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Kansas hosts Sam Houston State in non-conference tune-up

Sep 20, 2008 - 10:06 AM Sam Houston State (1-0) at No. 19 Kansas (2-1), 7:00 pm EDT

LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Fresh off a tough loss at the hands of South Florida, No. 19 Kansas will attempt to recover with a home tune-up against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent that has never beaten a ranked FBS team.

That's exactly what Kansas (2-1) will get on Saturday when it hosts Sam Houston State (1-0) in its final non-conference game of the season.

The Jayhawks lost last Friday on a last-second field goal by South Florida kicker Maikon Bonani, who lifted the Bulls to a wild 37-34 victory. It was just Kansas' second loss in its last 16 games.

Things will only get tougher for the Jayhawks as the season goes on, as they are two weeks away from kicking off a Big 12 Conference schedule that includes meetings with four teams currently ranked in the nation's top 12.

The Bearkats opened up their season with a 58-14 rout over East Central on August 28, and their history against FBS opponents has been just as lopsided - but in the opposite direction.

Sam Houston State's only two FBS victories came against Lousiana-Lafayette in 2000 and Lousiana-Monroe in 2001. On three previous occasions, the Bearkats have faced off against ranked opponents, most recently a 56-3 loss to then-No. 7 Texas in 2006.

One year earlier, they gave up 80 points to then-No. 25 Texas Tech in a 59-point loss.

The Jayhawks hope they can keep the blowout trend going on Saturday behind junior quarterback Todd Reesing, who has completed 73 percent of his passes this season (103-for-141) with nine touchdowns against just two interceptions.

In last Friday's loss, Reesing threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to help Kansas erase a 14-point deficit.