Jayhawk report: Texas 23, Kansas 0
First quarter
Key play: On Kansas' opening drive, QB Montell Cozart threw a red zone interception that stopped a golden scoring chance. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Key stat: Cozart completed one of five passes.
Second quarter
Key play: After another Cozart interception late in the half, Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes ran 7 yards for a touchdown, giving the Longhorns a 13-0 lead at halftime.
Key stat: Cozart had three interceptions.
Third quarter
Key play: Inside the Texas 5-yard line, Cozart missed on a fourth-down fade route intended for receiver Nigel King. Charlie Weis said he liked the one-on-one matchup.
Key stat: Both teams went scoreless.
Fourth quarter
Key play: Early in the quarter, Texas kicker Nick Rose hit a 42-yard field that appeared to put the game out of reach.
Key stat: KU finished with 140 passing yard.
Report card
Offense: F. Start with the good: Junior running back De'Andre Mann had a quietly solid game, rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries. The rest of the effort bordered on pathetic. There were 82 plays and zero points.
Defense: A-. On Texas' three touchdown drives, the Longhorns combined to move the ball just 58 yards. The defense was even better than some of the surface statistics show. Linebacker Ben Heeney was his usual self, making 10 tackles.
Special teams: C. Punter Trevor Pardula had a nice game, but the Jayhawks could really use a spark in the return game. Two punt returns totaled just 5 yards. And Texas had a big return to set up a score.
Coaching: C-. On the one hand, KU's staff put the Jayhawks in position to hang with Texas. And the defense was stout. On the other hand, it's still perplexing that the passing game can be this bad.
Player of the game: Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley finished with six catches for 81 yards and also had a crucial punt return that set up Texas' first touchdown.
Reason to hope: The KU defense is getting better. Texas is not a juggernaut offense, but the Jayhawks held them without a long, sustained drive for pretty much the whole game.
Reason to mope: In year three under former NFL offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Kansas' passing offense has the same, crippling issues.
Looking ahead: KU will head out on the road to face West Virginia, a team it defeated in Lawrence last season.
Notes
Close to the vest — Perhaps the game plan seemed a little vanilla, but KU coach Charlie Weis said the KU staff intended to be as conservative as possible going into Saturday’s game against Texas.
Weis said he expected to be able to win a low-scoring game if the Jayhawks limited their turnovers and were effective in the red zone. Instead, quarterback Montell Cozart finished with four interceptions and the Jayhawks came up empty twice in the red zone.
“We played today to win the game in the teens or 20s,” Weis said. “That’s the game we were playing. Now, how many colleges go in saying, ‘Hey, let’s win a game 24-17?’ People don’t do that anymore. But that’s kind of who we are.”
▪ Weis vehemently protested what he thought was a missed holding call during Texas’ second touchdown — a 7-yard run from quarterback Tyrone Swoopes in the second quarter. Weis said he thought a KU linebacker was grabbed on the play.
“Whether I’m right or wrong,” Weis said, “I felt our linebacker who was going to make the play, I felt he got grabbed.”
▪ Starting right guard Mike Smithburg and starting right tackle Damon Martin both returned to the field after missing last week’s victory over Central Michigan. Smithburg, who had an appendectomy, last Wednesday, played just 10 days after the procedure. Martin returned from illness.
▪ Attendance watch: KU announced Saturday’s attendance as 36,904. That brings the three-game season average to 36,100.
▪ The Jayhawks wore their new Crimson Chrome uniforms for the first time — an all-red attire that was unveiled during the preseason.
Rustin Dodd
This story was originally published September 27, 2014 at 9:11 PM with the headline "Jayhawk report: Texas 23, Kansas 0."