Jayhawks Win Again, 43-28, at Oklahoma State

STILLWATER, Okla. – Senior wide receiver Marcus Henry had eight catches for a career-high 199 yards and caught all three of sophomore Todd Reesing’s touchdown passes as the fifth-ranked Kansas football team defeated Oklahoma State 43-28 on Saturday night.

Kansas, which is in the midst of its longest winning streak since 1907-09, improved to 10-0 overall for the first time since 1899 and is 6-0 in the Big 12. Kansas’ first win againstOklahoma State in 12 years dropped the Cowboys to 5-5 overall, 3-3 in the conference.

Leading 20-14 at the half, Kansas scored on their first two possessions of the second half. After a defensive stop, Reesing connected with Henry on an 82-yard touchdown. Henry made the catch near midfield and outraced everyone to paydirt to put the Jayhawks up 27-14.

Senior Brandon McAnderson scored on the Jayhawks’ ensuing offensive possession for his second touchdown of the day, scampering in from 12 yards out. A failed two-point conversion attempt left Kansas up 33-14.

After surrendering a pair of touchdowns to the Cowboys to close the gap to 33-28, the Jayhawks responded with Henry’s third touchdown catch of the day. Reesing, who threw for 308 yards on the day, scrambled to his right and found the Lawton, Okla. native streaking across the back of the end zone.

In the closing minutes of the first quarter, senior Scott Webb’s field goal gave the Jayhawks a 10-7 lead. However, on the next possession, the Cowboys took their only lead of the game on a one-yard Julius Crosslin run early in the second frame.

As has been custom all season, the Jayhawks responded on their next drive when McAnderson dove and extended the ball across the goal line to cap a five-yard touchdown run. The Jayhawks would never look back.

Senior running back Brandon McAnderson went over 100 yards on the ground for the third straight week, gaining 142 yards on 25 carries.

On defense, Kansas forced four turnovers, including junior Aqib Talib’s fourth interception of the season in the closing minutes to all but end the game.

Kansas returns home for senior day at Memorial Stadium next Saturday when Iowa Statecomes to Lawrence for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. The game will be televised by ABC.

Kansas’ win over Oklahoma State…
…Gave KU a 10-0 record for the first time since 1899 (1899 team finished the year 10-0).
…Kept KU on track for its fifth undefeated season in school history (1891, 1899, 1908 and 1923).
…Gave KU a 10-win season for just the fourth time in school history (10-0 in 1899, 10-1 in 1905 and 10-2 in 1995).
…Gave KU 10 consecutive wins, its longest winning streak since winning 18 straight from 1907-09.
…Gave KU six conference wins for the first time since posting a 6-1 mark in 1968.
…Gave KU four road wins in the same season for the first time since going 4-1 away from home in 1975.
…Gave KU four straight road wins for the first time in the same season since 1968 (4-0 on the road in 1968).
…Gave KU wins in four of its last five road games dating back to last year.
…Marked KU’s 13th win in its last 14 games.
…Stopped a five-game losing streak against Oklahoma State (last win was at Stillwaterin 1995).
…Improved KU to 4-14 against teams from the Big 12 South in the Mark Mangino era, including a three-game sweep this year.
…Made KU one of only two undefeated Division I teams in the country (Hawaii playing late game).
…Gave Mark Mangino a 35-35 record in his sixth year at KU.

Notes
– KU has fallen behind six times this season and has responded with a game-tying or go-ahead scores on the next possession on five occasions.
– The Jayhawks have only trailed for 27 minutes and 15 seconds all season (trailed for three minutes against OSU) out of a possible 600 minutes through 10 games.
– KU produced 529 yards of total offense and has gone over the 400 mark in nine of 10 games.
– Sophomore QB Todd Reesing increased his season passing yards to 2,647 to pass Bill Whittemore’s 2,385 yard effort in 2003 for third on the KU all-time single season list. Still ahead of Reesing is Mike Norseth (2,995 yards in 1985) and Frank Seurer (2,789 yards in 1983).
– Reesing also moved up the career passing yards list to ninth place with 2,851 yards.
– Reesing posted his seventh game of the season with 200 or more passing yards which tied him for third for a KU quarterback in a single season. The most in a season is eight, held by Bill Whittemore (2003) and Mike Norseth (1985).
– Reesing has not thrown an interception in five straight games and has attempted 179 passes without a pickoff going back into the Kansas State game.
– Senior RB Brandon McAnderson moved into a tie for fourth place on the KU career list with his 22nd career rushing touchdown after picking up two scores against OSU. His 15 rushing TDs this season rank second on the KU single season list. Former Jayhawk June Henley owns both records with 41 career touchdowns on the ground including 17 in the 1996 season.
– McAnderson has eight touchdowns in the last three games.
– McAnderson’s 29-yard run in the second quarter was his eighth 20+ yard rush of the season. The play began from Kansas’ own six yard line and helped set up a drive that resulted in a 42-yard Scott Webb field goal.
– Junior CB Aqib Talib picked off his fourth interception of the season. The INT was the 12th of his career which tied for second on the KU career list.
– McAnderson finished the game with 142 rushing yards to go over the century mark for the third straight game. He has five games over 100 yards in 2007.
– Webb’s 42-yard field goal was his second successful 40+ yard kick of the season.
– WR Dexton Fields hauled in a career-long tying 35-yard catch in the second quarter.The play, made possible by Reesing scrambling to dodge multiple tacklers, was key in the drive that put KU back in the lead 17-14.
– Senior WR Marcus Henry tied the KU school record with his fifth 100+ yard receiving game of the season, also done by Bob Johnson in 1983. Henry’s 199 yards were the most since Quintin Smith had 221 yards against Louisville in 1989.
– Henry had three touchdown catches to move his season total to seven which tied him for third on the KU all-time single season list. Only Quintin Smith (8 in 1989) and Bruce Adams (8 in 1972) have more in one year. The seven TDs tied him withDezmon Briscoe, who also has seven touchdown catches this season.
– Henry’s 10 career touchdown receptions rank him in a tie for eighth on the KU all-time career list.
– Henry’s 82-yard touchdown reception was the longest Kansas pass play since Willie Vaughn had an 89 yard touchdown catch against Nebraska in 1988. The play was the longest offensive play from scrimmage for KU of the year and the longest given up by Oklahoma State in the 2007 season.
– Henry established new career highs in catches (8), receiving yards (199) and touchdowns (3) in a game.
– QB/WR Kerry Meier tossed a season-long 44 yard pass to Henry on a halfback pass.The grab was the sixth for Henry over 40 yards of the season.
– Senior TE Derek Fine has recorded at least two catches in 11 straight games.
– Junior WR Dexton Fields has multiple receptions in 20 of his last 21 games.
– LB Joe Mortensen had his first two fumble recoveries of the season to double his career total to four.
– Sophomore S Darrell Stuckey tied his career high with nine tackles, also done vs.Kansas State in 2006.
– Senior PK Scott Webb scored 13 points to bring his season total 101 to take over second place on the KU single season scoring list. Only June Henley scored more points in a Jayhawk uniform (108 in 1996).
– Webb broke the school record for PAT attempts in a season (54).
– Oklahoma natives Scott Webb and Marcus Henry combined to score 31 of KU’s 43 points.
– Kansas missed a two-point conversion attempt against OSU and is 0-5 for the season.
– Senior DL James McClinton has started 30 consecutive games, while OT Cesar Rodriguez has started 25 straight and LBs Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera have each started 22 in a row. Henry and CB Aqib Talib notched their 20th straight starts.