KU crushes NSU 49-18, Cornish hits career high

By Eric Sorrentino     Sep 2, 2006

Kansas defeated Northwestern State, 49-18, in the first game of the season at Memorial Stadium. The game was highlighted by senior running back Jon Cornish, who set a career mark in rushing yardage in a single game with 140. It was the fifth time Cornish has rushed for 100 yards or more.

“I was a little afraid coming out of halftime, because I only had 30 yards or so,” Cornish said. “I needed to do a little something. Our offensive line did a great job tonight.”

Cornish did more than a little something to start the second half. On KU’s first possession of the second half, the Jayhawks only ran one play. Cornish broke through a tackle and broke free on the right sideline. A Northwestern State safety tried to take an angle at Cornish for a tackle, but did not succeed. Cornish simply outran the NSU defender and sprinted down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown run with 10:02 left in the third quarter.

“You can see that when he kicks it into another gear, he can move,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said of Cornish’s run. “When he made the long run for the touchdown, at about the 30-yard line, I thought he was going as fast as he could, but he kicked it into another gear. He said he’s going to do a lot of things carrying the ball this year – he started off good. We’ll hold him to it.”

Aside from Cornish, special teams played a vital role in the Jayhawks’ victory Saturday night. The biggest highlight reel may have come from senior wide receiver Brian Murph in the first quarter.

After the KU defense held the NSU offense to a punt, Murph fielded the punt at the KU 31-yard line and looked for blockers. He initially did not see his blockers create a hole and danced around the 35-yard line. Murph sidestepped a defender and burst through a hole toward midfield and along the left sideline. He made one more defender miss and jogged into the left corner of the end zone for a 69-yard punt return.

“I caught the ball and ran around a block and was supposed to try to get back in the inside, but there wasn’t anything there, so I started dancing around with the ball, and I’m thinking in my head, ‘I’m fixin’ to lose yards,’ and my man just started blocking for me and I saw the sidelines,” Murph said. “I just ran with it.”

Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier put the icing on the cake with a 31-yard touchdown run along the sideline in the fourth quarter. Meier broke two tackles after rolling out to the left. Upon eyeing the endzone, Meier leaped for the corner and was parallel to the ground. The ball reached the corner of the endzone and put Kansas ahead 49-18 with 3:46 left in the fourth quarter.

Meier said there was a point in which he wasn’t certain if he was going to score on the play. But he took a chance.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a defender coming upon me, and I wasn’t going to get knocked out of bounds at the one,” Meier said. “So you might as well go for it.”

Mangino said as the game developed, he and his staff gave Meier more of an opportunity to improvise on the field.

“We were a little conservative in the beginning of the game with him, and I told (offensive coordinator) Nick Quartaro, let’s let this guy play, let’s cut him loose,” Mangino said of Meier. “There’s no sense in trying to get conservative and just try to ease him in. He has the ability to make plays, so let’s let him do it.”

Despite it being Meier’s first collegiate start, he said once he hit the field, all pregame jitters went away.

“I think it was that first play, the handoff to Jon (Cornish),” Meier said. “They started creeping out of me, and after that, it felt great to be out there and see what the game was all about.”

Meier also seemed to gain the approval of his running back tonight.

“Amazing,” Corsnish said of Meier. “I like to call him just simply the magic, because he does just that. I talked to him earlier. He was a little but nervous, but beyond that, he just came out here, settled down a little bit and got into his groove.”

Northwestern State got on the board in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a pass from quarterback Ricky Joe Meeks to wide receiver Ben Bailey. The Demons went for a two-point conversion, but failed. The three yard touchdown cut the KU lead to 42-18 with 6:39 left in the final quarter.

Meier put Kansas ahead with a one-yard plunge with 12:47 left in the final quarter. He took the snap and rolled out to the right for an option play. He elected to keep the ball and dove into the end zone.

Did Meier diving into the end zone make Mangino nervous?

“Anytime your quarterback’s diving or leaping or jumping – but he’s pretty talented and when you have a thoroughbred, you’ve got to run it,” Mangino siad of Meier.

Kansas led Northwestern State, 42-12, at this point. On the drive, Cornish broke a long run, which totaled his rushing amount to 140 yards on the night.

Robert Weeks connected on a 36-yard field goal for the Demons to cut the Jayhawks lead to 35-12. It was Weeks’ fourth field goal of the night, a new Northwestern State school record. KU led NSU, 35-12, at the end of the third quarter.

Cornish picked up another three yards rushing on the next KU possession, giving him 101 on the day. It was the fifth time Cornish has rushed for 100 yards.

Weeks converted a 36-yard field goal to open the second half for Northwestern State.

Second-half

Kansas led Northwestern State, 28-6, at halftime. Senior wide receiver Brian Murph sparked the Jayhawks, accounting for two touchdowns – one on a 70-yard punt return, and the second on a 15-yard pass reception from Meier. Meier competed 5-of-13 passes in the first half, for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Murph was the leading KU receiver with two receptions for 36 yards and a score. Cornish gained 29 yards in the first half on eight carries.

Junior Sadiq Muhammed picked off his first pass of the season for the Jayhawks on the KU 33-yard line. Kansas drove down the field, including a shovel pass to Cornish, who gained 16 yards. Kicker Scott Webb couldn’t capitalize on the possession and missed the 27-yard field goal.

Kansas recovered a botched NSU snap and recovered on its own 15-yard line. The Jayhawks would only need one more play to capitalize.

Meier threw an arching pass to the left corner of the endzone for a wide open, streaking Murph. This was Murph’s second score of the game. The 15-yard touchdown pass put Kansas ahead of Northwestern State, 28-6 with about seven minutes left in the second quarter. At this point, Meier was 3-of-6 for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Murph had 2 receptions for 36 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore wide receiver Dexton Fields sprinted toward the NSU punter, Marshall Burton, on a punting situation with the intent to block it. Fields, along with two to three other Jayhawks, leaped toward Burton with their arms in a bullrush toward the punter. Fields blocked it in the KU endzone. Junior wide receiver Jeff Foster immediately fell on the ball to put Kansas ahead, 21-6, with 8:20 left in the second quarter.

Kerry Meier threw his first interception of the year with about 9:30 left in the second quarter. On the play, NSU defensive back Darrell Kitchen leaped near the KU endzone to pick off the pass. The KU drive stopped at its own 3-yard line.

NSU self destructed on the next drive, committing delay of game and holding penalties. The Demons were faced with a third-and-30 situation, when senior tailback Greg Skidmore received a pass in the flat. Skidmore made a few KU defenders miss and nearly broke the play open. He was stopped for an 18-yard gain and NSU was forced to punt.

Kansas led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to Murph’s punt return.

On a crucial third-and-goal situation, Meier threw a fade to the right corner of the end zone, where junior wide receiver Marcus Henry outjumped the opposing cornerback. The 10-yard touchdown put Kansas ahead, 7-6, with more than four minutes left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore wide receiver Marcus Herford took the ball back 88 yards to the Kansas 7-yard line. Herford found an opening along the left sideline and raced toward the goal line. He had one tackle to beat and barely missed putting the Jayhawks ahead. Kansas is now facing a second-and-goal situation from its own 8-yard line.

Kansas produced another poor snap after Northwestern State forced it to a 3-and-out. This time, punter Kyle Tucker had nowhere to run. He was tackled at the Kansas 13-yard line. The Jayhawk defense came up strong again and held the Demon offense on three plays. Weeks kicked home a 31-yard field goal to give the Demons a 6-0 lead with 6:31 left in the first quarter.

Northwestern State took over and drove 16 yards down the field. Weeks capped the drive with a 30-yard field goal, which hit the left upright and banked forward for three points. This came with 9:36 left in the first quarter. Northwestern State led, 3-0.

Kansas started the 2006 season with an 11-yard run by Cornish. The Jayhawks gave him the ball three more times in a row, but they were short of the first-down marker by one yard – Northwestern State forced Kansas to punt. On the play, junior Kyle Tucker saw the snap sail above his head. He leaped to catch the ball and tried to punt it away, but the ball got deflected. Brandon Duncan caught the deflected punt and ran forward for Kansas, only to be stopped short of the first down.

Game Preview

The Jayhawks will kick off their 2006 season at 6 p.m. against the Northwestern State Demons at Memorial Stadium. Kansas coach Mark Mangino enters his fifth season, with a record of 19-29. He just signed a five-year contract, which will guarantee Mangino $1.5 million per season.

Defensively, Kansas is supposed to be without sophomore cornerback Aqib Talib, who was suspended for disciniplinary reasons. Talib was not introduced in the starting lineup. He was dressed in uniform and on the field when the Jayhawks stretched about 35 minutes before the game. Sophomore Raymond Brown will start in his place.

Senior defensive end Rodney Allen was introduced in the starting lineup. He suffered a knee injury earlier in the week in practice, but will play in today’s game.

Offensively, Kansas will get its first glimpse of freshman quarterback Kerry Meier, who will take his first-ever snap at the collegiate level. Senior running back Jon Cornish will garner most of the carries, with freshman Angus Quigley out for the season. Also look for freshman Jake Sharp to factor into the backfield mix. At the wide receiver position, senior Brian Murph will likely be the team’s go-to receiver.

Northwestern State is 3-1 in season openers under coach Scott Stoker. The Jayhawks are 2-2 in season openers under Mangino.

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