LAWRENCE, Kan. — No. 8 Kansas is having so much fun in the present, the Jayhawks can’t be bothered with their mostly forgettable past.
For Nebraska, the present keeps getting worse.
Todd Reesing threw a school-record six touchdown passes and Kansas clobbered Nebraska 76-39 on Saturday. The Jayhawks kept themselves in the national championship picture while rolling up the most points ever scored against the hapless Huskers in their 117-year football history.
It was only the second time in its past 39 meetings with Nebraska that Kansas has beaten the Huskers, who appear to be coming to pieces in the fourth season of embattled coach Bill Callahan.
“People continue to look at the past history, and the past records teams have had against us,” said Reesing, who was 30 of 41 for 354 yards. “You can’t just look in the past. Our team doesn’t. We’re a whole new team.”
Reesing shattered Kansas’ single-season record with 23 touchdown passes and directed touchdown drives on 10 straight possessions as the Jayhawks (9-0, 5-0 Big 12) went to 9-0 for the first time since 1908.
Nebraska (4-6, 1-5) lost its fifth straight for the first time since 1958 while interim athletic director Tom Osborne watched from a pressbox suite. Osborne, who coached Nebraska to three of its five national championships, replaced Steve Pederson when Pederson was fired following a 45-14 loss at home to Oklahoma State.
“There’s really no words to explain this loss. They out-executed us in all phases today,” Callahan said.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino admits the Jayhawks are exceeding even his expectations. “I thought we had a chance to have a really good football team,” he said. “Those kids have stepped up and developed and here we are.”
Brandon McAnderson ran for 119 yards and tied a school record with four rushing TDs for Kansas, which was picked fourth in the Big 12 North.
“Coach Mangino has instilled an attitude us this is KU 2007,” McAnderson said. “When you put it like that, history doesn’t matter.”
The previous record for points given up by Nebraska was 70, to Texas Tech on Oct. 9, 2004 — Callahan’s fifth game as coach.
“You would never think a team would score 76 on you,” Nebraska safety Bryan Wilson said. “We came in with a good scheme. We thought we could take advantage against them in some areas.”
The average score in Kansas-Nebraska games from 1971-2000 was 47-7 and only once since 1974 had Kansas even come into the game with the better record. Yet, this year the unbeaten Jayhawks were 20-point favorites.
Playing before a Memorial Stadium record crowd of 51,910, Kansas scored on its last seven possessions of the first half and its first three of the second.
In what must be another embarrassing note for Nebraska, Reesing could be in line to become the fifth player in a row named Big 12 offensive player of the week after playing the Huskers. eesing, a sophomore who has not thrown an interception in his last 128 attempts, still has not lost as a college starter.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
