In a football game filled with mistakes, Kansas University did just enough things right to win.
KU — still smarting from an overtime loss last week at Colorado — scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns Saturday at Memorial Stadium and pulled out a 28-21 victory over Baylor.
“A year ago, we wouldn’t have won today,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. “We would have let Colorado win twice.”
Kansas, in fact, lost a similar game last season at Waco, Texas, when Baylor scored 11 points in the final 78 seconds to rally for a 35-32 victory and snap a 29-game Big 12 Conference losing streak.
Saturday it looked like the Bears (3-4 overall, 1-2 Big 12) might have a chance to snap a 30-game conference road losing streak, but sophomore linebacker Banks Floodman intercepted a pass by Aaron Karas to squelch the Bears’ final drive with 1:54 remaining.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” said Floodman, who returned the ball 18 yards to the Baylor 15. “I saw the end zone, but I didn’t get there.”
KU (5-2, 2-1) could have tacked on one more score, but opted to run out the clock.
The Jayhawks were unaccustomed to having their defense come to the rescue, but KU limited Baylor to 285 total yards. Kansas entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in total offense and 85th in defense. KU finished with 384 total yards –100 below its average — against the nation’s 90th-rated defense.
“The offense didn’t play well the whole game,” said senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, who passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns. “We had four good drives against them. I don’t know how we scored four times. We didn’t play well. It shows we’ve got our heads on straight and are going to finish the game.”
Kansas looked good early when sophomore running back Clark Green scored a 17-yard touchdown run on the game’s opening drive, but Baylor tied it when Michael Boyd blocked Curtis Ansel’s punt, and James Todd recovered in the end zone.
Kevin Kane’s bouncing snap contributed to the Jayhawks’ second blocked punt in two weeks, but blocking also was an issue.
“Nobody touched me on the way to the punter,” Boyd said. “Anytime your special teams gets a touchdown like that, it really gets the team going.”
Penalties prevented both teams from moving the ball. Baylor was flagged 11 times for 99 yards, while KU had eight infractions for 57 yards. Several of KU’s penalties wiped out big plays.
In the second quarter, KU freshman Charles Gordon had a 54-yard reception called back because of a holding penalty. Kansas punted three plays later, and Baylor later took the lead on a 24-yard pass from Aaron Karas to running back Rashad Armstrong.
“It’s frustrating,” said Whittemore, who had a 32-yard run called back on KU’s next possession. “You’re waiting on that big play to get down there. The crowd’s going crazy. You’re excited. We’re finally moving the ball, and you see a yellow flag behind you. It’s a credit to our offense that we hung in there and kept fighting.”
KU tied it at 14 on Whittemore’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Gordon late in the second quarter. The score remained tied until there was 12:33 remaining in the game, when sophomore Mark Simmons scored on a 40-yard pass from Whittemore.
Simmons caught another pass in the end zone with 8:52 left, but that play was wiped out by an illegal-formation penalty against KU.
“We made mental mistakes, and that hurt us a lot,” said Simmons, who caught six passes for 89 yards. “We can’t make penalties. We still got the touchdown, though. If I don’t get it, I’m glad somebody else did.”
Kansas freshman John Randle made it 28-14 with a 12-yard TD run with 8:47 to play.
“Our offense made plays when they had to at the end of the game, and that’s what matters most,” Mangino said.
Baylor wasn’t done yet. The Bears marched 80 yards on eight plays — overcoming an unsportsmanlike penalty against Karas — and pulled within 28-21 with 5:10 to play when Karas completed a 15-yard TD pass to Marques Roberts on fourth-and-goal.
Kansas failed to get a first down and gave Baylor the ball back with 2:53 to play. Floodman’s interception — the only turnover of the game — thwarted any chance for another Baylor comeback.
“It just tells you how far we’ve come from an emotional standpoint in this program,” Mangino said. “What would have been a catastrophe a year ago, today ended up being a positive. That means you’re making strides in your program.”
Kansas needs one more victory in its final five games to become bowl-eligible, though six victories won’t guarantee a postseason bid.
It won’t be an easy task. Kansas plays road games at Kansas State and Texas A&M in the next two weeks.
Mangino said the Jayhawks would not look ahead.
“That possibility exists,” he said of the postseason. “If we don’t, that means we haven’t played well the last half of the year. If we just take care of our business, that’s sort of a side benefit of being focused and playing well the rest of the year. I’m sure they think about it, but we won’t let them think about it very long. When we earn that right, then we’ll be really excited about it.”