Bowled over!

Rivers riddles Kansas in Tangerine rout

Orlando, Fla. ? Kansas University’s football team had nearly a month to prepare for Philip Rivers.

It wasn’t enough.

Rivers set North Carolina State and Tangerine Bowl records Monday night at Florida Citrus Bowl for completions (37), completion percentage (82.2), passing yards (475), touchdown passes (five) and total offense (495 yards).

Tangerine Bowl officials had billed their game as a high-scoring duel between Rivers and KU’s Bill Whittemore. Both senior quarterbacks delivered, but it was Rivers who came out on the winning end of a 56-26 blowout.

“You never know if you’re going to be able to blow the door open,” said Rivers, who finished 37-of-45 and at one point completed 16 consecutive passes. “We thought going in we’d have the opportunity to make some plays. We felt like there were some holes right behind their linebackers, and that’s where we attacked.”

Rivers set KU opponent records for completions and was one yard shy of matching the 476 passing yards Utah’s Mike Fouts struck the Jayhawks for in a 1996 game. N.C. State’s 481 passing yards, however, was a record.

“We didn’t get anything done,” KU coach Mark Mangino said of his defense, which had finished the regular season allowing averages of 392.6 total yards and 28.3 points.

The Wolfpack’s 56 points were the most by a KU opponent this season, as were their 653 total yards. N.C. State scored on eight of its 11 drives.

“We didn’t play well on defense at all,” Mangino said. “There’s no excuses. We should be better. We should play better. We should tackle better. We should cover better. We should play the run better, and we didn’t.”

Kansas University's Remuise Johnson (8) hangs his head as North Carolina State's John McKeon jumps into the arms of a teammate during the Wolfpack's 56-26 victory over KU in the Tangerine Bowl. KU's defense was shredded for 653 total yards in the lopsided loss Monday in Orlando, Fla.

Rivers was unstoppable in the first half, completing 21 of 24 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns.

It took N.C. State (8-5) only three plays and 62 seconds to take the lead. Rivers completed a 45-yard touchdown pass to Richard Washington to begin the onslaught.

Kansas (6-7) countered with a nine-play scoring drive, capped by Whittemore’s 23-yard TD pass to Charles Gordon, but Rivers and the Wolfpack answered with another quick strike. Rivers hooked up with Washington for a 14-yard TD at the end of a scoring drive that took just 1:58 off the clock.

N.C. State had controlled the ball for only three minutes but already had 14 points on the board with 8:43 to go in the first quarter.

“If those NFL coaches don’t know what Philip Rivers can do from this game, then they need bifocals,” N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said of Rivers, the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. “He came in with a 71-percent completion rate on the year. That is not just someone who completes seven out of 10 passes; he is what they’re looking for. He is 6-foot-5 and weighs 235 pounds and makes great decisions. Forget about how he throws the football. It goes to the right guy at the right spot, and they are completions. He is going to make somebody a winner because he is a winner.”

video Bowled over! Rivers riddles Kansas in Tangerine routvideo Tangerine crush: 56-26 loss to NC State doesn’t leave bitter tastevideo Jayhawks value learning experiencevideo Whittemore has fine finalevideo KU alums go nuts for bowlsvideo Wolfpack offense decimates KUvideo Wolfpack’s Rivers down-home goodvideo Notebookvideo How they scoredvideo 6Sports video: Jayhawks end eight-year bowl droughtvideo 6Sports video: Rivers puts up record-breaking performance against KUtext Get the stats: Tangerine Bowl box scorephoto See the photos: 2003 Tangerine BowlaudioHear Mark: KU-NC State post-game comments<i>” border=”0″/> More KUSports.com bowl coverage</a><a href=</i>” border=”0″/> 2003 football season recap</a></td> </tr> </table> </div> </div> <p>Kansas was able to move the ball against N.C. State’s maligned defense, but the Jayhawks netted only three points the rest of the first half. KU’s next drive stalled at the NCSU 33, and Kansas opted to punt on fourth-and-15.</p> <p>“It’s always frustrating when you have a long drive and you’re not able to finish,” offensive lineman Adrian Jones said. “We always talk about finishing, but we didn’t finish.”</p> <p>Senior Curtis Ansel pinned the Pack down on their own three, but NCSU simply mounted a 97-yard scoring drive. Rivers completed five of six passes for 72 yards, and T.A. McLendon made it 21-7 with a one-yard run.</p> <p>Kansas again drove into Pack territory at the 35, but A.J. Davis picked off a Whittemore pass and returned it 48 yards to the KU 39. N.C. State kicker Adam Kiker later missed a 49-yard field-goal attempt — marking the only time the Wolfpack failed to score in the first half.</p> <p>Jerod Brooks made a 28-yard field goal for Kansas with 4:05 remaining, but McLendon tacked on a three-yard TD reception with 45 seconds left in the half.</p> <p>Kansas opened the second half with a nine-play scoring drive capped by Whittemore’s 11-yard shovel pass to Clark Green, which cut the deficit to 28-17.</p> <p>Whittemore passed for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his final college game. He also ran for a TD and set a Tangerine Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 84.</p> <div class=

With the scoreboard as a backdrop, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino, right, heads toward the Kansas dressing room after the Tangerine Bowl.

“It’s a disappointing way to go out,” Whittemore said. “We had a good time in Orlando. We had a fun trip, but it doesn’t feel the same without that victory.”

Rivers added a 40-yard TD to Brian Clark, and Reggie Davis added a 10-yard touchdown run. By the time Johnny Beck kicked a 39-yard field goal for KU with 3:42 left in the third quarter, the game’s outcome wasn’t in question.

After Whittemore’s nine-yard TD run pulled KU within 42-26, N.C. State added a 21 yard TD reception by Jerricho Cotchery — who caught 13 passes for 171 yards — and a 26-yard TD run by McLendon.

Mangino wasn’t concerned with the Wolfpack piling on late. And the coach said he had no problem with Amato showcasing Rivers for a national television audience. The quarterback left the game, along with Cotchery, with 8:10 remaining.

“I’m of the school of thought that there’s no such thing as running it up,” he said. “If you can’t stop them, too bad. That’s our job.”

Mangino’s offense, meanwhile, finished with 463 total yards.

“We’re used to getting in and putting points on the board,” said Brandon Rideau, who caught nine passes for 109 yards. “We didn’t do that as well as we should have today. We’ll come back and work on that for next year.”