• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Reesing leads Kansas over Sam Houston State

Sep 21, 2008 - 4:12 AM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Todd Reesing tossed two touchdowns and ran for another as 19th-ranked Kansas recorded a 38-14 victory over Sam Houston State on Saturday.

Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe each hauled in a TD reception for the Jayhawks (3-1), who racked up 528 yards from scrimmage.

Reesing completed 23-of-38 passes for 356 yards, while Angus Quigley and Jocques Crawford each added a rushing score for Kansas.

"We got the run established early," Reesing said. "We hit some big plays, so we didn't have a chance to get a drive going through running plays. I thought Angus and Jocques both ran the ball well. I thought we did a better job, but we still have a lot of improvement to make."

The Jayhawks were heavily favored against their FCS opponent, but the Bearkats managed to keep the score close for most of the night behind former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar, who passed for 340 yards and a score with a rushing TD and two interceptions.

"I thought that Sam Houston State did a good job of coming here and being prepared, and they played really hard and really well," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "I thought we played OK. I don't think there was anything that was remarkable about our play tonight. I think we got a win, which is a key thing, but we still have areas that we must improve in before Big 12 Conference play."

After a scoreless first quarter, Kansas was able to pull away on the arm and legs of Reesing. The junior opened the scoring with a one-yard TD plunge early in the second period.

Reesing was just warming up, connecting with Meier on a 68-yard TD strike and finding Briscoe for a 57-yard score later in the quarter. The Jayhawks took a 21-7 lead into the break.

Crawford scored on a two-yard run, but Bomar answered with a 46-yard TD pass to Justin Wells to close the deficit back to 14 points.

"I told (my team) that I was proud of their effort and I appreciated the way they played," Sam Houston State coach Todd Whitten said. "I thought that they played hard. We really got a handle on some things and know what we need to work on."

After Jacob Branstetter's 24-yard field goal late in the third quarter, Kansas sealed the victory with 9:24 to play on Quigley's one-yard rushing score.

Meier made eight catches for 136 yards and Briscoe added five for 124 as the Jayhawks converted 11-of-17 times on third down.

"That was a bright spot," Mangino said of the third down conversions. "That was something that we did well. We still have to be able to put ourselves in situations where we're not in a lot of third-down situations. We get ourselves in a lot of third-down situations that I don't like."