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KU vs. Sam Houston State

12:30 a.m.

Some postgame audio clips have been posted, including ones from Mark Mangino, Todd Reesing and Angus Quigley.

Final, KU leads 38-14

After getting two first downs, KU runs out the clock to wrap up the victory.

4:47 left in fourth quarter, KU leads 38-14

The Bearkats turn it over on downs. Tyler Lawrence now in at quarterback for KU.

9:24 left in fourth quarter, KU leads 38-14

Reesing engineers a 16-play, 79-yard drive that ends with a 1-yard TD run by Quigley. There was a scary moment earlier, as Reesing was taken to the ground by his facemask on a tackle by SHSU's John Goree. Reesing stayed in and seemed to be OK.

Start of fourth quarter, KU leads 31-14

Justin Thornton might owe Darrell Stuckey a dinner, as Stuckey bobbled and tipped up a Romar pass long enough to allow Thornton to eventually intercept it. Romar, despite three interceptions, has 305 passing yards before the start of the fourth quarter.

3:09 left in third quarter, KU leads 31-14

Branstetter knocks through a tough-angle, 24-yard field goal to push KU's lead to 17. The key play of the drive came on a 14-yard completion from Reesing to Meier on a fourth-and-three.

9:00 left in third quarter, KU leads 28-14

It's starting to resemble Arena Football out there, as KU and SHSU's only effective offense has come via the pass. Reesing throws for 61 yards on this drive, but Jacob Branstetter misses a 36-yard field goal that would have given the Jayhawks a three-possession lead.

12:58 left in third quarter, KU leads 28-14

KU's defense gets fooled badly with misdirection, as off play-action, Bomar finds a wide-open Justin Wells for a 46-yard touchdown pass. Bomar now has 274 yards, and we're not close to the fourth quarter. The pass defense has to be a huge concern heading into Big 12 play for KU's coaches.

13:46 left in third quarter, KU leads 28-7

After a 15-yard penalty by SHSU on the kickoff, KU wastes little time adding to its lead. Briscoe breaks a tackle to turn a short gain into a 31-yard reception, and Jocques Crawford later completes the drive with a two-yard touchdown run. Reesing's play at the end of the half seems to have given the Jayhawks all the momentum.

HALFTIME LEADERS

Kansas

Passing:

Todd Reesing 12-for-19, 197 yards, two TDs

Rushing:

Angus Quigley 11 carries, 48 yards

Reesing 5 carries, 13 yards, TD

Receiving:

Kerry Meier 3 catches, 86 yards, TD

Sam Houston State

Passing:

Rhett Bomar 17-for-28, 195 yards, two INTs

Rushing:

James Aston 5 carries, 17 yards

Receiving:

Justin Weels 5 catches, 48 yards

Chris Lucas 4 catches, 39 yards

Halftime, KU leads 21-7

SHSU lets the clock run out to go into the locker room down 14.

0:47 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 21-7

Wow, what more can you say about Todd Reesing? On arguably the best play of his career, Reesing danced out of two sure sacks and launched a ball nearly 60 yards in the air, hitting Dezmon Briscoe in stride for a 57-yard touchdown. All this on a third-and-25. Check out SportsCenter's Top 10 plays, because this should be a surefire Top-5 selection.

1:57 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 14-7

After a 28-yard pass play, Bomar makes it a game by sneaking eight yards into the end zone for a TD. SHSU now has 186 yards of total offense.

3:30 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 14-0

KU gets the ball back on a punt, but turns it over on downs in its own territory. On a fourth-and-an-inch at the KU 37, Reesing loses a yard on a quarterback keeper to turn it over on downs. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they aren't seeing much improvement from the offensive line, even against a I-AA foe.

7:02 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 14-0

Finally, KU tested the SHSU secondary, and it paid off with a touchdown. Reesing hit Kerry Meier on a deep pass down the middle, and Meier raced his way into the end zone for a 68-yard TD reception.

8:00 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 7-0

Bomar continues to be impressive, completing three passes for 33 combined yards on SHSU's ensuing drive. The Bearkats moved the ball to the KU 26 before Isiah Barfield came up with KU's second turnover, intercepting a deflection batted up by Houston. Some bad luck for Bomar, who already has 133 yards passing to go with his two interceptions.

10:24 left in 2nd quarter, KU leads 7-0

Darrell Stuckey comes up with KU's first big play, leaping to make an interception before returning the ball to the SHSU 1. Reesing runs in the touchdown on the next play, and the Jayhawks are on the board. The pick had to be a welcome sight for the KU coaches, as the Jayhawks defense has dropped quite a few interceptions already this season.

12:08 left in 2nd quarter, Game tied 0-0

The Jayhawks refuse to test the Sam Houston State secondary, which has been labeled as the weakness of the team. Instead, KU continues to try wide receiver screens and run plays up the middle. The Jayhawks go three-and-out, and not even the "Smile Cam" is cheering up KU fans at this point.

49 seconds left in first quarter, Game tied 0-0

Bomar is starting to settle in and is making some NFL throws. The best was a third-down toss placed perfectly down the sideline to Catron Houston for a 25-yard gain. After starting at their own 4, the Bearkats drive all the way to the KU 21, but Taylor Wilkins misses the 38-yard field goal wide right.

4:13 left in first quarter, Game tied 0-0

KU's offense is stopped at the SHSU 41, but there are some positive signs early for the Jayhawks. The receivers are blocking much better downfield, as a Raimond Pendleton block helped spring an 8-yard run, and a determined Briscoe (who did not start this game) had a downfield block that helped Johnathan Wilson turn his reception into a 31-yard gain.

7:31 left in first quarter, Game tied 0-0

The Kansas offense, led by a couple nice runs by Quigley, moves the ball into Bearkat territory before a Daymond Patterson fumble turns it back over to Sam Houston State at the Bearkat 41. Not a good first impression for Patterson, as he fumbled on his first play in there. KU's defense forces a quick three-and-out after a chop block penalty moved the Bearkats back. Bomar missed a wide-open receiver who broke past KU's secondary on second down, so the Jayhawks were a little fortunate to avoid a big play there.

12:23 left in first quarter, Game tied 0-0

Rhett Bomar looks decent in Sam Houston's first drive, but the Bearkats' drive stalls after a costly 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty.

6:05 p.m.

At gametime it's 81 degrees with light winds - a great night for football. Sam Houston won the coin toss and will receive.

5:49 p.m.

Two interesting notes with the starting lineup. For one, Dezmon Briscoe is not a starter tonight. Could Mangino be following through with his assertation that receivers that don't block well won't play (at least as much)? Also, Angus Quigley was announced as the starter at running back. He received one of the biggest ovations. Looks like fans are ready to see what he can do with more carries.

5:38 p.m.

No sign of Kansas wide receiver Dexton Fields during pregame warmups. Mangino said Fields practiced this week, but I'd say it's a safe bet he won't play today. Probably a good decision, as with the bye week, Fields will have two weeks to get ready for KU's Big 12 schedule.

5:00 p.m.

Missouri uses a strong second half to pull away from Buffalo, 42-21. Chase Daniel, meanwhile, throws for a career-high 439 yards.

Oh, and be sure to vote in the new poll on the left.

3:45 p.m.

As I'm typing this, Missouri is struggling to pull away from Buffalo -- it's 33-21 Tigers right now in the fourth quarter. We'll see how that turns out.

Like last week, let's get to some true/false, fill-in-the-blank questions. Don't forget to give your own answers in the comments section below.

True or false: KU will rush for more than 150 yards against Sam Houston State.

False. I went against the grain last week and said KU would rush for 150 yards, and look where it got me. Kansas fans would love for it to happen this week, but I'm going to say no. Sam Houston State's front four should be overmatched, but I don't believe KU will commit itself to the run. We've heard already KU coach Mark Mangino say that he's going to take what the defense is giving. This week, Sam Houston State should give up huge yards in the passing game because of a suspect secondary. Look for Todd Reesing's numbers to be big once again at the expense of KU's running backs.

True or false: Kansas will have four sacks or more against Sam Houston State.

True. Mangino made this a big emphasis in practice this week, as he was most frustrated with the defensive line after last week's loss to South Florida. Look for the front four to play inspired against a lesser opponent and take aim at SHSU quarterback Rhett Bomar, who will be asked to single-handedly try to win the game for the Bearkats. If SHSU gets down early (which it should), look for KU's linemen to make life difficult. I'll go with two sacks from Jake Laptad to lead the way.

True or false: Rhett Bomar will throw for 200 yards against KU.

True. Has KU's passing defense shored up some of the weaknesses it showed last week against South Florida? We should learn more this week after watching KU play against Sam Houston State. The Jayhawks couldn't get any consistent pressure on USF's Matt Grothe, and he picked apart the zone defense by finding receivers in the seams. Kendrick Harper might be back today, which would be a boost for KU, but I still would expect Bomar to have a decent day. He also should be down most of the game, meaning he'll be chucking the ball quite a few times.

If KU wins, it will be because ...

the Jayhawks put last week behind them. KU would need a major hangover from last week to give Sam Houston State any chance, but stranger things have happened. After an embarrassing loss last week to USC, Ohio State came out flat today and couldn't put away Troy until late. KU needs to recover quickly and get back the confidence it had two weeks ago. If the Jayhawks play like themselves, they should be fine, especially with a coach like Mangino, who stresses the importance of not taking games off.

If Sam Houston State wins, it will be because ...

the Bearkats' defense somehow finds a way to stop KU. I won't be surprised if Rhett Bomar leads Sam Houston State to 20 points. I will be shocked, though, if the Bearkats can hold Kansas under 40. Reesing and company have looked stellar against good defenses with the pass this year, so I just can't see how the Bearkats with lesser athletes can hope to stop KU's passing game. If SHSU completely shuts down KU's rushing offense (not too unlikely) and Reesing throws, oh, three interceptions (very, very unlikely), I guess SHSU would have a chance.

Prediction: KU 52, Sam Houston State 17 Expect KU to roll in this one. A major emphasis should be for the Jayhawks to get their run game going, but with the passing game likely to be so successful, it will be hard for Mangino to keep Reesing from throwing it all over the field. Bomar plays well and leads the Bearkats to a pair of TDs, but it's not nearly enough to outscore KU. The Jayhawks head into their bye week with an easy victory.