University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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-19 CU -14 October 20, 2007 Kansas at Colorado Ugly game ends pretty against Colorado estled at the base of the Rocky Mountains and surrounded by tree-lined hills, Fol- som Field is one of the most pic- turesque venues in college foot- ball. None of that beauty found its way onto the field. Kansas came out on top against Colorado in a defensive struggle full of turnovers and big hits. For the better part of 60 ugly minutes for the offenses, the teams traded defensive punches until Kansas fi- nally secured a 19-14 victory with fewer than two minutes remaining. The dropped passes, costly pen- alties and mental mistakes that played a large role in the game allowed the rare moments of eye- pleasing foot- ball to stand out even further. The game's most awe- inspiring offen- sive play, which came late in the first quarter, gave Kansas the up- per hand early On third-and-four from his own 17-yard line, sophomore quarter- back Todd Reesing dropped back to pass. As was often the case against the solid Colorado sec- ondary, the quarterback could not locate an open receiver. Instead of forcing the ball to a covered teammate, Reesing doubled back toward the right sideline and took off running downfreld. The quick quarterback scam- pered past the Colorado defen- sive linemen and the first-down marker. lust when it appeared Re- esing might head for the safety of the sideline, senior wide receiver Marcus Henry and senior tight end Derek Pine each latched onto Sophomore quarterback and receiver Kerry Meier C101 tries to stay in bounds as he runs down the field? a Colorado defender and opened a wide path for their quarterback. Reesing didn't beat the last Buf- falo defender to the goal line, but he did advance the ball to the Col- orado 3O-yard line - just close enough for Kansas to take a 3-0 lead on a 48-yard field goal by se- nior kicker Scott Webb two. 'Tt was either throw the ball away or try to make a playf' Rees- ing said. 'Tm going to try to make a play in any situation. Luckily we got some blocks, and things worked outf' The Kansas defense went above and beyond the call of duty, push- ing Colorado back eight yards over the course of four plays. Hawkins could not connect with freshman wide receiver Iosh Smith on fourth-and-15, turning the ball and the game over to the Iayhawks. It was greatf' said junior cor- nerback Aqib Talib. The defense stepped up in the fourth quarter and showed the world what we can do. Story by ASHER FUSCO Photo by LAURA JACOBSENI KANSAS ATHLETICS f ' ,Hut

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Offensive October 13, 2007 K nsas vs. Baylor flood defeats or almost two hours, Mother Nature spared the Baylor Bears a resound- ing defeat. But the Kan- sas Iayhawks spent the rest of the game day's afternoon making up for lost time and delivering an emphatic blowout victory that ex- tended the Kansas winning streak to six games. After a 98-minute pregame rain delay and a 30-min- ute lightning delay KU - in the first quarter, KansasdefeatedBay- BU - lor. Strong thunder- storms pummeled Memorial Stadium steadily throughout the morning. It got to be kind of a long dayf' said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. HI was just concerned about the kids wearing down in the second half a little bit, but they didn't. Neither team emerged from the extensive pregame delay looking sharp. Kansas lost two yards on its first possession, and Baylor gained just four yards on its first drive before punting. Kansas' spe- cial teams gave the sleepwalking offense an early boost when Bay- lor junior wide receiver Ioe Ben- nett misplayed a punt return with 10:54 remaining in the first quar- ter. Kansas senior tight end Derek Fine recovered the fumble at the Baylor 36-yard line. Kansas managed only two first downs on the resulting possession, but senior kicker Scott Webb con- verted a Z7-yard field goal to give the Iayhawks a 3-0 lead. Baylor hung in the game for the next four minutes, finishing a 50-yard drive with a game-tying field goal. That field goal would be the last good fortune the Bears Baylor 1' f V 5' Freshman vvlde receiver Dezmon Briscoe i805 looks to get a grasp on the ball against Baylor. would stumble upon for quite some time. Kansas junior wide receiver Marcus Herford fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 12-yard line and followed his blocks per- fectly up the middle of the field. By the time Herford shot past midfield, no Baylor defenders re- mained between him andthe end zone. As he crossed the goal line, a bright yellow lightning bolt shot out of the clouds east of the stadium, prompting a half-hour delay. Once the teams returned to the held, the Bears found themselves face to face with another flood: the Iayhawk offense. alt was kind ofnice that we were able to make some adjustments and things like that in the locker roomf' Mangino said. Story by ASHER FUSCO Photo by JON GOERING

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gl Dt L21 cl Senior running back Brandon McAnderson 1353 leaves Texas AGM players in the dust as he attempts to run in a touchdown. l1S3S at Jayhawks win ground battle against Texas ACQM or the Texas A8cM Ag- gies, few things are more simple than converting on fourth-and-short: put Iorvorskie Lane in the baclcfield, hand him the ball, and let the 274- pound wrecking ball of a running back do the rest. When Texas A8tM head coach Dennis Fran- chione put the tactic to use late in the second quarter, he failed to ac- -19 TAMU - ll October ZZ 2007 KU count for Kansas de- fensive tackle Iames McClinton. McClinton and the Kansas defense came up with a big stop on a crucial play on the way to a 19-11 victory With just more than three min- utes remaining in the ftrst half and the score tied at zero, Texas ASIM had frnally found some offensive rhythm. The Aggies sat entrenched at the Jayhawks' nine-yard line af- ter pushing 71 yards on nine effi- cient plays. Facing fourth-and-one, many teams might have elected to attempt a chip-shot field goal to take the lead, but Texas ASIM decided to hand the ball to Lane, their short-yardage weapon. The Kansas offense picked up yardage with ease for much of the Hrst half but repeatedly stuttered near the end zone. The Iayhawks entered the Aggies' 20-yard line twice in the first half, but senior kicker Scott Webb missed a field goal on both occasions, with the frrst try being blocked. The lay- hawk offense scored on all three of its third-quarter possessions while the defense brought the Ag- gie rushing attack to a halt. Kansas threw together an ef- fective mix of running plays and passing plays on its next drive. But McGee and his teammates did not leave Kyle Field without putting a bit of a scare into Kan- sas. With their patented run-first style out of the question because of time constraints and the domi- nant Iayhawk defense, the Aggies defied convention and turned to the passing game for points. They make a living on run- ning the ball and we knew we had to take that away, but McGee can throw the ball and l thought he did some good things throw- ing the footballf' Mangino said. GI wouldn't trade our guy for him, but 1 like him? Story by ASHER FUSCO Photo by1ON GOERING