CU gains 546 yards in shootout

Kansas University racked up 450 total yards and scored 29 points against Colorado on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

It wasn’t nearly enough.

Big 12 Conference rushing leader Chris Brown torched KU’s defense for 309 yards and two touchdowns, and two Jayhawk turnovers proved costly in a 53-29 homecoming loss.

“Our players played hard, fought hard and gave everything they had to give,” KU football coach Mark Mangino said. “We were just beaten by a better team today.”

Kansas fell to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play, but KU’s first-year coach praised his team for its effort against the heavily favored Buffs (4-2, 2-0).

“If anybody is waiting for us to wilt and die, it’s not going to happen,” Mangino said. “Our players have too much invested. They have worked too hard. They believe in what we’re doing, and we believe in them.”

Colorado coach Gary Barnett, who turned a miserable Northwestern program into a winner before building a conference championship team in Boulder, also had high praise for a team that lost by 24 points.

“Kansas played with great heart,” said Barnett, who addressed the Jayhawks after the game in the KU locker room. “They fought and fought and fought, which is just what I told our kids they were going to do. Give those guys credit. They made us play the whole game, and our guys didn’t necessarily think that would happen.”

CU’s 53 points and 546 total yards were the most by a KU opponent this season. The Buffs were the third team to amass more than 500 yards against the Jayhawks.

So what did the coaches find so tremendous about KU’s effort?

For starters, Kansas rallied from an early 14-point deficit and managed to take the lead early in the second quarter.

Colorado scored on its opening drive when quarterback Robert Hodge tossed an 8-yard pass to receiver D.J. Hackett, and KU gave the ball right back when quarterback Bill Whittemore fumbled.

Two plays later, Brown showed the Jayhawks the kind of speed and power they were going to have to deal with when the 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior running back broke a 78-yard touchdown run.

KU found itself in a two-touchdown hole for the third week in a row. For the third week in a row, Whittemore rallied the Jayhawks.

After linebacker Greg Cole and safety Johnny McCoy tackled Brown in CU’s end zone for a safety and two points, Whittemore made it 14-9 with a 26-yard TD pass to Marcellus Jones.

The junior quarterback gave KU a 15-14 lead on the first play of the second quarter on a 5-yard TD run, but his two-point conversion pass to receiver Mark Simmons failed.

“They started coming back, and Whittemore led that group,” Barnett said. “I really admire the way those kids played.”

On a cool, windy day, Whittemore rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 217 yards and two TDs. It was his third straight game with more than 300 total yards.

CU, however, needed only two plays to reclaim the lead. Brown’s 51-yard run made it 21-15.

Hodge, who passed for 119 yards and three touchdowns, made it 29-15 when he completed a 15-yard pass to receiver Derek McCoy and then tossed a two-point conversion pass to receiver John Donahoe.

KU countered with a drive to CU’s 12, which was started by Greg Heaggans’ 56-yard kick return and aided by a 15-yard penalty on CU.

Whittemore had Byron Gasaway open in the end zone, but Donald Strickland stepped in front of the senior receiver and raced 95 yards down CU’s sideline for a TD and a 36-15 lead.

“It was absolutely huge,” Barnett said. “If you look at the score, I’ve never had a 24-point lead and felt so in danger of losing it.”

Whittemore said he waited too long to pass.

“The ball shouldn’t have been thrown,” he said. “I thought I had him.”

KU didn’t quit, ending the half with a 10-play, 80-yard drive capped by Whittemore’s second TD pass to Jones.

The drive was kept alive when freshman Nick Reid completed a 24-yard pass to Darren Rus on a fake punt from midfield.

“We just put it in this week and it worked out pretty well,” said Reid, who was a quarterback at Derby High before moving to linebacker this fall. “My arm’s still there.”

Patrick Brougham kicked a 43-yard field goal on CU’s first possession of the second half, but KU pulled within 10 points on Whittemore’s 9-yard run with 4:09 left in the third quarter.

“I’ve told you after some games that we’ve made strides,” Mangino said. “Today we made a leap. I’m really encouraged by what I saw today. There were so many chances for Colorado to just take it and run away with it, but our kids wouldn’t let them do it. As a coach, that’s all you can ask. I told the kids after the game I was proud of them.”

CU sealed the deal in the fourth quarter. Hodge tossed an 8-yard TD pass to McCoy, and fullback Brandon Drumm added a 21-yard touchdown run.

When the coaches met after the game, Barnett asked Mangino if he could speak to the Jayhawks.

“That was a class move by Gary,” Mangino said. “I appreciate it. Gary Barnett’s no stranger to turnaround projects. He knows what they take. He understands what we’re doing here. I’m appreciative of that. He didn’t have to do it.”

Kansas will play host to Texas A&M at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Aggies (4-2, 1-1) defeated Baylor, 41-0, Saturday at Waco, Texas.