November 28, 2009

Missouri Rallies Past Kansas with a Late Field Goal, 41-39

Nov. 28, 2009

Briscoe Shows Explosiveness In Border Showdown Loss

Meier and Reesing end their Famous duo in Fight to the Finish

Despite a record-breaking day for senior quarterback Todd Reesing, Kansas fell to Missouri 41-39 in the final seconds of the annual Border Showdown game played Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

Reesing set a school record for passing yards in a single game with 498 and tied his own school record for completions in a game with 37.

Kansas concludes its 2009 season at 5-7 overall and 1-7 in the Big 12, while Missouri improves to 8-4 overall and 4-4 in league play.

The 118^th edition of the Border Showdown was a hard-fought battle, with the winner determined in the final seconds as MU kicker Grant Ressel hit a 27 yard field goal as time expired.

The Jayhawks led through two and a half quarters, but with 5:45 remaining in the third, Missouri began to chip away at the lead. MU wide receiver Jerrell Jackson scored a 37-yard rushing touchdown, which was followed by a 68-yard reception for a touchdown by senior wide receiver Danario Alexander.

Missouri then converted a 37-yard field goal to take the lead 36-28, but Kansas quickly knotted the score at 36 when Briscoe scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on a 74-yard reception from Reesing. The Jayhawks two-point conversion was good, making it a tie-game with 12 minutes remaining.

The Jayhawks forced a three-and-out on MU’s next possession and began the ensuing drive on its own one yard line. Reesing engineered a 12-play, 78 yard drive that culminated with a 39-yard field goal by Jacob Branstetter. The field goal gave Kansas a three-point advantage with five minutes remaining in the contest.

However, after a three-and-out by the Tigers, Missouri’s Brian Coulter and Aldon Smith sacked Reesing in the end zone to cut the Kansas lead to one.

That set up Ressel’s game-winning field goal after the Tigers drove to the KU 10 yard line and ran the clock down to four seconds.

The second half rally nullified an amazing offensive day by the Jayhawk leaders.

Reesing ended the day on 37-of-55 for 498 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. He will leave Kansas as the school leader in career passing yards (11,194), career attempts (1,461), career completions (932), career touchdown passes (90) and total offensive yards (11,840).

Briscoe enjoyed his second-most productive day with 14 receptions for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Kerry Meier hauled in 10 passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. Meier moved into second on Kansas’ all-time receptions list, behind Briscoe.

Sharp caught eight passes for 78 yards, and added 29 yards rushing on seven carries.

Seniors Darrell Stuckey led the defensive effort with 15 total tackles, followed by senior Arist Wright with 11.

The back-and-forth contest featured exactly 1,100 yards of total offense and 80 points. It was the highest scoring game in the Border Showdown series since the Jayhawks defeated Missouri 53-29 in the 1991 meeting.

KU jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, after a nine-play, 98-yard drive was punctuated by a seven-yard touchdown pass from Reesing to Briscoe. The drive marked the longest for the Jayhawks this season.

Missouri answered on the ensuing drive with a 43-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Ressell Grant, bringing the score to 7-3 at the 3:52 mark.

Kansas responded with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Reesing, his sixth rushing TD of the season. The score was set up on a 33-yard completion to tight end Tim Biere, which marked a career-long reception for the sophomore. The drive covered 70 yards on seven plays and took 2:43 off the game clock.

Missouri cut the lead to 14-10 when junior running back Derrick Washington scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown midway through the second quarter, but Kansas was able to quickly regain its two-possession lead when Reesing hit senior wide receiver Kerry Meier in the end zone with an eight-yard touchdown pass at 3:03. The touchdown was one of six completions for Reesing in a drive that covered 68 total yards.

Missouri notched another field goal before the end of the half, bringing the score to 21-13 at intermission.

Missouri scored on the opening drive of the second half when Washington rushed 14 yards for his second touchdown on the ground. Missouri opted to go for the two-point conversion, but its efforts were unsuccessful, making the score 21-19.

Again, the Jayhawks answered with their own score, as Reesing connected with Meier on a two yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was set up when Missouri committed a personal foul on a fourth-down field goal attempt by the Jayhawks, giving Kansas a first down on the MU six yard line.