His name was Gale Weidner. He was a sophomore quarterback who became a part of Colorado University football lore when he passed the Buffaloes to a come-from-behind victory over Kansas University.

The Buffs were trailing 19-0 going into the fourth quarter when Weidner came in and threw three TD passes to rally CU to a 20-19 victory at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. That was in 1961. Forty-three years ago.

Never before and never since had a Kansas football team blown such a big lead.

Until Saturday, that is.

Who would have believed a KU football team — heck, any football team — would blow a 25-point lead at home?

Unbelievable.

And yet it happened. Pinch me.

This one had to be absolutely, positively the most deflating defeat in Kansas football history. The only way it would have been worse is if the Jayhawks had blown such a big lead against an archrival like Kansas State or Missouri.

You lose a game like Saturday’s to someone like Oklahoma or Nebraska and you can shrug it off. Well, we gave it our best shot. We scared ’em. Etc., etc.

Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino (wearing headset) shows off a little body English as Jayhawks Rodney Harris (32) and Ronnie Amadi (17) defend Texas Tech's Nehemiah Glover (6). The Jayhawks fell to the Red Raiders, 31-30, Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

But when you have a Texas Tech down by 25 points just before halftime, you have to come out for the second half and lay the hammer down. Instead, the Jayhawks bumbled and stumbled on offense, failing to reassert themselves after the break.

What makes the 31-30 defeat — the first one-point KU loss at Memorial Stadium since a 22-21 setback to Iowa State in 1978 — doubly galling is that the Red Raiders literally were begging the Jayhawks to stick a fork in them.

How can you lose when the other team is guilty of five turnovers — four interceptions and a lost fumble — and is whistled a staggering 14 times for 114 yards in penalties?

Unbelievable. And yet it happened. Pinch me again.

Then again, it’s not like Texas Tech had failed to provide foreshadowing. Last week against TCU, the Raiders overcame a 21-point deficit. This week it was a 25-point hole.

6Sports video: Texas Tech slides past KU Hear Mangino: Texas Tech post-game Photo Gallery: KU vs Texas Tech Notebook

Do you think Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will mention the Raiders’ Silky Sullivan tendencies before Tech plays in Norman, Okla., Saturday? On the surface, it would appear the worst thing you can do come out of the chute too quickly against the Raiders.

From a Kansas standpoint, back-to-back close losses to Northwestern and Texas Tech have been successive kicks in the gut. With what some regard as the most difficult NCAA Div. I-A schedule in the country, Kansas simply HAD to defeat either Northwestern or Texas Tech in order to have a chance to win six of its 11 games and become bowl-eligible.

With two glaring weaknesses — spotty field-goal kicking and an ineffective offensive line — the Jayhawks’ chances of winning four of their last seven and becoming bowl-eligible are only slightly higher than winning the lottery.

KU coach Mark Mangino has tried two field-goal kickers, and the result is six misses in nine attempts — including two Saturday by Scott Webb, the kicker of the moment. Maybe Mangino should call KU soccer coach Mark Francis and ask if he’d be willing to let All-Big 12 Conference forward Caroline Smith have a screen test.

Still, Mangino wasn’t as critical in the postgame of Webb as he was of the offensive line. With three starters back — both guards and center Joe Vaughn — Mangino was optimistic he could replace graduated tackles Danny Lewis and Adrian Jones.

Matt Thompson, a transfer from Air Force, has stepped in at one tackle, but the other tackle position clearly has a Help Wanted sign. Meanwhile, 300-pounder Tony Coker, one of the returning guards, has played only about a quarter because of ankle woes, and his absence may be the main reason for KU’s vapid running game.

How many times have you heard a coach congratulate his running backs for making yardage without any blocking? Mangino did Saturday.

Did I mention that Saturday’s game was unbelievable? Oh, yeah. I did. Well, now I believe it. But I’m going to end this on a positive note.

The 1961 Kansas team that blew the 19-point lead at Colorado began with an 0-2-1 record, but then won its next six and went on to flatten Rice, 33-7, in the Bluebonnet Bowl.

So even when something unbelievable happens, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to stop believing.