Lubbock, Texas ? As elated as Kansas University’s football team was after Saturday night’s stunning come-from-behind victory, Texas Tech was equally deflated.
“The funny part of this game is that we rose on all three sides of the ball and we collapsed on all three sides of the ball,” Tech coach Mike Leach said following the Jayhawks’ 34-31 double-overtime victory at Jones SBC Stadium. “A lot of that is the expectation level. We’ve got to expect more of ourselves. When we go out there and expect average, you get average.”
It was anything but an average game for Kansas.
The Jayhawks won on the road for just the third time in 23 tries during the Terry Allen era. The Big 12 victory also was KU’s first ever against the Red Raiders following a string of seven losses dating back to 1965.
“It’s good to be a part of a Big 12 win on the road,” said Allen, KU’s fifth-year coach, “and to beat Texas Tech is great.”
Oh sure, some of KU’s trademarks this season were in plain view on the South Plains.
For example, the Jayhawks continued a streak of scoring first in every game this season. Kansas also has scored a touchdown in all four contests.
Then there’s freshman kicker Johnny Beck, who missed his first career field goal in 10 attempts, but also drilled four others, including the game-winner from 37 yards in the second overtime.
The one he missed? Beck bounced a 48-yard attempt high off the left upright in the fourth quarter. He’s tied for sixth nationally in field goals with 2.25 per game.
“Johnny came through for us a lot, especially in overtime,” KU red-shirt freshman quarterback Mario Kinsey said. “We’ve got a helluva kicker.”
KU’s quarterback wasn’t too shabby either. In fact, it was Kinsey who helped the Jayhawks put an end to their disturbing trend of starting fast but faltering late this season. Unlike a 27-16 loss at Colorado, where KU allowed 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks’ final quarter might have been their finest.
After the Red Raiders took a 24-13 lead late in the third quarter, the Jayhawks’ defense didn’t allow Tech to score until the overtime session. The Red Raiders didn’t drive any deeper than the KU 40-yard line and had just two first downs down the stretch.
The defensive stands helped set up Kinsey and Co. for their last-minute heroics. Trailing by eight points with exactly two minutes remaining, the Jayhawks took over on their own 37.
On third down, Kansas ran a hook-and-ladder play something they practiced extensively Thursday and Friday to perfection as Kinsey passed to Termaine Fulton, who pitched to Derek Mills as he sprinted past him down the sideline.
“Derek got the hitch-pitch and took it down the sideline. That gave us a big boost,” Kinsey said. “We just said, ‘Look, if we don’t score on this play, we’ll score on the next one.'”
The 41-yard gain set up Kinsey’s lone touchdown pass, a five-yard strike to Fulton, who had a career-high seven catches. The comeback was completed when sophomore running back Reggie Duncan received a pitch from his QB on an option play and scooted into the end zone for a two-point conversion.
“I just told coach to get me the football and I’d get it in,” Duncan said. “When I got the pitch, I saw the corner of the end zone, and there was no doubt I was going to get there. I knew it was down to me and the DB, and I knew who was going to win that battle.”
Duncan, who finished with career highs of 227 yards and 38 carries, became the first KU running back to eclipse 200 yards since David Winbush’s 268 yards against Colorado in 1998.
Injury update: It seems the Red Raiders took a worse beating than the Jayhawks on Saturday. While Texas Tech played without leading tackler Lawrence Flugence (knee sprain) for most of the game and sans quarterback Kliff Kingsbury (sprained right thumb) for the fourth quarter and overtimes, Kansas departed Lubbock relatively healthy.
“Pretty good,” Allen said of the team’s health Sunday. “We’ve got some pretty good bumps and bruises, but everybody who played should play Saturday.”
That includes sophomore cornerback Carl Ivey (ankle), who missed the OT sessions with a sprain.
Holloman returns: After missing the past week following the death of his mother, Bernice Bush, senior defensive tackle Ervin Holloman re-joined the team for Sunday night’s practice.
The winners are: Allen announced the team’s weekly award winners Sunday. They are: Duncan and senior left guard Bob Smith (offense), senior middle linebacker Marcus Rogers (defense), junior fullback Jeff Snyder (special teams), freshman quarterback Brian Luke (scout team offense) and junior defensive back Remuise Johnson (scout defense).
Rogers also had the hit of game. The play of the game? KU’s “chicken-in-the-basket” trick play.
Upcoming: KU has today off and will begin preparing for No. 3-ranked Oklahoma on Tuesday.
