't be stopped.
3:33 left in first quarter
Freshman Brian Murphy came in to replace Barifeld, then proceeded to tackle Catron Houston when he was already out of bounds to draw a 15-yard penalty.
Nobody can seem to replace Harper without incident.
4:13 left in first quarter
Alonso Rojas pinned Bomar and the Bearkats at their own four-yard line.
I'm sensing a costly turnover for Sam Houston State coming up real soon...
5:30 left in first quarter
Jonathan Wilson just caught a 31-yard pass for the Jayhawk's biggest gain of the game.
On the next play, Crawford came into the backfield and carried the ball four yards. Quigley just came back in to replace him.
7:15 left in first quarter
It may only be against Sam Houston State, but Quigley is making a serious case for the starting role in two weeks at Iowa State.
He gets north and south very quickly and he just dragged three defenders about four yards before going down. We haven't seen Sharp or Crawford in the game yet.
Also, wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe came into the game for the first time to start Kansas' second offensive drive.
8:17 left in first quarter
Bomar just missed a wide open Catron Houston streaking down the sideline. Houston burned by Isiah Barifeld for the second time tonight.
Barfield, a freshman, is starting in place of Kendrick Harper, who was injured in week one.
9:08 left in first quarter
Daymond Patterson just came into the game, and on his first reception he fumbled the ball. The Bearkats recovered the ball at their own 40-yard line.
Patterson started the game on the bench in part because Mangino felt he wasn't blocking well enough, and the fumble certainly won't help him get out of the dog house.
11:00 left in first quarter
Angus Quigley was given the starting nod and he's making the most of it, with three strong carries. In less than five minutes he's carried the ball as many times as he did last week and gained two first downs.
12:20 left in first quarter
Kansas' first play was an eight-yard pass to Kerry Meier. Meier looks more and more like a Wes Welker kind of receiver every time I see him.
13:14 left in first quarter
Justin Thornton came oh-so-close to picking off a Rhett Bomar pass. The wide receiver beat Isiah Barfield and a little more air under the throw could have meant a touchdown.
6:05
Sam Houston State won the toss and elected to receive. The Bearkats probably see this as their only chance to take a lead.
5:45
After the South Florida loss, coach Mark Mangino chastised his wide receivers for failing to block down field. Today he sent them a message, starting Raimond Pendleton and Raymond Brown ahead of regular starters Daymond Patterson and Dezmon Briscoe.
Mangino also made the decision to start running back Angus Quigley, the team's leading rusher in each of the first three games, ahead of juniors Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford.
5:40
I'm not sure that it matters, but Kerry Meier has looked great in his warm-up snaps as quarterback. Not that Todd Reesing hasn't looked sharp, but Meier had a little something extra on the ball.
I seriously doubt we'll see him throw the ball, though, since it doesn't do Kansas any good to open the bag of tricks against a I-AA opponent.
5:30
I just got up to the press box, and it's amazing how perfect this day turned out to be.
With all of the families in town for parent's weekend, this game will push week one's FIU contest for the most attendance in Memorial Stadium.
Continue to check Kansan.com throughout the game as we'll be bringing live updates and notes throughout tonight's contest.
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