BIRMINGHAM, Ala. As the referee flipped the coin in the air, Greg Smith called heads and Kansas had won the toss.
“Every time we’ve won the toss this year,” explained Smith, Kansas’ defensive captain, “it’s been heads. I figured it would be a good thing to stick with it.”
Maybe if Smith had called tails, things would have been different for Kansas in the Hall of Fame Bowl here Thursday afternoon. And, then again, maybe not.
Anyway, Darren Green fumbled the opening kickoff, Mississippi State recovered and scored the game’s only touchdown on the next play in the Bulldogs’ 10-0 triumph in front of 41,672 fans at Legion Field and a national TV audience.
“That kickoff was the turning point,” confirmed KU coach Don Fambrough. “Our team was stung and intimidated. You give a team like Mississippi State seven points to start with and you’re in trouble.
“I wake up at midnight in a cold sweat thinking what would happen if you fumble the opening kickoff and they go in. It had a great effect on our football team.”
Green, a sophomore out of Lawrence High, has been returning kickoffs all season. He had fumbled just once (in the Iowa State game) prior to Thursday afternoon.
“I’m really not sure what happened,” Green said after the game. “I ran into my own man and the ball just squirted out. I felt bad, but I felt even worse after they scored. It kind of lingered in my mind the rest of the game.”
MSU’s Rob Fesmire covered Green’s bobble at the KU 17 and, on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage, quarterback John Bond found a seam on the right side and cruised down the sideline into the end zone. Only 12 seconds had ticked off the clock.
“We were in shock,” admitted linebacker Kyle McNorton who led the Jayhawks with 16 tackles on the gray, overcast day, “but we knew what to do on that play. We just didn’t get the job done. I don’t think we were mentally ready to go out there then.”
Most of the rest of the day, the Kansas defense was ready, however. Despite spending too much time on the field, KU’s defense surrendered only a second quarter 22-yard field goal by Dana Moore the rest of the way.
“I don’t believe our defense could play any better,” Fambrough said.
The KU coach couldn’t say the same thing about his offense. Without quarterback Frank Seurer, there was no offense. Steve Smith filled in valiantly, if ineffectively. And freshman Mike Frederick had a brief fling at the controls, too.
In fact, the youngster from Miami passed the Jayhawks from their own 18 to the MSU two-yard line as time ran out. That was as close as the Jayhawks came to scoring. Before that last-minute drive, they had advanced no further than the MSU 38.
“When you play a team like that,” Fambrough pointed out, “you’d better have all your weapons. I knew we’d have to throw…unfortunately, we couldn’t get any passing game at all.”
Smith gave it his best shot, but completed just eight of 22 passes for only 61 yards. Twice he was intercepted, and he was sacked for 28 yards in losses.
“I’d be the last guy to be critical of him,” Fambrough said of Smith, “but we’ve known all along he doesn’t have a strong arm and obviously they knew it, too.”
Fambrough was asked if he thought the Jayhawks could have won if Seurer, who watched the game in street clothes after suffering a dislocated elbow against Missouri, had been able to play. Fambrough answered in general terms.
“We’ve just lost too many people this year,” he said, mentioning tailback Kerwin Bell as well as Seurer, “and I have to feel we’re fortunate to be where we are with all the injuries we’ve had.”
Kansas was so desperate to generate some offense (the Jayhawks managed just 35 yards rushing and 171 passing) that Fambrough tried a trick play off a punt in the third quarter.
Up back Jim Boushka took the snap, ran up to the line and handed the ball to Green. Confusion was supposed to follow.
“He’s supposed to stand there,” Fambrough said about Green. “All but one man ran past him, unfortunately.” That man was defensive end Billy Jackson who dumped Green for a two-yard loss.
Trickery wouldn’t work. Bread and butter stuff wouldn’t work. And there was a moment late in the game when Kansas lost more than half a football field to the officials.
Bucky Scribner had punted from deep in Kansas territory in the waning minutes and Cookie Jackson coughed it up at the MSU 22 where Kansas recovered. However, a flag had been thrown. The Jayhawks had been detected clipping. Consequently, the officials moved the ball back 15 yards to the 37.
But then they changed their minds and decided the infraction had occurred during the punt. Thus, the penalty was assessed from the line of scrimmage and KU had to punt again from its own 10.
Fambrough and the 3,000 or so Kansas fans who followed the team here couldn’t believe it. Fambrough was stumped.
“I certainly wish I could explain it,” he said. “In 35 years of coaching I’ve never seen that before. I’d like it explained to me. We want to work on not doing it again.”
That isolated incident didn’t cost Kansas the game, on the other hand. KU’s inability to move the ball against one of the nation’s top defensive teams did, though.
“I told the seniors I was sorry,” Fambrough said, “but that the game is over and we’re gonna think about the positive things of this season.”
NOTES: KU’s all-time bowl record dipped to 1-5 with the defeat…It was the only time they were shut out all season…Bowl director Bob Lochamy said 53,000 tickets had been sold. Morning rain accounted for the no-shows. The rain stopped before the game, but the artificial turf was slippery. Game time temperature was 50 degrees…
Kansas sold 5,400 tickets of the 10,000 it purchased, meaning the athletic department will have to swallow $69,000 in red ink…Offensive tackle Reggie Smith was apparently the only seriously injured player. He twisted an ankle.
