Notebook: Kansas matches record road losing streak against TCU

By Benton Smith     Oct 22, 2017

Nick Krug
Kansas cornerback Kyle Mayberry (16) watches as TCU wide receiver Taj Williams (2) and TCU wide receiver Ty Slanina (13) celebrate Williams' touchdown catch during the third quarter, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.

Fort Worth, Texas — Only one other team playing at college football’s highest level has ever lost as many road games in a row as Kansas.

With a 43-0 beatdown at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday night, the Jayhawks tied former high-major conference member Western State, which lost 44 consecutive road contests from 1926-36, while playing in the old Rocky Mountain Conference, comprised of teams such as Utah, Colorado, Brigham Young and Utah State.

KU’s 44-game road losing streak began in 2009, with a loss at Colorado.

FCS program Idaho State, a longtime member of the Big Sky Conference, but never competing at the FBS level, lost 48 straight road games from 2006 to 2014.

KU is home the next two weeks, versus Kansas State and Baylor, before playing at Texas on Nov. 11.

Still no Ribordy

With first-string center Mesa Ribordy unavailable for the second consecutive week due to an undisclosed injury, the KU coaching staff opted to shift responsibilities for some of its most reliable offensive linemen this week instead of sticking with backup Jacob Bragg, who started at Iowa State seven days earlier, at center.

Typical starting right tackle Zach Hannon handled snapping responsibilities in Ribordy’s absence. Usual left tackle Hakeem Adeniji slid over to right tackle for Hannon. Normally a reserve, Clyde McCauley III started at left tackle for Adeniji.

KU didn’t have to adjust its other two starting spots, where left guard Andru Tovi and right guard Chris Hughes remained the starters.

Nevertheless, the changes did little to help Kansas (1-6 overall, 0-4 Big 12) on a night the offense managed a paltry 21 yards, the lowest total by an FBS team in at least the past 20 seasons.

“The offensive line, we’ve got to communicate better,” Adeniji said afterward. “It starts up front. A lot of times it’s one guy being off beat and that’s what keeps pushing us back, and that’s something that we have to be better at.”

Herbert returns

After missing KU’s shutout defeat the week earlier at Iowa State, sophomore running back Khalil Herbert returned to the field at No. 4 TCU (7-0, 4-0).

Herbert, though, like every member of the Kansas offense, never made the Frogs sweat.

After rushing for four yards on his first carry in two weeks, Herbert finished with just six attempts and eight yards.

He rushed for 137 yards at Ohio and 291 against West Virginia before suffering a hamstring injury in the second half of a loss to Texas Tech two weeks back.

Running clock

During a media timeout early in the fourth quarter of the TCU rout, referee Mike Defee announced “significant weather” headed toward the area led to both KU head coach David Beaty and TCU coach Gary Patterson agreeing to play the final 12:49 of the game with a running clock.

— See what people were saying about the game during KUsports.com’s live coverage.


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