Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Former Kansas coach Don Fambrough, the legendary keeper of the rivalry, has seen plenty of Kansas vs. Missouri football games.
Receiver Kerry Meier pulls in the game-winning touchdown last season to put Kansas ahead 39-37. Meier put up 106 yards receiving and two touchdowns on an injured hamstring in a 40-37 victory against the Tigers last year.
In all, either when playing or coaching, Fambrough has been involved in 34 Kansas vs. Missouri games. And that’s not even including the times he has simply watched as a fan.
Still, Fambrough said that few games matched last year’s meeting, when quarterback Todd Reesing floated a pass to wide receiver Kerry Meier with 27 seconds left to give Kansas a 40-37 victory.
“That game stands out in my mind as one of the top football games against Missouri that I’ve ever been to as a coach, fan or whatever,” Fambrough said. “It was just unbelievable what our kids did in that football game.”
Similar sentiments were given from those on the field during the game.
“It was one of the greatest games I’ve been a part of in college,” former linebacker Mike Rivera said. “At that point in our season we were fighting to have something to show for our senior year and for the rest of our team.”
But the real highlight from the game — the play that will be remembered for years to come — was the connection between Reesing and Meier.
On fourth down, and with the game hanging on the play’s outcome, Missouri blitzed Kansas, forcing Reesing to shuffle around the pocket.
At the same time, Meier worked his way behind Missouri’s defenders before cradling Reesing’s pass with an over-the-shoulder catch.
“I was just sitting there taking it all in and realizing that was one of the last plays of my college career,” said Rivera, who watched the play from the sideline. “I had confidence in our offense that they would do it. They had been doing a lot of great things all day.”
Former wide receiver Dexton Fields, who was on the field during the play, had a slightly different experience.
“When I saw Todd looking for him,” Fields said, “I knew Kerry would probably be wide open. And then I was just like, ‘Please catch it! Please catch it!’”
As time expired, though, Missouri drove the ball down the field to set up a potential game-tying 54-yard field goal. Adding to the game’s drama, safety Phillip Strozier knocked the ball down, sealing Kansas’ victory.
“It’s the gutsiest performance I’ve ever been associated with as a coach,” coach Mark Mangino said after the game.
In knocking off the Tigers, the Jayhawks may have saved their season.
Kansas entered last year’s Border Showdown Nov. 29 with an admittedly disappointing 6-5 record for a team attempting to build off its 2007 Orange Bowl victory.
The Jayhawks had lost two consecutive games and were a group of walking wounded: Key position players were ailing with various injuries. Missouri was the 13th ranked team in the country at the time and had already sealed up the Big 12 North title.
“We had guys banged up on offense, defense, everything,” Rivera said. “Everybody had to dig down deep and put out every little last effort they had to pull off that game.”
Added former receiver Dexton Fields: “It’s the rivalry against Missouri. That’s a must-win against in itself.”
With 79,123 fans jammed into Arrowhead Stadium, each play resulted in one side cheering, while the other sat in silence.
And the part Fields most remembered from the game was the ever-increasing snowfall that dampened the field and dotted the sky with white.
“It doesn’t get much better than that really,” Rivera said. “It was a huge rivalry and all the fans were going crazy. It was one of the loudest games I’ve played in.”
After the game, Kansas’ players celebrated on the field before running to high-five the fans remaining in the stands.
Still, even now, much of the attention is cast onto the play between Reesing and Meier.
“It was just such a relief and it was just such an amazing play,” Rivera said. “You forgot about all the bad things, all the injuries and all that kind of stuff.”
— Edited by Abby Olcese
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