Football suffers a ‘rough day at the office’

Oklahoma junior free safety Quinton Carter picks off the first pass of the game. Kansas threw three interceptions in Saturday's 35-13 loss to the Sooners.

Photo by Weston White

Oklahoma junior free safety Quinton Carter picks off the first pass of the game. Kansas threw three interceptions in Saturday's 35-13 loss to the Sooners.

By Jayson Jenks

Monday, October 26, 2009

It was crimson and cream versus crimson and blue. It was one of the Big 12’s most prolific offenses versus one of the Big 12’s most aggressive defenses. It was a preseason Big 12 North favorite versus one of the conference’s perennial top dogs.

And by the start of the fourth quarter, it was just plain over.

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Kansas vs. Oklahoma football

Kansas faced off against Oklahoma on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks put up a season-low 290 yards of total offense in a 35-13 loss, falling to 5-2 on the season, and 1-2 in the Big 12.

That Kansas fell at the hands of Oklahoma 35-13 on Saturday isn’t totally surprising. Even with injuries, the Sooners still possess a stable full of athletic and talented players.

But what left people startled after the game was the manner — and individual — responsible for the lopsided result: senior quarterback Todd Reesing and his three interceptions.

Reesing’s fist-pumps and knack for big plays have become standard during his four years at Kansas. It’s expected and anything less is considered a disappointment.

So after the game, as is the norm, Reesing plopped into a seat and started answering questions. Only this time, his playful banter was replaced by the attitude of a man who knew exactly what his turnovers meant.

“Rough day at the office for us,” Reesing said. “That’s for sure.”

For the second consecutive week, Reesing’s first-half turnovers placed Kansas in the bottom of a hole, forced to claw and scrap to even reach level surface.

Against Colorado, Reesing’s two turnovers led to 14 points. The same scenario happened Saturday when Reesing’s miscues allowed Oklahoma to score an offensive touchdown and return an interception 85 yards for another score.

After the game, though, Reesing’s teammates and coaches rallied around their quarterback.

Mangino said some of the blame should be placed on his shoulders. Reesing’s teammates said that he would be fine and that bad games could — and did — happen to anyone.

If there was any resentment, Kansas’ players kept those cards face-down. They wanted to make one point certainly clear: Todd Reesing is human.

“No one is perfect,” sophomore center Jeremiah Hatch said.

“He’s not Superman,” sophomore cornerback Ryan Murphy said.

But the standard Reesing built with big plays and an Orange Bowl victory almost portrayed a superhero-type quarterback sent from Texas to rescue a middling football program.

Fair or not — accurate or unrealistic — that’s become the level people in Lawrence expect.

“That expectation is there, and it’s there for a reason,” Reesing said. “If you don’t have that kind of expectation then you’re not doing something right. It’s frustrating because I hold myself to the highest standard out of anybody. Nobody takes that performance harder than I do.”

The general thought around those who’ve played or currently play with Reesing is rather simple. He’s going to scramble. He’s going to attempt to make big plays. And more often than not, he’s going to be successful.

Yet Saturday marked a rare game when Reesing simply faltered, digging an almost insurmountable hole considering the lockdown nature of Oklahoma’s defense.

And the turnovers only piled more pressure onto Kansas’ defenders, who held Oklahoma in check through the first half before allowing two touchdowns early in the third quarter that put the game out of reach.

“They put us in position to make good plays and get us in the ball game,” Reesing said. “And we let them down today.”

If not for a late touchdown with the game all but finished, Saturday would have marked the first time Kansas failed to score an offensive touchdown since 2005. In that game, Kansas played against — you guessed it — Oklahoma.

The Sooners entered Saturday with plenty of hype surrounding their defense. The success started early with a relentless and physically loaded defensive line that routinely pressured Reesing. Kansas’ receivers, meanwhile, struggled with separation against the secondary’s speed.

“With how athletic their defense is and with how much overall speed they have, you can’t be late on a read,” Reesing said. “If you’re a half-second late on a throw or just a little bit off the spot, they’re going to be there to make a play on it.”

Added senior wide receiver Kerry Meier: “What we saw today is about as good as you can get.”

With 11 minutes left in the game, Memorial Stadium was more half-empty than half-full.

The student section was sparsely dotted with fans, the game day towels remained at people’s sides and the electricity and noise from earlier in the afternoon had been switched off.

Reesing’s three turnovers weren’t the only reason for Kansas’ loss, but they certainly placed the Jayhawks in a steep uphill battle they couldn’t overcome.

“The turnovers set the tempo of the game and put us in a hole early,” coach Mark Mangino said. “We had to play catch-up football and we can’t do that to ourselves. We’ve done that now a couple weeks in a row.”

— Edited by Amanda Thompson

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