Some thoughts…from Folsom Field

Ryan Wood, Journal-World KU football beat writer

“KU’s fourth quarter stand, while partly Colorado’s own fault, affirmed to college football that the past struggles in putting the foot on the throat is long gone.

The Jayhawks are a legitimate Top-15 team. Period. Barring a loss of focus that I just don’t see happening,they have a great chance at going 10-2 this season. They are that good.

The most telling sign, though, was that the celebration lasted all of 15 minutes. Joe Mortensen, for one, shrugged off their feat on Saturday and said it’s all about Texas A&M now. A good outlook like that leads to fantastic results when it’s all said and done.”

Tom Keegan, Journal-World sports editor

“Lee Corso needs to take a trip into the present and stop dusting off ancient numbers to demonstrate his contention that this Kansas football team is a fraud. Instead, Corso should focus on the No. 5. That’s how many undefeated teams remain in the country and that’s the number KU quarterback Todd Reesing wears on his back.”

Ryan Greene, KUSports.com editor

“When KU went up 19-7 in the fourth quarter, I turned to Ryan Wood and said that I’d consider this the Jayhawks’ biggest test yet in terms of how much they’ve grown mentally since a 2006 season ridden with fourth quarter implosions.

The Fighting Manginos allowed a touchdown, but shut things down when they absolutely needed to in the one of the more hostile environments they’re bound to see all season.

The most telling sign, though, of how far this team has come is what Wood mentioned above, in that this team has no ‘deer in the Hummer H2 headlights’ look about them when emerging from the locker room following victory after victory. Next week should be fun.”

Inside the numbers

84: Todd Reesing not only was KU’s driving force through the air yet again, but the sophomore KU was, for the first time this season, the Jayhawks’ leading rusher. He totaled 84 yards on seven carries, but it was all sparked by a highlight of a 53-yard run to set up KU’s second quarter field goal. He has a tendency to do anything it takes to win a game no matter how ugly it may look. Tonight was a good example. He was efficient and stepped up when needed.

5: Someone who shouldn’t be lost in the mix was senior receiver Marcus Henry, whose five catches for 81 yards boosted his season totals to 34 grabs for 633 yards. Henry endured a tough first half, bobbling a third down pass on a sideline route and then fumbling away a reception with KU driving to score just before the half. But in the second half, he forgot about the ‘dropsies,’ and his showing included a pair of tough catches in the middle of the field, each setting up a KU touchdown. This game could do a good amount of good for his overall psyche.

26: James Holt and Joe Mortensen combined for 26 tackles, as both were key in run support. The Jayhawks came in boasting an average of only 80 rushing yards allowed per game this season. Against their toughest test yet in terms of the ground game, they held the Buffaloes to just 66 yards, putting the game in the hands of Cody Hawkins. Though Hawkins threw for 287 yards, he couldn’t make enough plays late and was frazzled completely on Colorado’s final possession of the game.

43.8: Kyle Tucker appears to be back. The senior punter, who struggled most of last season and for the better part of this year, averaged 43.8 yards on his five punt attempts tonight. He said this week that he’d fixed whatever glitch it was keeping him from showing off his powerful leg consistently, and none of his punts were more important than his last. After being forced to punt for a third time in a crucial situation to set Colorado up for its final drive, he blasted one back into KU territory while standing at his own five-yard line.

48: Sticking with special teams, Scott Webb passed his first test in terms of a long field goal this season. In his first attempt of over 40 yards, he drilled a 48-yarder with plenty of distance to spare. He continues to be the Jayhawks’ most consistent weapon when it comes to the scoreboard.

Just in case you missed it…

KU’s pass rush was at its best against Colorado, sacking Cody Hawkins three times and registering seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage. James McClinton had a sack and an interception, true freshman Jake Laptad had back-to-back plays before halftime with a tackle for loss and a sack while Jeff Wheeler had a big QB takedown of his own on Colorado’s final chance with the ball. The men up front were a big reason James Holt and Joe Mortensen could roam free and combine for 26 stops.

Hopefully, you didn’t miss it…

KU’s possession in the third quarter following the Buffaloes’ first scoring drive of the game truly established who was in control of this one. Todd Reesing likened it to the situation earlier this month at October, having to score in response to an opponent drawing blood. Jake Sharp had a couple of big gainers, Marcus Henry had a tough 27-yard gain over the middle and Sharp capped it by slamming into a pair of Colorado defenders at the goal line and pushed forward for six points. It was a quick drive, taking just 1:23 off the clock, and it had the Buffaloes’ defense spinning. While it didn’t fully give momentum back to KU, it kept CU from taking it, which was just as important.

They said it…

Mark Mangino on his team making a statement: “I’m not gonna say whether we’re for real or not. You watch the games, you see if we’re for real.”

Mark Mangino on his team closing out a road conference game in the fourth quarter for the second time: “This is a new team. This 2007 team is a new ballclub. This is a different temperament, the team has a different mentality than it had a year ago. It’s got a tough mental edge to it. We’ve got some hard-nosed, tough kids. You know, we have some talented kids, but the heart and soul of this team is the overachiever, hard-nosed kids. They’re the ones that really buckled down here tonight.”

Mark Mangino on Todd Reesing’s running ability: “He knows when to pull it down. He’s not fast in terms of a burst, but he has quick feet, and he can change direction on you. He’s one of those tough kids I’m talking about. He just gets it done. He finds a way.”

Mark Mangino on having consistency at the quarterback position this year: “It’s made a major difference. Our first five years, I can’t explain to you how difficult it is not to have a quarterback – all the injuries, problems at that position. Especially the injuries, it just ripped the heart out. A lot of people say we were 6-6 last year. With all the quarterback issues and problems, those kids, they did great to win six, to tell you the truth. But when you’ve got a quarterback that lines up every week, you’ve got continuity – it makes a world of difference.”

Jake Sharp on the offense grinding one out: “That’s just a sign of us being tough, I think, and just really wanting to do it – striving just to win. We did just enough as we needed to do to win the ballgame. We made just a couple more plays than them, and came out with the win.”

Joe Mortensen on not getting caught up with an unblemished record: “It feels good to be 7-0. We’re just a one-track mind right now. We’re on (Texas) A&M. We can’t really look ahead. We’re just going to try and win every game and see what happens at the end.”

Todd Reesing on responding to Colorado’s first scoring drive: “We had a very similar situation in what happened at Kansas State. They took the lead and it’s on our shoulders to go back and take it right back. Our offense, I think, when the pressure gets put on us, we really respond well. And that’s a tribute to all the guys workin’ hard and executing the plays.”

Todd Reesing on his second straight year with a big run against Colorado: “I guess that’s a coincidence. The one this time, we had a pass play on, and things were just kind of clouded. I took off and then made one good cut and it was open. And you know Derek did a great job downfield just driving that guy about 15 more yards, and if i was a little bit faster I think I may have scored.”

Aqib Talib on what’s different this year to be able to close out late leads: “We’re just more comfortable. Everybody who was on that field was on that field last year. We’re more comfortable, more confident when we’re out there, so we just got the job done.”

Aqib Talib on never feeling invincible as a team: “Once you go out there feeling unbeatable, that’s when you end up being upset. We just prepare, we work hard during the week and it pays off on Saturday…It’s coach, man. Coach (Mangino) keeps us focused. Coach makes sure he’s got a speech for us every week to keep us down to earth. Coach is doing his job right now, he’s keeping us focused, and he’ll continue to do that.”

Notable…

…KU became the first Big 12 North school since Nebraska in 2002 to open league play 3-0…This marked KU’s 10th win in its last 11 outings, dating back to 2006…KU now has back-to-back road victories since beating Oklahoma and Colorado in 1995…KU’s seven regular season victories are its most since winning nine in 1995…KU has now only trailed for 20 minutes and seven seconds in the 2007 season out of 420 minutes played…KU has held all three of its Big 12 opponents this year to under 100 yards rushing…Todd Reesing set the KU single season passing yardage record for a sophomore, now with 1,805 (previous record was 1,730 held by Chip Hilleary in 1990)…Reesing’s 84 yards rushing marked the first time a quarterback has led KU in rushing since Reesing did so against Colorado last year…KU shut out its opponent in the first half for the fifth time this season…KU is one of five unbeaten teams remaining in the FBS ranks, joining Ohio State, Boston College, Hawaii and Arizona State. Ohio State and KU were the only ones which played this Saturday.