Jayhawks Trail Yellow Jackets at Halftime in 24-17 Shootout
Sept. 17, 2011
Atlanta, Ga. – Kansas football trails Georgia Tech 24-17 after a first half that featured both teams combining for five touchdowns, two field goals, 583 total offensive yards and 401 rushing yards in a high-scoring opening 30 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets featured three different players rushing for touchdowns in the first half and 296 rushing yards, the most ever allowed by the Jayhawks in a half.
The Jayhawks also put up some impressive numbers in the opening half, posting a balanced offensive attack of 141 passing yards and 105 rushing yards. Freshman Darrian Miller found the end zone twice and ran for 47 first-half yards while James Sims added 35 of his own. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb found four different receivers for 141 yards passing.
The Yellow Jackets began with game fast on their opening drive. Junior running back Orwin Smith broke free for a 95-yard touchdown to give Georgia Tech an early 7-0 lead. The run was the longest touchdown rush in the program’s history and was the third-consecutive game the Yellow Jackets scored on their first offensive play.
The Jayhawks responded quickly however, with an 11-play, 72-yard drive that was capped by an electrifying 10-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Darrian Miller. The touchdown was Miller’s second touchdown of the season and was the seventh for the Jayhawks on the year.
On Georgia Tech’s second scoring drive, senior running back Rodney Jones found the end zone on a 4-yard toss play to the right side to cap off a 4-play, 44-yard drive that took just 1:43 and give the Yellow Jackets a 14-7 lead entering the second quarter.
Once again the Jayhawks responded after the Georgia Tech score with a Darrian Miller touchdown rush. The score, which highlighted a 13-play 71-yard drive, marked the first time in Miller’s career he crossed the goal line twice in a game.
With 7:32 remaining in the first half the Yellow Jackets regained the lead on a 19-yard touchdown rush by the third Georgia Tech player to score, sophomore quarterback David Sims.
With just 35 seconds remaining in the half and Georgia Tech leading 24-14, Jordan Webb led the Jayhawks on a 5-play, 65-yard the resulted in a 28 yard Alex Mueller field goal to push the score to 24-17 going into the locker room.
