What this means…from the press box
Ryan Wood, Journal-World KU football beat writer
“Two things helped Kansas avoid another devastating collapse: 1. Colorado only had 59 seconds to work with, and 2. Colorado’s pass offense wasn’t capable of gobbling up the field in that short of time.
Still, a lot was accomplished with KU’s victory. Confidence is back, happiness is back and bowl possibilities are alive once again.
Kansas needs to go 2-1 down the stretch, and none of the games are sure losses. Still, next week’s matchup at Iowa State is huge. KU needs to keep it going, and the Cyclones are ripe for a pouncing.”
Tom Keegan, Journal-World sports editor
“Muggsy Bogues had a long NBA career. Herve Villechaize was a chick magnet. Nobody ever accused height-challenged Aristotle Onassis of having a short stack of money. Height is overrated. So is the title “third-string quarterback.”
In his first half of college football, Todd Reesing, generously listed at 5-foot-11, vaulted himself from third-string quarterback to first-string, regardless of who’s healthy on any given Saturday. Reesing saved the season, made it relevant again.”
Ryan Greene, KUSports.com editor
“More than anything, this should get the masses excited again about KU football, and the Jayhawks have shown over the years to boost their play when the entire town and University is getting enthused.
While a lot of people will talk about Reesing’s play, and it is well deserved, the most big plays came from Aqib Talib. His second interception, which he caught at its apex while battling a Colorado receiver for the deep pass, kept the Buffs from grabbing any late momentum.”
Inside the Numbers
1,041: Jon Cornish’s 80 yards on 23 carries made him the first Jayhawk since June Henley in 1996 to break the 1,000-yard rushing barrier in a single season. As far as Cornish’s casual 1,500-yard season suggestion before the season started? Well, he’d need to average 153 yards per game in the Jayhawks’ final three regular season contests to do so. Or that average goal could be bumped down if KU can qualify for a bowl game.
4-0: Even though too much of a good thing might ruin it, Kansas seems to strike gold when donning the red uniforms. The win Saturday made the Jayhawks a perfect 4-0 when wearing them over the past two seasons.
9: Maybe what made Kansas’ passing game so effective Saturday – especially following the insertion of freshman Todd Reesing in the second half – was how many targets touched the ball. Adam Barmann and Reesing found nine different receivers. Brian Murph caught six passes for just 22 yards, mostly on an inside receiver screen play which was for the most part ineffective. But that opened things up, for example, to make Reesing’s 42-yard pass play to freshman Jake Sharp on a play action fake possible.
37: Between their two quarterbacks and on one trick play, Colorado passers completed just 33.3 percent of their passes (10-27). Granted, the Buffs’ slingers suffered from a couple of drops, but compare that to the 18 completions on 29 attempts Kansas posted, and it makes a huge difference.
78 : Hugh Charles was impressive through two quarters, with 50 yards on eight carries, but the Colorado starting tailback finished the day with just 78 yards on 15 totes, running KU’s streak of games without allowing a 100-yard rusher to 22.
Just in case you missed it…
-Thanks to KU’s second half offensive surge, an early penalty which could have proved costly to the Jayhawks went mildly unnoticed later. On a third-and-long, Colorado quarterback James Cox succumbed and rolled to the sidelines to get his team safely to fourth down. There, KU linebacker Mike Rivera blew him up, sending Cox flying, drawing a personal foul flag and giving Colorado a first down on a drive which resulted in one of their three first half field goals.
-While the offense was swell, so was KU defensive back Aqib Talib. Before making two second half interceptions, breaking up a huge third down longball and getting in on several tackles, he bobbled a ball which would have been a certain pick-six. After the game, he hinted he was still kicking himself for missing the opportunity to get in the end zone, but it boosted him to make the later efforts. Also, Talib saw some snaps as a receiver on offense, something Mangino said he toyed with in practice this week.
Hopefully you didn’t miss it…
-One play many will talk about for a long time was a 31-yard pass from Reesing to Jeff Foster, in which Reesing eluded a sack, ran a cross country course around defenders and got to the sidelines to make a fantastic throw. His five-yard touchdown pass to Derek Fine shouldn’t go unnoticed either. Perfect touch to tuck the ball into the back corner of the end zone.
-Jake Sharp again turned into Big Play Jake. On his one and only touch of the game, he helped create KU’s first big offensive spark on a 42-yard reception from Reesing.
Yep, they really said it
Mark Mangino on how this boosts preparation for next week: “It will be a lot more fun to get ready for the next game. Bumps and bruises don’t seem to hurt as much when you win. You know, the food in the cafeteria, which is pretty good, might taste like you’re at a fine French restaurant. Everything improves when win”
Derek Fine on Reesing’s late 63-yard run: “He gets them short little dumpy legs going pretty fast, you know, and he got his chance to play today and shined…very brightly.”
