Wildcats pelt KU
Turnovers costly for Kansas
The final play of Saturday night’s game at Memorial Stadium epitomized Kansas University’s football season opener.
It ended with a turnover.
Northwestern’s 28-20 victory was played in a constant rain, which ranged from drizzle to downpour. While the Wildcats seemed unaffected by the wet ball and slippery AstroPlay turf, the host Jayhawks turned the ball over five times, botched an extra-point attempt and missed a 20-yard field-goal attempt.
“There are no excuses,” second-year KU coach Mark Mangino said. “I don’t care of it is 150 degrees or if we are in the middle of a typhoon.”
Senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, KU’s most effective offensive weapon last season, missed several open receivers in the first half and completed only six of 15 passes for 72 yards before halftime.
KU punted on its first two possessions, then turned the ball over on four consecutive drives.
“I struggled a lot,” said Whittemore, who threw an interception in the first half and fumbled on the game’s final play. “There’s no excuses. It’s something I need to work on. I was really struggling out there.”
He wasn’t alone. Against a Northwestern defense that ranked 116th in the nation last season, KU scored zero first-half points.
The Jayhawks had their chances.
Kansas University's David McMillan, who returned an interception 31 yards for a tying touchdown in the second half, watches the final moments of the Jayhawks' 28-20 loss to Northwestern. The Wildcats won in the rain Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
Punter Curtis Ansel and KU’s defense gave the Jayhawk offense good field position in the first quarter. With 3:58 remaining, KU reached the Northwestern 21, but safety Louis Ayeni forced freshman running back John Randle to fumble, and cornerback Marquice Cole recovered.
“You can tell the difference,” Ayeni said of his team’s improved defense. “We’re not having teams shove the ball down the middle of the defense. We’re hard workers. We took this very seriously this summer. You can tell by our play we are much better.”
Northwestern failed to capitalize on the fumble when Slade Larscheid missed a 20-yard field goal, but KU gave the ball back when Torri Stuckey intercepted Whittemore’s pass.
This time, the Wildcats cashed in with an 18-yard touchdown run by Jason Wright. The senior set a career high with 41 carries and tied career highs with 196 yards and four touchdowns.
Northwestern didn’t even empty its bag of tricks with the versatile back because of the weather.
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Box score“He had a heck of a night, but we didn’t see all the things he can do,” coach Randy Walker said. “We had to play a little conservative.”
Whittemore completed two long passes on KU’s next possession, but freshman Charles Gordon fumbled after a 24-yard gain and Ayeni recovered.
The Jayhawks turned it over again late in the half. Whittemore came out after hurting his right knee — he later returned — and backup Brian Luke had his second pass picked off by cornerback Marvin Ward.
Wright made KU pay again with a four-yard TD that made it 14-0 at halftime.
Kansas associate athletic director Jim Marchiony, center, shakes hands with Kansas City TV personality Al Wallace in the press box as KU senior associate AD Larry Keating looks on prior to the Kansas-Northwestern football game.
Kansas drove 62 yards on its first possession of the second half, but came away empty. Mark Simmons caught a pass from Whittemore in the back of the end zone, but officials ruled the sophomore receiver did not get his foot down in bounds.
“I knew I was in,” Simmons said. “The ref thought otherwise.”
KU settled for a 20-yard field-goal attempt, but Johnny Beck’s kick hit the left upright. Tony Coker’s snap appeared low.
“There were sloppy conditions,” Beck said. “We’re not going to point fingers. If the ball’s down, I need to get it through the uprights.”
Two big plays gave KU hope late in the third.
First, Simmons hauled in a short pass from a scrambling Whittemore and sprinted 76 yards for KU’s first TD with 2:56 left in the quarter.
KU holder Curis Ansel, center, bobbles the snap on an extra-point attempt in the fourth quarter. The miss let Northwestern maintain a 21-20 lead in an eventual 28-20 victory over the Jayhawks Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
“All I saw in front of me was blue jerseys,” said Simmons, who got a key block from running back Clark Green at the 10, “and I followed the blue jerseys.”
KU’s offense didn’t score again, but the Jayhawks tied it less than two minutes later when defensive end David McMillan intercepted Brett Basanez’s pass and rumbled 31 yards for a TD.
“Everybody was hoping that play would make it come out in our favor, but obviously it didn’t,” McMillan said.
Wright scored his third TD after a 12-play, 80-yard drive, giving the Wildcats a 21-14 lead.
KU holder Curtis Ansel (37) is tackled after bobbling the snap from an extra-point attempt.
The Jayhawks had a chance to tie it again after Ronnie Amadi blocked a Northwestern punt, and Darren Rus returned it 20 yards for a TD. But KU could not convert the extra-point attempt when Ansel, Beck’s holder, bobbled the snap.
“The snap was fine,” Ansel said. “It was my fault. I had it, and the ball slipped out from underneath when I went to put it down.”
Wright appeared to seal the victory when he scored his fourth TD — this time from two yards out — with 4:04 to play, but KU had one last chance.
Whittemore, who finished 12-of-28 for 240 yards, completed a 48-yard pass to Gordon at the Northwestern 20 with six seconds left.
The Jayhawks had time for one more play, but Whittemore was sacked by lineman Loren Howard and fumbled. Linebacker Patt Durr recovered, and the game was over.
“We played hard tonight,” said Mangino, whose team will play host to UNLV next week. “I was proud of our team because we played hard the whole time.”