ASU coach says Kansas ‘a lot better’

As an assistant to Hall of Fame coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska, Jerry Moore was part of six lopsided college football victories against Kansas University.

“I know this: They are a lot better now than they used to be,” Moore, Appalachian State’s 17th-year head coach, said after the NCAA Div. I-AA Mountaineers’ 36-8 loss to the Div. I-A Jayhawks on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

“They will be a team to be reckoned with in that league.”

Moore’s team blew an opportunity to take an early one-

touchdown lead after Kevin Richardson’s fumble on a first-and-goal run from the eight-yard line was covered in the end zone by Banks Floodman.

Moore said KU had big-time talent, reminiscent of Nebraska teams of the past.

“I was taken back a little bit by their team speed,” Moore said. “I knew coming in the defense had good speed. The thing that was a little overwhelming to me was the quickness of their backs.”

Jon Cornish gained 103 yards on 10 carries and scored three touchdowns, while Clark Green had 55 yards on 15 carries and a score.

“Generally, we are a good tackling football team. I was impressed they were able to break tackles,” Moore said. “Their backs continually fell forward, making another yard and a half. We talk about yardage after the hit. I’d almost bet you they had 100 yards after the hit. That’s the sign of tough kids, the makings of a good team.”

The No. 25-ranked Mountaineers, who trailed just 13-0 at halftime, realized they could have kept it closer had they not botched that opening drive.

“I think we could have,” running back Thompson said, asked if the Mountaineers could have won the game had he not lost the handle early.

“It would have given everybody more confidence,” he added, noting on the play, “I was trying to keep my balance, took my mind off the ball for a moment. It just came loose.”

Tight end Daniel Bettis, who caught a TD pass and two-point conversion pass early in the fourth quarter to cut a 26-0 deficit to 26-8, agreed the fumble was huge.

“I think it would have been a whole different game,” he said. “If we can score right there, it puts them against the wall.

“I don’t think they were as much worried as surprised,” he said of KU’s reaction to the Mountaineers’ marching down the field early before turning it over.

Moore was not despondent after the bobble.

“We felt even at half we could come back, score twice, get it 14-13 or 17-13 and we could get them in that position (of close game against lower-level team) and see how they’d react to it. We took ourselves out of opportunities to do what we talked to our players about all week,” Moore said.

As far as the Mountaineers’ opinion of some notable KU players : defensive back Jeremy Wiggins rated running back Cornish a bit better than Green.

“Looking at the film, I thought 30 (Green) was the better back,” Wiggins said. “He was shifty. No. 29 (Cornish) ran hard. If I had to choose between 30 and 29, I’d say 29 came in and gave Kansas a big boost offensively.”

As far as quarterbacks Brian Luke (17-26-1 for 212 yards) and Adam Barmann (0-1, 0 yards), Wiggins said: “On film, I came in thinking 14 (Luke) and 7 (Barmann) weren’t that good. (No.) 14 was a better quarterback. (No.) 7 was kind of shaky; 14 is calm, made checks, ran the offense pretty well.”

Marcus Herford also played QB, completing two of two passes for 16 yards and rushing for 42 yards off five carries.

However, Thompson, who gained 67 yards off 12 carries, wasn’t as impressed as his coach by KU.

“I was thinking the defensive line was going to be everywhere. We really handled them,” Thompson said.

“The defense was good,” noted Bettis. “It’s a fast defense, athletic. They swarmed the ball. They are a good ballclub.”

Appalachian State (1-1) next will meet Coastal Carolina at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mountaineers’ stadium in Boone, N.C.

The Mountaineers, who are 6-27 all time against NCAA Div. I-A teams, with all six wins coming against rival Wake Forest, will travel to Div. I-A power LSU on Nov. 5.