The hundreds of Kansas University fans who made the trip to Saturday night’s football game at Tulsa suffered some anxious moments in the fourth quarter when the Golden Hurricane trimmed a 24-point KU lead to 10.

KU’s 43-33 victory at Skelly Stadium would have been a blowout had sophomore kicker Johnny Beck made his three field-goal attempts.

“I’m a little shaken by it,” said Beck, who had made five of his first six field-goal tries this season. “But I know the level I’m capable of playing at. You can’t get down on yourself. We came out here and got a win. I didn’t play well at all, but coach still has confidence in me. Hopefully, the players still have confidence, and I’m not going to lose it in myself.”

Beck was a preseason candidate for the Groza Award, but he had missed an extra-point attempt in each of the two previous games and his longest field goal is a 37-yarder against Southwest Missouri State.

It’s a drop from last year when Beck made 14 of 20 field-goal attempts  including a 59-yarder  and made 16 of 17 extra-point attempts as a freshman.

“I can’t be a streaky kicker, and that’s what I think I’ve turned into,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get back on track, and this will all go away.”

Beck fell short on a 53-yarder into the wind on KU’s first drive against Tulsa. Kansas tried to pad a 43-19 lead with 8:34 remaining, but Beck was short again from 52 yards. After Tulsa cut the lead to 43-27, he was wide left on a 32-yarder.

KU coach Mark Mangino said part of the problem was that two of Greg Nicks’ snaps weren’t on target. As a result, holder Curtis Ansel didn’t have time to turn the ball’s laces away from the kicker.

Beck, however, took responsibility for the misses.

“I’m not going to blame it on anyone but myself,” he said. “I’m not playing up to my potential right now.”

The sophomore did convert all five of his extra-point attempts, making him 13-for-15.

“We’re going to have a really focused special-teams period where we focus on good snaps, getting the ball down and Johnny being mechanically sound and kicking it through,” Mangino said Sunday. “But he’s going to be fine.”

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More on Whittemore: Quarterback Bill Whittemore finished Saturday’s game with 395 total yards in three quarters, rallying KU from an early 13-0 deficit. Mangino said he didn’t consider putting the junior back in the game when Tulsa scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.

“I didn’t think we ever got to that point,” Mangino said. “We have confidence in Zach.”

Backup Zach Dyer, making his first appearance since the season opener at Iowa State, completed 3-of-5 passes for 48 yards and netted 20 yards on eight carries.

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Where’s he been?: Sophomore Austine Nwabuisi played in the second game of the season at Nevada-Las Vegas, but hadn’t been seen since before rushing five times for 21 yards, including a touchdown, against Tulsa.

Asked if he had been in Mangino’s doghouse, Nwabuisi declined to comment. Mangino also skirted the issue, but said he was pleased with his fullback’s effort.

“He can add another dimension running from the fullback spot for us and blocking from that spot, and we need it,” Mangino said.

Nwabuisi’s touchdown was his first trip to the end zone since catching a TD pass last Oct. 6 at Texas Tech.

“That was a lot of fun,” he said. “I hadn’t been there for a while.”

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Where’d he go?: Mangino confirmed Sunday that senior offensive lineman Gabe Rosalis had left the team. Rosalis, a three-year letterman from Victoria, Texas, was listed second on the depth chart at right tackle in the preseason but did not play in a single game.

“He’s a young guy that had a chronic back problem,” Mangino said. “Being a senior, he just didn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”

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On the move: Junior Danny Lewis, who had been an offensive lineman wearing No. 78, suited up in No. 88 Saturday as a tight end.

“Danny works primarily, and continues to develop, as an offensive lineman,” Mangino said. “But we felt he’s our next-best blocker and has the athleticism to catch the ball. We will dress him in No. 88 and take his offensive line jersey with him if he’s pressed into duty on offensive line. It is a position change, but it isn’t.”

Lewis, who red-shirted last season after transferring from Phoenix Community College, is listed No. 2 on the depth chart at left tackle but had played in only one of KU’s first four games. He made the move the same night former tight end David Hurst made his first start at guard.

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Nothing to it: Mangino had sported a red KU hat during the first four games of the season, but the coach donned a white KU cap Saturday. Mangino said the switch had nothing to do with the Jayhawks’ 1-3 record in the first four games. His red hat was simply dirty.

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Up next: KU will play Baylor (2-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Waco, Texas. The Bears defeated Tulsa, 37-25, Sept. 21 in Waco before taking last weekend off.