Memphis beats Kansas 55-23

There is an old theory in football that losing in a high-scoring shootout is more palatable than losing 10-3 in dull and monotonous fashion.

This is one of those theories, of course, that may be psychological hooey — something that only exists in the minds of football fans beaten down by years of losing. But after seasons of fielding anemic and impotent offenses — and years of teams that generally lost in boring fashion — it appears that Kansas could be a living test-case for the theory of (slightly more) entertaining losing.

Well, maybe for a half.

On a cool and idyllic night at Memorial Stadium, Kansas absorbed a 55-23 beating at the hands of the Memphis Tigers. The Jayhawks were eviscerated by Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, who completed 22 of 25 passes for 354 yards and two touchdowns. The KU defense coughed up an early 10-0 lead and was generally rendered ineffective. One week after a frustrating loss to South Dakota State, the Jayhawks dropped to 0-2 against a Memphis program that flaunted its nouveau riche status. Yes, this one stung.

“Every one of them are hurting,” Kansas coach David Beaty said, moments after leaving a quiet locker room. “Every one of them are dissatisfied. They’re disappointed. But from a discouraged standpoint, they know we got their back. They know we love them, and they know this is a process.”

The Tigers had lost 19 straight games against teams from power-five conferences. That didn’t matter. On Saturday night, there was little doubt which team was the more powerful program.

“They just ran their offense really well,” said junior safety Fish Smithson. “We’ve just got to trust in our coaching. Everybody has to do their job.”

In most tangible ways, it was similar to so many other Kansas losses the last five years. But if there was a distinction, it was this: At times, the Kansas offense showed a pulse. The pulse was perhaps not strong enough, and it faded for most of the second half. But at times, the Jayhawks looked liked the same offense that put up 576 yards and 38 points in its season opener.

Junior running back Ke’aun Kinner rushed for more than 100 yards for the second straight game. And the Jayhawks had 20 points by the early minutes of the third quarter. Was it progress? Well, that perhaps depends on your definition of the word.

“We’ve got to just get a little bit better every week,” Beaty said. “The deal is, that means we’ve got to not make the same mistakes. And we’ve got to not let other things pop up.”

Here’s an example: Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart hit on just 13 of 28 pass attempts, a sizable setback after a strong season debut. In the fourth quarter, Cozart gave way to juco transfer Deondre Ford. In the moments after the game, Beaty stuck by Cozart but said the quarterback job would continue to be evaluated.

Quarterback questions aside, any offensive optimism begs this question entering a bye week: Even if the Jayhawks’ offense is putting points on the board, what can be done about an inexperienced and overmatched defense?

The Tigers piled up 651 yards, methodically grinding down the Jayhawks with a balanced attack. Five different Memphis players rushed for touchdowns. Lynch, the Tigers’ 6-foot-7 quarterback, barely broke a sweat, completing passes to nine different receivers.

Some of Kansas’ defensive problems were expected. This unit has seven starters that had never started a Division I game before this season. And there is little to no experience beyond the first-string players. But here's the reality: When the Big 12 season rolls around, opponents such as Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma won’t care too much about how the Jayhawks got in this mess.

“We can’t use any of that stuff as an excuse,” Beaty said. “We’ve got to get the job done. We do have some young guys out there playing, there’s no doubt about that. But you know what? There’s a lot of young guys playing in college football nowadays.”

Saturday actually began with promise. Kansas built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of a Memphis fumble on its first play from scrimmage. The Jayhawks settled for a field goal after taking over at the Memphis 10-yard line. But one possession later, they stormed 73 yards in five plays and Kinner finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown jaunt.

That simply primed the pump for an offensive onslaught. Memphis poured on 17 straight points as Lynch dissected the Jayhawks’ secondary. The Jayhawks would manage a field goal to trim the deficit, but Memphis scored the final touchdown of the first half to push its lead back to 24-13. The second half belonged to Memphis and Lynch.

“After that first drive,” Beaty said. “I don’t think we got his jersey dirty.”

Seven days earlier, Beaty had departed Memorial Stadium on a quiet Saturday night after watching his team lose its season opener on a fumbled snap. The final moments of the South Dakota State loss burned, but in the moments after the game, Beaty took responsibility. And in a strange way, there were some encouraging moments in a loss to an FCS team.

On Saturday, Kansas returned to Memorial Stadium, hoping to hang with a rising Memphis program that was favored by more than 13 points. This time, there was less optimism to be gleaned.

“We’ve got 10 games left,” offensive lineman Jordan Shelley-Smith said. “It’s early in the season. There’s plenty of time to fix all the things that we can do. Because it’s about us.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 9:31 PM with the headline "Memphis beats Kansas 55-23."