• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sharp helps Kansas pull away late

Oct 11, 2008 - 9:56 PM LAWRENCE, Kansas (Ticker) -- Jake Sharp and Kansas did not need another furious comeback to defeat an unranked opponent.

Sharp ran for three touchdowns, including a pair in the fourth quarter on Saturday, leading 15th-ranked Kansas to a 30-14 Big 12 Conference victory over Colorado.

With the Jayhawks (5-1, 2-0 Big 12 North) leading, 16-14, Sharp scored on runs of 8 and 7 yards in the early stages of the fourth quarter to blow the game open.

It was the second straight hard-fought victory in two weeks over an unranked opponent for Kansas. Last week, the Jayhawks fell behind, 20-0, at the half to Iowa State before rallying for a 35-33 victory.

Sharp, who also opened Kansas' scoring with a 1-yard run in the second quarter, finished with 118 yards on 31 carries.

"He's a different type of running back than we've had in the last two years here," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "He doesn't run with the same style as the kids before him who rushed for over 1,000 yards."

Not to be overshadowed by Sharp's performance was the effort of the Jayhawks defense, which held Colorado to 233 yards total offense - nearly 100 yards shy of its 325 per game average.

Colorado (3-3, 0-2 North) opened the scoring with just over three minutes left in the first quarter when Cody Hawkins connected with Cody Crawford for an 11-yard score.

Kansas took a 9-7 lead on the next drive when sophomore defensive end Jake Laptad sacked Hawkins for a 16-yard loss in the end zone with 8:07 left in the half.

Hawkins was only 8-of-22 for 90 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

"He just lost concentration and did something he shouldn't have done," Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said.

On Kansas' second drive of the third quarter, Reesing hit sophomore Dezmon Briscoe in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard TD to make it 16-7. The Jayhawks' scoring drive covered 78 yards in 12 plays and took 5:25, as Briscoe caught his sixth touchdown of the season.

Reesing finished 27-of-34 for 256 yards and a touchdown.

Colorado's Josh Smith returned the ensuing kick 59 yards, giving Colorado's offense another short field as it drove 41 yards in four plays to make the score 16-14 with six seconds remaining in the third quarter.

During the drive, Hawkins connected with Cody Smith on a 38-yard pass before scoring on a 1-yard keeper.

That set the stage for Sharp's heroics in the fourth quarter.

"It's a tough game," Hawkins said. "We had a couple of opportunities early, but we didn't capitalize. When you play in the Big 12, you're going to play great teams every week."

Reesing orchestrated a seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive to make the score 23-14 with 13:07 to play. Reesing threw for 33 yards on the drive and rushed for nine, while Sharp ran for the final eight yards when he fought through Buffalo defenders for his second score of the game.

Following a punt in which senior Dexton Fields returned the ball 36 yards to the Colorado 43 yard-line, Kansas went on a six-play drive in which Sharp covered the final seven yards for his third score of the game to make it 30-14 with 10:29 to play.

"The more carries I get, the more confidence I get," Sharp said. "There is room for improvement."