October 08, 2005

KU Falls at K-State in Sunflower Showdown, 12-3

Oct. 8, 2005

MANHATTAN, Kan. –

Despite a solid performance by the Kansas defense, the Jayhawks fell to Kansas State, 12-3, Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 49,798 at KSU Stadium. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

With the loss, KU moved to 3-2 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 Conference play, while K-State improved to 4-1 and 1-1 in league action.

“I want to give K-State credit, they fought very hard today,” KU head coach Mark Mangino said. “It was a tough, physical game and they came out on top today. We played great defense, as good as I’ve seen in long time here at Kansas. On offense, our penalties, not converting on fourth down situations and three turnovers hurt us. Our defense bailed us out most of the game, but being 1-of-4 in the red zone [on offense] is not good enough.”

Scott Webb’s 28-yard field goal with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter gave KU a 3-0 halftime lead over the Wildcats.

Brian Luke took over for starter Adam Barmann at quarterback with 9:06 left in the half. Mark Simmons’ 50-yard grab from Luke late in the second stanza moved the Jayhawks to the KSU 18-yard line, setting up Webb’s 28-yarder.

For the second time this season, a stifling KU defense held its opponent scoreless in the opening half and limited the Wildcats to 65 total yards of offense (six rushing, 59 passing).

On the Jayhawks’ opening drive in the second half, KSU picked up a Jon Cornish fumble to take over the ball on KU’s 14-yard line. The KU defense pushed the Wildcats back 14 yards, but Jeff Snodgrass’ 38-yard field goal attempt was good to tie the game with 10:54 left in the third quarter.

KSU quarterback Allan Evridge’s 28-yard completion late in the third quarter placed the Wildcats in the red zone to open the fourth. Jordy Nelson caught an eight-yard toss from Evridge five seconds into the final quarter to give KSU its first lead of the day, 10-3.

The Wildcats sealed the victory when Tearrius George sacked Luke in the KU endzone for a safety with 3:39 remaining.

Cornish led the KU rushers with 66 yards while Simmons finished with 64 receiving yards. Luke, one of three quarterbacks to take snaps, paced the offense with 86 passing yards.

The KU defense held K-State to a season-low 182 yards of total offense, including just 35 rushing yards. The Wildcats’ 12 points were the fewest against KU since 1993 when K-State defeated the Jayhawks 10-9 in Manhattan.

The Jayhawks will next be in action Saturday, Oct. 15 as they host Oklahoma at Arrowhead Stadium. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will air live on TBS.