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Reesing helps Kansas topple Minnesota in Insight Bowl

Jan 1, 2009 - 5:20 AM TEMPE, Arizona (Ticker) -- Todd Reesing completed 27-of-34 attempts for 313 yards and four touchdowns to punctuate his record-breaking season as Kansas doubled up Minnesota, 42-21, in the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium on Wednesday.

Despite losing four of its final six contests, Kansas (8-5) recorded consecutive bowl berths for the first time in school history thanks to the efforts of Reesing.

The junior broke four single-season records, surpassing previous marks in completions (302), attempts (460), total yards (3,683) and yards passing (3,575). He also helped the Jayhawks end the regular season with a 40-37 upset of then-No. 12 Missouri on November 29.

"We knew coming in that Reesing was a really outstanding football player," Minnesota coach Tim Brewster said. "We got around him, we got him hemmed up and he showed how good a football player he is. We didn't get him on the ground near as much as we needed to. He made plays with his feet and he is a heck of a football player."

Jake Sharp rushed for 65 yards and two scores and Dezmon Briscoe notched 201 receiving yards and three touchdowns to pace Kansas, which has won three consecutive bowl games for the first time ever.

"I want to say how proud I am of our players," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "I thought offense and defense collectively tonight played extremely well. The offense controlled the clock in the first half and got points up, and the defense made key stops even though they had bad field position at times."

Eric Decker reeled in nine receptions for 151 yards and one scoring strike for Minnesota (7-6), which was outscored, 143-55, in dropping the final four games of the regular season to finish 3-5 in the Big Ten. It had won its first four contests.

"Yeah, I think this year was kind of a good year for us," Decker said. "We started off strong and we got to learn how to finish. I think Coach Brewster said it. In the offseason we need to get bigger, faster, stronger, and add some athleticism and have that mentality we will finish every game we play.

"I am exciting for next year because like he said, everybody is back and we are so young right now. I think we will just get a lot better in the offseason."

The Golden Gophers competed in their second straight Insight Bowl. They fell to Texas Tech, 44-41, on December 29, 2006 - a game during which Minnesota led Texas Tech, 38-7, midway through the third quarter, only to watch the Red Raiders pull off the biggest comeback in major-college bowl history.

Regardless, Brewster sees this losing effort as a stepping stone.

"I am pleased with what we added to our offense," Brewster said. "I think we will get better as we move forward. Our players were excited about putting their hand on the ground and coming off the ball and doing some things that way."

Entering the second knotted at 14-14, Reesing connected with Briscoe and Jonathan Wilson in an eight-minute span to put the game out of reach before the half.

Kerry Meier notched 11 receptions, 119 yards and a TD, but his biggest splash came when he tossed a scoring strike to Briscoe in the third, giving the Jayhawks a commanding 35-14 advantage.

"It didn't hurt throwing a touchdown pass," Meier said. "I guess it has been a while since I did one of them. I was as excited to get the chance to throw them around. If I had to say overall (between throwing one or catching one), I would probably say the touchdown throw. I have caught a couple this year and to get one thrown, it was a nice thing."

Minnesota found itself down by a touchdown just 11 seconds into the contest. On the game's first snap, Reesing rolled out of the pocket and found Briscoe down the left sideline for a 60-yard TD.

Jon Hoese then converted back-to-back rushing touchdowns to give the Gophers a 14-7 lead, but Meier registered his receiving score off a 4-yard pass from Reesing to forge a tie and begin the Jayhawks' offensive run.

"Overall, very proud of these kids," Mangino said. "It has been a really tough year because of the conference we play in - just a tough conference and we've played a lot of good football teams.

"But at the end of the day, we're proud to be part of the Big 12 Conference and looking forward again to getting started and pursuing the games next season as soon as we get back from holiday break."