For just over nine minutes in the first half, Kansas had a football team. Back-to-back drives of 80 and 67 yards yielded a field goal and the first touchdown of the Mark Mangino era. Overall, the Jayhawks showed improvement over last week, but the rest of this game was simply awful. Kansas was the only Big 12 team to lose Saturday.

Like last week at Iowa State, Mangino and company had an absolutely miserable first half. The offense accounted for minus 14 yards and just one first down.

The defense, as usual, played well, but UNLV benefitted from excellent field position. The Rebels’ two scoring drives of the first half were all of 53 and 42 yards.

Eight first-half penalties against UNLV kept three different Kansas drives alive – two of which resulted in Jayhawk scores. The last, the third 15-yard defensive pass interference call, resulted in several beer bottles being thrown onto the field.

Kansas could manage no offense the first four times they had the ball. That fourth time they started on the UNLV 34 after a shanked punt. They were able to advance thanks only to one of the Rebel penalties, and Johnny Beck missed a 32-yard field goal try wide left.

Head Coach Mark Mangino substituted freely throughout the half, including Canadian John Cornish on kick returns.

With just over nine minutes left in the half, Kansas finally got its act together, thanks to Bill Whittemore, Clark Green and Mark Simmons – none of whom were starters at the beginning of the year.

Three big back-to-back plays built this drive: a 17-yard pass to freshman Simmons, an 18-yard Whittemore scramble and a 21-yard pass to Green.

After Whittemore punched the ball over the UNLV goal line with 7:16 remaining, the defense held the Rebels to a three-and-out to get the ball back. Whittemore led the offense on its second long drive of the game, helped this time by veterans Byron Gasaway and Brandon Rideau.

This drive stalled in the red zone, but Johnny Beck finally found his good kicking leg and put through a 30-yard field goal. Kansas went into halftime down by only four points, and full of momentum.

On the first play of the second half, Green ripped off an 11-yard run, and it looked like the momentum was still with the Jayhawks. After that play, the third quarter greatly resembled the first, as Kansas could get nothing else going.

After surrendering two touchdowns and a field goal to UNLV, Kansas found a little more offense of their own. A 39-yard pass to Rideau set up Johnny Beck’s second field goal of the game.

In the closing minutes, Whittemore again drove Kansas down the field, completing seven passes in a row at one point. The drive covered 93 yards over 12 plays – against the Rebels’ second defense. A short pass to Marcellus Jones capped the drive and made the score seem a little more respectable.

On the plus side, Kansas did not turn the ball over all night. A defensive highlight was Greg Cole’s block of a Rebel field goal attempt.

Up next for Kansas is Division I-AA Southwest Missouri State for the Jayahwks’ home opener September 14.

How they scored

First Quarter

6:46 Joe Haro 9 run. A shanked punt by Curtis Ansel gave UNLV possession at its own 47. Haro carried five times for 33 yards on the seven-play, 53-yard drive. Dillon Pieffer kick. (UNLV 7, KU 0)

Second Quarter

9:25 Jason Thomas 6 run. After KU was forced to punt from its own 8, UNLV took over at KU’s 43. The key play was an 11-yard run by Larry Croom, who was hit out of bounds by a KU defender. That personal-foul penalty moved UNLV to the KU 11. Two plays later, Thomas capped the four-play, 42-yard drive with a run to the left side. Pieffer kick. (UNLV 14, KU 0)

7:11 Bill Whittemore 2 run. KU came up with three straight big plays: Whittemore’s 17-yard pass to Mark Simmons, an 18-yard run by Whittemore and a 21-yard run by Clark Green. After a pass interference call on UNLV, Whittemore capped the seven-play, 80-yard drive. Johnny Beck kick. (UNLV 14, KU 7)

:18 FG. Beck 30. Two big third-down plays helped KU slice the halftime deficit to four points. First, Whittemore completed a 21-yard pass to Byron Gasaway on third-and-four from the KU 26. Later, UNLV was called for pass interference for the third time in the half on third-and-10 from the 28. KU’s 14-play, 67-yard drive stalled at the 13, setting up a kick by Beck, who had missed from 32 yards late in the first quarter. (UNLV 14, KU 10)

Third Quarter

10:47 FG. Pieffer 44. A pass-interference penalty against KU and a 15-yard reception by Troy Mason keyed an eight-play, 37-yard drive. (UNLV 17, KU 10)

:44 Thomas 19 run. Thomas completed a 34-yard bomb to Earvin Johnson to set up his own TD run on a five-play, 64-yard drive. Pieffer kick. (UNLV 24, KU 10)

Fourth Quarter

11:47 Steven Costa 3 pass from Thomas. An 82-yard punt by Ansel set Iowa State up at its own 15, but UNLV drove 85 yards in seven plays. Croomsparked the drive with a 49-yard run to the KU 22, and Thomas completed a 13-yard pass to Deon Burnett. Thomas tossed the TD pass three plays later. Pieffer kick. (UNLV 31, KU 10)

5:47 FG. Beck 30. KU’s 12-play, 78-yard drive included Whittemore’s 39-yard pass to Brandon Rideau. (UNLV 31, KU 13)

:45 Marcellus Jones 23 pass from Whittemore. KU finished with a 12-play, 93-yard drive. Whittmore completed 8-of-10 passes on the drive, including a fourth-down pass to Simmons that kept the drive alive. Beck kick. (UNLV 31, KU 20)