Kansas Outlasts South Florida with 13-7 Victory
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas used a solid defensive effort to outlast South Florida 13-7 at Memorial Stadium Saturday night. KU freshman Justin Thornton intercepted USF quarterback Matt Grothe’s final pass as time expired. The Bulls, 3-1, drove to the Kansas 27-yard line and had two end zone pass attempts on the game’s final drive.
Kansas, 3-1, won its ninth-straight home game limiting USF, of the Big East Conference, to a season-low seven points. The Jayhawks forced three turnovers and limited the Bulls to 113 rushing yards en route to the victory.
After a scoreless first half, a crowd of 40,933 saw points put on the board in each of the first three drives of the second stanza. Kansas took the second half kickoff and drove 60 yards before junior Scott Webb gave KU a 3-0 lead with a 37-yard field goal. USF answered on the next possession to take a 7-3 lead on a seven-yard touchdown run by Grothe. The Jayhawks then drove 79 yards in seven plays to take a 10-7 advantage on senior Jon Cornish’s two-yard run at the start of the fourth quarter.
On USF’s ensuing drive, KU’s defense forced a punt the Jayhawks responded with a 47-yard drive that concluded with a Webb 42-yard field goal to make the score 13-7 with nine minutes to play.
KU senior quarterback Adam Barmann received his first start of the season and 14th of his career. The Weston, Mo., native was 25-of-35 for 273 yards passing. Barmann hit seven different receivers in the game.
Cornish recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season with 105 yards on a career-high 26 carries. Cornish also had six receptions and 119 all-purpose yards for the contest.
The first half was a defensive battle that ended 0-0. It marked the first scoreless first half in a Kansas game since 1980. USF made the field long for Kansas as KU’s first three possessions started inside its own five-yard line. KU outgained USF 219-166 in the first half.
Kansas will play Nebraska Sept. 30 to open Big 12 Conference play. The game will start at 6 p.m. from NU’s Memorial Stadium and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
