Reesing and "D" Lead No. 14 Kansas to 29-0 Win Against Louisiana Tech
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Not even soggy conditions could stop 14th-ranked Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, as the junior connected on 32-of-38 passes for a career-high 412 yards and three touchdowns in KU’s 29-0 shutout victory against Louisiana Tech here Saturday night.
With the win, Kansas improved to 2-0 for the fifth straight season, dating back to 2004, while Louisiana Tech fell to 1-1. The victory was KU’s 11th straight home victory and 16th consecutive win at Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium against non-conference opponents.
Defensively, KU posted its second shutout in the Mark Mangino era. Last season the Jayhawks posted a 62-0 win against Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 8.
A crowd of 48,621, the second largest non-conference home crowd at KU, saw Reesing’s 412 passing yards for the game rank third on the KU single-game list. Reesing now holds four of the top 13 single-game passing yards in KU history. His 84.2 completion percentage against the Bulldogs ranks fifth on the KU single-game list.
Freshman Daymond Patterson and sophomore Dezmon Briscoe combined for 15 catches and 276 yards receiving from Reesing. Patterson ended the game with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while Briscoe had seven receptions for a career-high 146 yards and one score. Patterson and Briscoe became the first two Jayhawks to record 100 receiving yards in the same game since the 2006 season against Nebraska – Brian Murph (8-129) and Dexton Fields (8-108). Not to be outshined, junior Kerry Meier led all receivers with nine receptions for 71 yards on the night.
Up 13-0 at half, KU scored 16 points in the third quarter to cruise to the victory. On its second drive after intermission, Reesing and Briscoe connected on a 48-yard touchdown pass to make the score 20-0 in favor of the Jayhawks. The reception was the longest of Briscoe’s career as he ran around and through Bulldog defenders the final 40 yards to pay dirt.
On the ensuing drive, Louisiana Tech sophomore Phillip Livas raced 78 yards, the fifth-longest rush in Bulldog history, down to the KU two-yard line. The Jayhawk defense then mounted a goal-line stand which ended in a Brad Oestriecher missed field goal from 23 yards out.
KU then went on an eight-play, 71-yard drive which ended with a Jacob Branstetter 26-yard field goal to make the score 23-0 in favor of the Jayhawks. Branstetter connected on three field goals in the first action of his career. Later in the quarter, Reesing connected with Patterson on a 39-yard pass to close the scoring for the game.
Kansas took the opening drive 74 yards to the Louisiana Tech 11 before freshman Branstetter made a 38-yard field goal to make the score 3-0. Reesing was 5-for-7 on the drive for 65 yards through the air as it marked the first time KU scored on its opening drive since Nov. 18, 2006, against Kansas State.
In the second quarter Louisiana Tech mounted an 88-yard drive, but KU’s Chris Harris intercepted a Taylor Bennett pass in the end zone with 10:40 to play. Reesing then orchestrated an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in 3:02 to make the score 10-0. Reesing went 6-for-6 on the drive, hitting Patterson on a three-yard strike for the score.
Branstetter made his second field goal of the half, a 25-yarder, in the second quarter as KU went on a 13-play, 52-yard drive which stalled at the Louisiana Tech eight-yard line. Reesing went 6-for-6 passing on the drive as KU led 13-0 at intermission.
Kansas hits the road for the first time this season when it plays at No. 17 South Florida on Friday, Sept. 12. Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium is set for 7 p.m. (Central) and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
The Kansas Win…
–Gives KU a 2-0 record for the fifth straight year.
–Is KU’s 11th consecutive home-field victory.
–Marks the Jayhawks’ 16th straight home win against non-conference opponents.
–Is KU’s 20th win in its last 22 home games.
–Gives the Jayhawks their 17th win in their last 19 games overall.
Kansas Game Notes
–KU’s 29-0 victory over the Bulldogs marked the second shutout of the Mangino era for the Jayhawks, the first coming Sept. 8, 2007, against Southeastern Louisiana.
–KU scored on the opening drive against the Bulldogs, a 74-yard drive ending in a 28-yard field goal. Despite averaging 42.77 points per game in 2007, the Jayhawks did not score on their first drive in any game. It was the first time since Nov. 18, 2006, against Kansas State that they had done so, which also resulted in a field goal.
–The Jayhawks held the Bulldogs scoreless in the first half, the first time since the Texas A&M game on Oct. 27, 2007, that KU shut out an opponent in the opening half.
–Two freshmen made their first starts for KU, RT Jeremiah Hatch and WR Daymond Patterson.
–A crowd of 48,621 witnessed the KU victory over Louisiana Tech, the second-largest crowd all-time for a non-conference home game at Kansas.
–Kansas had two players with over 100 yards receiving (Briscoe and Patterson), the first time since the 2006 Nebraska game that a pair of Jayhawks had reached the 100-yard mark.
–Kansas’ eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive ending at the 7:38 mark in the second quarter was the longest scoring drive of the season for the Jayhawks.
QB Todd Reesing
The KU signal caller had yet another stellar outing for the Jayhawks, completing 32 of 38 passes for a career-high 412 yards and three touchdowns.
Reesing’s 412-yard performance was the third-best passing game in KU history. The last Jayhawk to throw for over 400 yards was Adam Barmann (405) at Nebraska in 2006.
With his 32 completions, the junior from Lake Travis, Texas, moved into fifth place on the KU career pass completions list with 359. Reesing’s 38 attempts gave him 560 for his career, putting him in eighth place in KU history.
Reesing had an 84% completion percentage against the Bulldogs, ranking him fifth all-time in the KU record book for single-game completion percentage.
The junior has completed 69 of 90 passes on the season, giving him a 76.67% completion percentage.
WR Daymond Patterson
Patterson caught a 13-yard pass on the first play of the game and had three catches for 34 yards in the first quarter. Last week against FIU, he had three catches for 22 yards in the entire game. The Mesquite, Texas, product finished the game with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns, all three career highs.
Patterson had a 44-yard catch and run with 7:49 remaining in the third quarter, the longest reception of his young career.
WR Dezmon Briscoe
Briscoe picked up right where he left off last week, catching seven passes for a career-high 146 yards and a 48-yard touchdown. The 48-yard TD catch-and-run was a career-long reception and his fourth touchdown of the season.
CB Chris Harris
Harris intercepted a pass with 10:40 to play in the second quarter. It was the first interception of the season for the sophomore from Bixby, Okla., and the third of his career. It marked the third consecutive game that KU had forced a turnover.
PK Jacob Branstetter
Playing in his first career game after becoming eligible this week, Branstetter kicked a 28-yard field goal on his first attempt. He finished the game 3-3 on field goals, as he was good from 28, 25 and 26 yards.
RB Angus Quigley
Taking the majority of the reps at running back in the second half and leading the team in rushing, the junior from Cleburne, Texas, ran for a career-high 84 yards on 15 carries.
S Darrell Stuckey
The junior from Kansas City, Kan., recorded a career-high 10 tackles for the Jayhawks, leading the team against the Bulldogs.
Kansas Quotes
Kansas Head Coach Mark Mangino Quotes:
On today’s performance:
“Any time you can defeat a good football team, shut them out, put up the kind of offensive numbers that we did today, you have to feel good. It wasn’t perfect. We still have areas that we need to work on, continue to work on, and continue to get better. The positives are, our defense played extremely well even in a couple of tough spots and the offense moved the ball extremely well up and down the field. We’ve got to work on red zone offense. We need to get more touchdowns in the red zone, and that is something that we will address this week. But there was an outstanding performance by our players, we beat what I think is a pretty good football team. I think they will win more of their share of games. They are going to have an outstanding year in their conference.”
On S Darrell Stuckey:
“I told the kids in the locker room a minute ago that the gutsiest play in the game of football is when a player is out in the open running for a touchdown and you’re the only guy that can make the play, and you may not have the angle you’d like to have, you have everything going against you, but yet you go down and make a play. Phillip Livas is a sprinter, Stuckey ran him down, and he had an angle, no question, but Livas nine out of ten times will outrun that angle and Darrell showed the fortitude that he was going to make that play, made a stop at the one, and comes back and makes a tackle on the next play. They miss a field goal, and the complexion of the game is completely changed because Darrell Stuckey chose to hustle.”
On QB Todd Reesing’s efficiency tonight:
“Our offense tonight I thought was well prepared and took what they were given. The first half of the game I didn’t think we ran the ball well, I thought we were poor on back side cut-off, and I thought the backs didn’t hit the lane as quickly as we’d like them to. But in the second half we did. Our offensive line did a better job.”
On RB Angus Quigley’s performance:
“I thought Angus did a lot of positive things. He still ran a little bit high, his shoulder pads aren’t quite down as much as you’d like, but I thought he did a nice job of picking his way and accelerating through lanes. It’s been a long road for Angus, and no one wants to see Angus do better than we do as coaches. Maybe this is a sign of things to come for him.”
Junior Quarterback Todd Reesing
On what receiver’s he targets on a given play:
“Whoever is open and whatever the play calls for. We have a lot of guys that are able to make plays. We’re not just looking for one guy. As you can see, we throw to a lot of different people. We have a lot of guys that can make plays and having that depth at receiver is real big for us.”
On having several offensive weapons:
“We have guys that can make plays at all the receiver spots, and at running back. If the offensive line blocks like they did, then there is an opportunity for a lot of big plays out there.”
On the running game:
“It’s tough to say. The first two teams we played blitzed a lot and put a lot of guys in the box, which gave us the opportunity to throw a lot. It’s hard to say where we are at right now based on that. When we play someone that doesn’t blitz as much, it will give us a chance to get some more things going. In the second half, we got the running game going. Angus (Quigley) came in and hit the holes hard. I’m pleased and a lot depends on what the defense gives us.”
Junior Running Back Angus Quigley
On his running style:
“I’m one of those downhill runners. I’m not going to get fancy. I’m going to do what I’m asked to do. If they want me to run downhill, that’s what I will do. I know the offense inside and out, so when the chance comes, I know what I’m doing. That helps a lot. This is my fourth year in the program and I know all the guys on the line and I trust them. Hopefully they trust me and we can build from here.”
On getting his chance tonight:
“I can’t tell you I saw this chance. I was amazed when Coach came to me at the end of the first half and said that I might be going in at the start of the next half. I was thinking, `What? I’m a fourth quarter guy, what am I doing in the third quarter.’ It was surprising to me. But if that’s what they want me to do, I’ll take them (carries) and do my best from here on out.”
Senior Joe Mortensen
On the defense not allowing a touchdown for the second straight game:
“It feels good. We now have the goose egg on the board and that is what we wanted. This is the second shutout that we have gotten since I have been here and it is nice to get another shutout.”
On Darrell Stuckey’s touchdown-saving play:
“It becomes routine because during practice the coaches always stress running after the ball and if we don’t then we will be running after practice. It becomes second nature. Everyone has to chase the ball and try to get to the ball carrier.”
Junior Safety Darrell Stuckey:
On his touchdown-saving tackle:
“I felt like I was moving pretty well. I saw that he was really moving so I told myself, `I’ve to go’. I thought I was fast enough to catch him and I was so thankful to God for that.”
More on the touchdown-saving tackle:
“I think Coach Mangino summed it up well after the game when he talked about how mental toughness defines character and defines a man. The play defines me as human being and how willing I was to throw everything out there for my team. It was important for us to get a shutout and for us to stop them from scoring. I thought if I made a play we could stop them from scoring and we did.”
Freshman Cornerback Isiah Barfield
On the defense in the first half:
“It seemed like the offense would come out and then we’d be in for a long time. We’re in great condition, so it didn’t affect us that much.”
On continuing to improve the defense:
“Everyone has to be assignment-sound. The defensive line has to stop the run, and we (the secondary) will stop the pass.”
On the turning point in the game:
“Chris Harris’ interception was huge, but I believe the turning point in the game has to be when Darrell Stuckey hawked down that runner at the two or three yard line. We had a goal line stand, and that was the turning point of the game.”
Louisiana Tech Quotes
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Derek Dooley
His thoughts on the game:
“Kansas is an outstanding football team, and when you play an outstanding football team you better take advantage of any opportunities that you get. We had a couple of opportunities early to put some points on the board and we didn’t do it. When you don’t take advantage of opportunities against a good football team then it is going to be a long night.”
On the missed tackles on Kansas WR Dezmon Briscoe’s second-half touchdown:
“It was disappointing. It was a good run but that shouldn’t happen, I don’t care how good the runner is. We will look at the tape and hopefully correct it and get a little better next week.”
On missed scoring opportunities:
“Any time you get down there (in the red zone) and don’t get points it is devastating. We had two drives in the first half where we didn’t convert. The second time they knocked it out and got an interception. That was disappointing, but it was 13-0 at the half and we couldn’t get anything going on offense in the second half. We thought we had a chance when we were down 20-0 if we could punch one in. But we got no points out of it. When you play a good football team you better take advantage of those opportunities.”
On his team’s defense:
“We didn’t really stop anything. They had about 500 and something yards. The only thing we did do well early was keeping them out of the end zone. But that can only keep you in the game so long if you don’t score any points.”
On the play of the offense:
“We have a long way to go with throwing and catching. I was disappointed in how we ran the ball, and we aren’t going to win too many football games if we don’t run the ball better. Kansas is a good team and we didn’t play very well.”
