Tom Hayes admitted he struggled at times Saturday remembering he was both Kansas University’s defensive coordinator and interim head coach.
“I can’t help myself from going over to the defensive bench, particularly early in the game,” Hayes said. “I just can’t get away from doing that. Now coach (Dick) Moseley helped me some there and gave me some relief and then I was able to focus back on the field.”
Hayes probably would have preferred to have been focused anywhere but on the field as the Jayhawks were dismantled by No. 5 Texas, 59-0, at Texas Memorial Field in Austin, Texas.
Hayes’ defense allowed season highs for points (59), total offense (606 yards), passing yards as a team (330), passing yards by one quarterback (Chris Simms, 284), rushing yards by a running back (Cedric Benson, 213), longest touchdown pass (68 yards from Simms to Roy Williams) and longest run from scrimmage (Benson’s 61 yarder).
Benson, who scored three times, set UT freshman records for yards and total yards, adding 68 through the air. Simms was 16-of-24 passing, completing six tosses to Williams for 109 yards.
“He’s the best I’ve ever gone against,” KU senior cornerback Andrew Davison said of the sophomore wide receiver. “Size, speed, he has it all. He’s going to be a future NFL starter.”
KU didn’t have much success on the other side of the ball either.
Not only was the Jayhawks’ 67 yards total offense the fewest since 1997, but also matched the 11th-worst output in school history. The Jayhawks crossed midfield just twice, getting no further than the Longhorns’ 48-yard line.
“It just kept snowballing,” senior offensive right tackle Justin Hartwig said. “Our plays kept getting worse and it got more and more frustrating every series we went out there. We wanted to move the ball. It just snowballed on us the whole game. I really thought we had a chance going in. I thought we had a chance to move the ball. That’s just the way it’s gone all year for us.”
Kansas (2-7 overall, 1-6 Big 12) has dropped five consecutive decisions, the longest skid since the Jayhawks lost eight in a row to open the 1988 season, KU’s first under former coach Glen Mason.
The Jayhawks have been outscored 150-13 in their last three games.
“I really don’t know what’s going on,” KU sophomore running back Reggie Duncan said. “I know we’ve scored 13 points in the last three games. We’ve gotten it handed to us the last three games. Something needs to change. We need to do something.”
One thing Hayes did change this week was the starting quarterback. Sophomore Zach Dyer, making his first start in five games, was 1-of-10 passing for 32 yards with an interception. Red-shirt sophomore Mario Kinsey was 3-of-7 for 32 yards with an INT.
“We went into the week all along planning to prepare to play both,” Hayes said. “To prepare both of them to share the game and that’s exactly what we did. I don’t know how the numbers worked out as the game moved on, but we want to get a look at both of them and see what each guy can do.”
Kinsey was the anointed starter under Terry Allen, who was dismissed last week after a 51-7 loss to then-No. 2 Nebraska. The Jayhawks had mixed feelings about the impact the week had on them.
“I think we played hard,” Dyer said. “I really don’t know to tell you the truth. I don’t know if there was a letdown.”
Added Duncan, “I’m not going to blame it on that. It happened on Sunday. We had a week to prepare from Monday to Friday.”
Nevertheless, the Longhorns stampeded to a 21-0 lead in the first 10:59 and dominated down the stretch scoring double-digit points in every quarter thanks to five scoring drives of three plays or less.
“It’s been kind of a rollercoaster for us,” Hartwig said. “Coach Allen got let go and a lot of things changed this week at practice. A lot of changes got made and I think there was definitely an emotional letdown.”
Injury update: Hayes said Sunday that senior defensive tackle Nate Dwyer (pulled hip flexor) is probable and senior middle linebacker Marcus Rogers (left ankle sprain) is questionable for this weekend’s game against Iowa State.
Dwyer pulled himself out of the game and was replaced by senior Marquis Hayes and sophomore Brock Teddleton. Rogers was replaced by freshman Banks Floodman after being injured late in the first quarter.
The winners are: After not having any award recipients last week due to all the turmoil, KU released its winners for the UT game.
The offensive player of the week was Hartwig, defensive player of the week was senior linebacker Algie Atkinson and the special teams player was junior fullback Jeff Snyder. Atkinson also had the hit of the week, but the Jayhawks didn’t have a play of the week.
The special team winners were freshman running back Clark Green and freshman defensive lineman Tim Allen.
Senior sendoff: Kansas has decided to designate this week’s home game against the Cyclones as Senior Day. Kickoff is 11:30 a.m. at Memorial Stadium.
