Kansas’ players slowly filtered into the postgame press conference and settled into desks scattered throughout the corners of the room.

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Kansas Football vs. Nebraska

Kansas took on Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 14 in its final home game of the 2009 season. Despite a comeback effort in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks lost their fifth-straight game on senior day at Memorial Stadium. With the loss, the Jayhawks fell to 5-5 overall, and 1-5 in Big 12 play.

They talked about a handful of missed plays and mistakes, about disappointment and about a frustration gripping each individual on the team

And there were enough of each to serve as the foundation for Kansas’ loss.

But for the first time all year — for the first time after a loss — the Jayhawks reflected on the season, offering a glimpse into the minds of athletes stuck in a losing streak.

“It’s been one of the more difficult things of my life so far,” senior wide receiver Kerry Meier said. “It’s definitely been tough. Nothing I’ve experienced is like it in the sports aspect. I’m a frustrated guy right now and I think a bunch of guys are frustrated.”

Moments before, in the final home game for 15 seniors, the speed bump lingering in Kansas’ season grew a little higher.

Nebraska 31, Kansas 17.

Kansas entered Saturday afternoon’s game with hopes of snapping a four-game losing streak while also picking up a sixth victory to become bowl eligible.

Instead, the Jayhawks have now lost five consecutive games for the first time since coach Mark Mangino’s first year in 2002.

“It’s disappointing for all 15 seniors that suited up tonight and it’s disappointing for the entire team,” senior defensive back Justin Thornton said. “It’s definitely tough losing five straight. We feel like we’ve had chances to win each and every one of those ball games.

“When it rains, it pours. And we’re getting poured on right now.”

That certainly appeared to be the case.

On Kansas’ opening drive of the third quarter, Meier hauled in a pass from senior quarterback Todd Reesing and headed toward the end zone. But he was stripped from behind and Nebraska recovered the fumble at its own four-yard line.

The Cornhuskers converted the turnover into a field goal on their ensuing possession to take a 13-10 lead.

“It turned out to be a pretty pivotal point in the game,” Meier said. “That took the wind out of our defense.”

He wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Kansas’ defense appeared to hold Nebraska on third-and-long. But Thornton’s hand grabbed running back Khiry Cooper’s facemask as he made the tackle.

Thornton was flagged for a personal foul, and Nebraska running back Roy Helu Jr. scored a 20-yard touchdown on the next play to give the Cornhuskers a 24-17 lead.

“It was definitely one of those plays you wish you could have back,” Thornton said. “That’s why it’s so disappointing. I feel like that play changed the outcome of the game. The whole momentum of the game shifted after that play.”

In each of Kansas’ five losses this season, a similar trend has unfolded during games.

The Jayhawks have seemed to play well enough to win, but a handful of negative plays — turnovers, penalties, dropped passes — have effectively doomed Kansas’ chances.

In 2007, the season with the Orange Bowl victory, Kansas capitalized on opponents’ mistakes, while limiting its own miscues. It was a recipe for a 12-1 season.

That hasn’t been the case this year.

“The thing about a successful team is the margin for error,” junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe said. “The great teams, they keep that margin of error low. I believe ours has been higher than it has been the past couple of years. I guess that’s the reason we’re 5-5 and not where we want to be.”

After the game, Kansas’ players attempted to flip this season into perspective.

They talked about dealing with adversity and about the difficulties in life that awaited them once their football careers were finished.

Yet it wasn’t supposed to be this way.

The Jayhawks entered this season with goals of winning the Big 12 North — an objective that would have put the final touches on the senior class’ highly successful tenure at Kansas.

Instead, the Jayhawks are last in the North, a division that hasn’t had a legitimate contender emerge all season.

“This is something that we’re getting kind of used to,” Meier said. “And it’s something that I don’t like. Here we are five weeks in a row with the same outcome and it’s definitely a frustrating point in our lives.”

In all, the loss left Kansas’ seniors sensing the quickly approaching end to their careers.

And after playing their final game in Memorial Stadium, the loss also left the Jayhawks filled with perspective and nostalgia.

“I’m sure going to miss playing here,” Reesing said. “There’s no doubt about that. I’ve absolutely loved my time at Kansas. It’s been unbelievable. I love every guy I’ve played with, all the coaches and all the fans. It’s been a heck of an experience.”

— Edited by Abby Strusz