KU - Louisiana Tech Afterthoughts

Even with the chill & drizzle coming down, it was a great crowd for last saturday's Louisiana Tech game with an announced attendance of 48,621. The Hawks received the opening kickoff & took the ball right down the field, but had to settle for a Jacob Branstetter field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Branstetter, an Air Force transfer, was declared eligible by the NCAA late last week & saw his first action of the season. Branstetter finished the night hitting all three of his field goal attempts. He did miss on an extra point, but Mangino stated in his press conference yesterday that it was due to a dropped hold. He also remarked that he hadn't decided if Branstetter or Grady Fowler would handle the place kicking duties this friday against South Florida.

Todd Reesing continues his steady play. He is staying in the pocket more & giving all of his receivers a look before tucking the ball & making plays on his own. He ended the first half by completing 19 of 24 pass attempts for 215 yards. He only misfired one time during the second half and ended the night by connecting on 32 of 38 attempts for 412 yards along with 3 td's.

The running game continues to need improvement. Anqus Quigley led the attack with 84 yards on 15 carries. He did remind me of Brandon McAnderson at times the way would be tacklers seem to bounce off his legs. He is methodical in his running style and just seems to chug along once he breaks thru the line. Jocques Crawford is seems to be coming along slower than anticipated and all signs point to Quigley getting the bulk of the carries against South Florida.

I am going to call the Jayhawk receiving corp one of the best in the Big 12. They have a great mix of athletes who can do numerous things which help to compliment the passing game. Daymond Patterson started for the injured Dexton Fields and continued to turn heads with his 2 touchdown 130 yard performance. He makes people miss & has another gear to get by would be tacklers. Dezmond Briscoe took a short pass across the middle from Reesing in the third quarter & broke numerous tackles as he rumbled into the endzone for a 48 yard TD reception. Kerry Meier continues to be a possession type receiver who always keeps the chains moving.

Clint Bowen's defensive squad continues to shine as they have yet to have a TD scored upon them this season. They withstood a 22 play, 82 yard drive in the first-half to keep Louisiana Tech off the board. Darrell Stucky ran down a would be touchdown in the 3rd quarter after the speedster from Tech had sprinted for a 78 yard gain to the KU 2-yard line. Three playes later & a missed field-goal attempt helped preserve the Hawk shutout.

The Hawks go on the road to face a South Florida team that held on to beat in-state rival Central Florida. Friday's nationally telivised game will begin at 7:00 on ESPN2 & I am getting word that the athletic department is very pleased with the number of Hawk fans who will be making the trip to Tampa Bay for the game.