Kansas wins 29-0

Check Kansan.com tomorrow for full coverage of Kansas' victory

By Taylor Bern (Contact)

Saturday, September 6th, 2008


10:14 left in third quarter, Kansas leads 20-0

Reesing casually took the shotgun snap and zipped a five-yard pass to Dezmon Briscoe. 45 yards and six broken tackles later, Briscoe scored his fourth touchdown of the season and set a new career high for single game receiving yards. He now has seven catches for 148 yards.

14:41 left in third quarter, Kansas leads 13-0

On the third play of the quarter, wide receiver Phillip Livas fumbled the ball and Jamal Greene scooped it up for Kansas. However, the play was reviewed and officials determined that Livas never had possession of the ball. On the following play, Tech punted and appeared to recover a fumble after it hit a Kansas player, but the referee ruled that it first hit a Tech player. Bulldog coach Derek Dooley challenged the play but the ruling on the field was upheld.

HALFTIME: KANSAS 13, LOUISIANA TECH 0

Another sloppy start for Kansas, followed quickly by Reesing's domination. The junior has picked apart Tech's defense and made the struggling running game an after-thought once again. Crawford and Briscoe have been shaken up on a couple of plays but neither should miss any time in the second half.

Interesting halftime stats:

- Tech and Kansas each have 15 carries. The Bulldogs are out-rushing the Jayhawks 47-45.

- Tech is 7-for-10 on third down conversions, but most of that was on its 22-play drive that ended with an interception in the endzone.

- Tech quarterback Taylor Bennett has been rather awful. He's 8-of-22 with an interception and five of those completions were on the Bulldogs one solid drive.

- Kansas gained 12 first downs and has yet to punt

1:36 left in first quarter, Kansas leads 13-0

Reesing continues to impress, as does throwing mate Meier. Meier already has six receptions, three of those for first down conversions. After Reesing failed to connect with Meier on a difficult third down play, Branstetter came in to make a 25-yard field goal, his second made field goal of the game.

3:44 left in first quarter, Kansas leads 10-0

On a fourth and four from the 39-yard line, Reesing found sure-handed Kerry Meier on a crossing route to pick up the first down. Like last week, Kansas is completely without an effective running game. But Reesing and his receivers are playing so well that they probably don't need to run for the rest of the game.

7:38 left in first quarter, Kansas leads 10-0

Reesing threw a lob to the back left corner of the end zone and Patterson easily ran underneath it for his first collegiate touchdown reception. On the previous play, Reesing threw a strike to Briscoe for a 14-yard gain down to the three yard line. Reesing had time to throw because Jocques Crawford stepped up and made a huge block.

10:40 left in first quarter, Kansas leads 3-0

On the 22nd play of a 9-minute, 23-second drive, Bennett's pass bounced off the hands of tight end Anthony Harrison and into the awaiting arms of Kansas cornerback Chris Harris. Harris kneeled in the end zone and the offense takes over at their own 20-yard line. Tech was at the six-yard line and threatening to score.

12:37 left in first quarter, Kansas leads 3-0

Bennett just threw a rocket for an 11-yard gain and another first down. Tech is 7-for-8 on third down conversions and its marching down to the KU 20 on a 20-play drive.

END OF FIRST QUARTER: KANSAS 3, LOUISIANA TECH 0

Kansas has lost a pair of starters to first quarter injuries. Kendrick Harper was taken in an ambulance after an apparent neck injury and defensive tackle Caleb Blakesley is currently being attended to with a leg injury.

Reesing was sharp on the first drive but the offensive line struggled on Kansas' second drive. On the other side, Tech quarterback Taylor Bennett looks sharp. He's doing what Reesing did last week, just throwing the short passes and finding holes in the Kansas defense.

1:25 left in first quarter

Cornerback Kendrick Harper was carted off the sidelines on a stretcher with an apparent neck injury. Harper appeared to have injured his head or neck on a play earlier in the quarter but got to his feet and walked off to the sidelines. Once there something happened and paramedics then were called and took him to a waiting ambulance. The Kansan will update you as soon as more information becomes available.

5:03 left in first quarter

Kansas faced a fourth and one from the 12-yard line and handed the ball off to Jocques Crawford. The Tech defense stood strong and stuffed him at the 11 and on its first play Bennett completed another pass to Livas.

7:12 left in first quarter

Patterson caught a first down pass then was hit hard by a Tech defender and fumbled. However, Dezmon Briscoe was in the right place at the right time as he snatched the ball before it ever hit the ground to put Kansas just outside the red zone.

8:35 left in first quarter

Tech quarterback Taylor Bennett just threw and incomplete pass on fourth and five from the 38-yard line. The pass was intended for wide receiver Phillip Livas, who was targeted on every play of the drive.

KU 3, LT 0: 10:38 left in the first quarter

Kansas just completed a 74-yard drive with a Branstetter field goal. Kerry Meier had a chance to catch a touchdown on third and seven from inside the 10-yard line, but it slipped through his hands.

13:28 left in the first quarter

Jonathan Wilson just caught a 19-yard pass for a first down, and on the next play we saw the first example of a slippery ball. Quarterback Todd Reesing bobbled the shotgun snap, but caroled it in time and tossed it to Patterson for a 3-yard gain.

14:45 left in the first quarter

The first play of the game was a screen pass to Daymond Patterson for 13 yards. Looks like Mangino wants to get the speedster involved early and often.

5 minutes until kickoff

I'd guess there's about 38,000 fans in the stands, so the announced attendance should be around 41,000. Not bad considering the elements and that not too many people know much about Louisiana Tech.

5:52 p.m.

The clouds have opened up and it's raining pretty hard now. Ball control is going to be crucial in this game and multiple fumbles are likely.

5:45 p.m.

Freshmen Jeremiah Hatch, Daymond Patterson and Jacob Branstetter will each make their first start in a Kansas uniform.

Last week Patterson caught three passes at wide receiver and electrified as the punt returner, and today he'll step into Dexton Fields' starting spot as Fields sits out with an injury.

Both Hatch and Branstetter missed last week's game completely. Hatch was sitting out with an undisclosed injury while Branstetter was just declared eligible yesterday.

5:35 p.m.

Kansas receivers are practicing their crossing routes right now. Every time they cross paths across the middle they give each other a high five.

It seems like just a silly thing saved for practice, but I saw Kerry Meier and Jonathan Wilson do this in last week's game.

5:15 p.m.

Kickers Alonso Rojas and Grady Fowler each took their turns after Branstetter finished. Rojas boomed some kicks through from 50 yards, while Fowler's boots were quacked their way to the right or left of the goal posts.

It looks like Mangino may use Rojas for longer kicks, like last week, and substitute Branstetter for Fowler on regular field goals and extra points.

5:05 p.m.

Freshman kicker Jacob Branstetter was academically cleared to play yesterday and he's the only KU kicker warming up.

Branstetter nailed a pair of 46-yard field goals and now he's hitting them from the right and left side with Kerry Meier holding. Branstetter's jersey is No. 14, which is a change from the No. 16 on the roster.

4:45 p.m.

Bulldog kicker Brad Oestriecher is putting on a show in warm-ups.

Last week's WAC Special Team Player of the Week set up the ball squarely on the Jayhawk logo at mid-field and drilled a 60-yard field goal. Oestriecher then backed up a couple yards and missed short and left, but he's got a seriously strong leg.

4:30 p.m.

I'm curious to see how much this weather will affect the attendance. Last week, Kansas played in front of a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 52,112.

This week I was wondering if they'd be able to top 50,000 for the second straight week, but now it will fall well short.

4 p.m.

I just got into the press box and in another 10 minutes I should be dry.

The drizzling rain has put a damper on the tailgating but with two hours till kickoff I'm still not sure what effect it'll have on the game.

Keep checking Kansan.com for a live blog throughout the game.

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