Junior wide receiver Johnathan Wilson stretches out for a ball that fell just though his fingertips Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech. Kansas lost 42-21.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing slowly walked from the sideline to the middle of the field shortly after Kansas’ 42-21 defeat. He was quickly engulfed by red and black jerseys, by Texas Tech offensive and defensive players alike, and Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.
In the moments after the game, McNeill jogged across the field specifically to find Reesing. He wanted to offer encouragement to Kansas’ quarterback after a tougher-than-average afternoon. He said he wanted to tell Reesing he was a good quarterback.
And McNeill continued heaping praise on Reesing and the Jayhawks Sunday night — a full 24 hours after Texas Tech stifled Kansas’ once-potent offense.
“I said it all week,” McNeill said. “That was the best skill set that we have faced — and that’s all season long. We said we better be honed in and zoned in because we knew what we were facing.”
For the second consecutive season Kansas’ offense simply struggled to move the ball against a Texas Tech team more feared for its offensive capabilities than its lockdown defense.
On Saturday the Jayhawks couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t consistently pass or catch it, and the offensive line struggled to keep Reesing or freshman quarterback Kale Pick untouched.
As coach Mark Mangino said, it was a case where all parts of the offense failed to click.
“Things just weren’t in sync for the whole offense,” Mangino said.
Much of the postgame attention put a spotlight on Reesing’s struggles and Mangino’s subsequent decision to bench his senior quarterback with seven minutes left in the game. And Reesing undoubtedly struggled, throwing for just 181 yards and fumbling twice.
But Mangino made it a point Monday to reiterate that the loss didn’t fall solely on Reesing’s shoulders.
Kansas’ problems started up front with the offensive line, a group that had appeared to take a step forward after the fifth game of the season against Iowa State. If so, the unit took two steps backward on Saturday.
The offensive line allowed six sacks and failed to consistently open running lanes for either of Kansas’ running backs.
“The offensive line was progressing well,” Mangino said. “But they have kind of flattened out or even regressed a little here.”
And the problems didn’t stop there.
Kansas’ receivers, an experienced group expected to be the strength of the offense, struggled severely against Texas Tech.
Mangino said the Jayhawks had five dropped passes against the Red Raiders, and senior wide receiver Kerry Meier fumbled deep in Kansas territory, setting up a Texas Tech touchdown.
“Dropping the ball, there’s no excuse for that,” Mangino said. “We’ve had some key drops in games that have set us back.”
The offense’s inability to consistently score has developed into a glaring trend during Kansas’ past three games. In that stretch, the Jayhawks have been plagued by turnovers and an inability to execute.
Still, to silence even the slightest stirring of a quarterback controversy, Mangino said that Reesing would start this Saturday at Kansas State.
“I don’t see any problems with him about anything,” Mangino said. “I think the least of his worries need to be about coming out of a game. He is going to focus on getting himself better and getting back into sync.”
And at least one Kansas player doesn’t see any problems in Mangino’s sentiment taking form on Saturday.
“The offense is going to get it right,” senior linebacker Arist Wright said. “Trust me, they’re going to get it right. They’re going to get it right because they’re champions. They have heart, too.”
— Edited by Abby Olcese
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