Jayhawks drop to 0-9 after blowout loss to Texas

The night began with a gift. At just before 6:40 p.m., Kansas coach David Beaty stood in the northwest corner of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and clutched a black cowboy hat in his fingers. The hat — along with a pair of spurs — was courtesy of two University of Texas service organizations, a long-held ritual to welcome head coaches to the heart of Longhorn country for the first time.

Beaty held the gifts and thanked the Texas students, and 20 minutes after the pregame hospitality, the real baptism began — a painful, frustrating and, by now, altogether routine defeat playing out in front of Beaty and his staff.

On a cool Saturday night, Kansas’ season of nightmares continued in a 59-20 loss to the Longhorns. The Jayhawks dropped to 0-9 going into next week’s game at TCU. As Kansas lost its 37th straight game away from Lawrence, the specter of a winless season hung in the distance, three losses away.

This one felt like so many others, another road loss in a sea of them, more gallows humor during the long slog of a rebuilding project. Earlier this week, Beaty referenced the Royals’ World Series championship, saying he drew hope from that franchise’s trajectory and triumph. If so, this was Kansas City Royals, vintage 2006.

The Jayhawks were playing without senior receiver Tre' Parmalee and freshman receiver Steven Sims, two starters suspended for failing to meet a team “standard,” Beaty announced before the game. The Longhorns did not waste time taking control.

On Texas’ opening play from scrimmage, Longhorns quarterback Jerrod Heard flicked a deep ball to receiver John Burt, who hauled in the pass in stride and sprinted for an 84-yard touchdown.

In one moment, Heard surpassed his passing yardage in last week’s 24-0 loss at Iowa State, and the Longhorns had recorded the longest offensive play of the Charlie Strong era. That mark would last just another two quarters, falling when Texas running back D’Onta Foreman raced 93 yards for another touchdown.

But back to Heard. In his five previous games, Heard had proven to be a shaky passer. He had totaled just 325 passing yards during that span, and the Longhorns’ offense had suffered. On Saturday, he passed for 131 yards in the opening quarter — and finished with 231 yards on the night — as the Longhorns jetted to a 17-0 lead.

The Jayhawks would settle down, and quarterback Ryan Willis would settle in, leading the Jayhawks on a nine-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that sliced the Texas lead to 17-7. At times, Willis can look like an intriguing talent, zipping passes down the field and slicing up opposing defenses. At other times, he can look like a freshman, throwing two interceptions on the road while getting sacked six times through the first three quarters.

The Jayhawks still had a chance to claw within one score at halftime. On a crucial fourth-down play with more than 6 minutes left in the half, Beaty elected to go for it. The Jayhawks ran left, and running back De’Andre Mann was met at the goal line. As he pushed forward, the ball squirted out. The Jayhawks recovered the fumble in the end zone, but by rule, an offensive team cannot recover a forward fumble on fourth down. It was Texas’ ball.

The Kansas defense held again, and the offense threatened again. But with 30 seconds left, Willis was sacked at the 8-yard line. On the sideline, Beaty mulled the situation. He elected to to take the points, letting the clock run down to 3 seconds.

Moments later, the ball ricocheted off the right upright on a field-goal attempt, an image that best symbolized this Saturday night in Austin. It did not matter what decision the Jayhawks made. The ball still hit the upright.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Jayhawks drop to 0-9 after blowout loss to Texas."