Kansas City, Mo. ? You think you’re tired of watching the Kansas University offense try to move the chains? Listen to how star linebacker Nick Reid feels.
“I think I’m ready to go out and get in a fistfight with them, but that gets back to pointing fingers, and I’m not going to do that,” Reid said.
Oh no?
“We’re out there busting our butts,” Reid said of the defense, comparing it, shall we say favorably, to the offense. “They need to play with more heart.”
His eyes were on fire when he spoke after KU’s bad 19-3 loss to Oklahoma. Reid didn’t say anything that wasn’t being said in the stands and on the message boards.
He played another phenomenal game with 15 tackles, including three for losses. Charles Gordon picked off two passes. No matter, the damage already had been done.
KU quarterback Brian Luke room-serviced 10 points in nine seconds by throwing a pair of picks early in the first quarter. Holding onto the ball too long, Luke had a half-dozen or so passes batted at the line of scrimmage.
Will the defense take out its frustrations on the offense in practice?
“We’ve been putting it to the offense since Day One, so it’s nothing new,” Reid said.
For the second week in a row, the offense’s numbers were horrific. Total yards: 97. Average yards per rush: 0.5. First downs: six. Third-down conversions: 2 of 18. Time of possession: 37:54 for OU, 22:06 for KU.
“I’m exhausted,” Reid said. “I felt like we were out there the whole game.”
The defense didn’t give up a touchdown until the fourth quarter. No wonder they’ve had it with the offense.
Is it obvious to players on the offense that the defensive players are mad at them?
“They’re not dog-cussing us or anything like that,” Luke said. “They’re definitely pushing us, and you can see the fire in their eyes when they come off with a good play and set us up with good field position. You can tell they’re rooting for us.”
It’s way beyond rooting.
“I don’t blame them, with as many times as they’ve put us in good situations,” Luke said. “I can tell they definitely have some fire in them. I can’t blame them for that. They want to win just as bad as we do.”
KU coach Mark Mangino rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic, and at the end of this long night, the verdict was the Jayhawks simply don’t have ample offensive talent to compete. The QB rotation of weeks past failed miserably, so Mangino stuck with Luke, which seemed the wise approach. Luke (11 for 30, three picks) didn’t exactly justify his coach’s confidence in him.
The offense needed a playmaker, so Mangino robbed Charles Gordon from the defense. He returned punts, lined up at wide receiver and played cornerback. He cramped up, and Ronnie Amadi, his replacement, was burned badly for a fourth-quarter touchdown.
Mangino has maintained all along the QB doesn’t deserve all the blame. That was evident against the Sooners. The Oklahoma defensive linemen blew up the KU blockers on nearly every snap, a colossal mismatch. Poor Luke. Everywhere he turned, a defense was out to get him. One on each sideline. That won’t work, either. It’s a talent issue.
