Game report: Kansas 34, Southeast Missouri 28
First quarter
Key play: KU quarterback Montell Cozart floated a perfectly placed touch pass to Nick Harwell in the corner of the end zone, pushing the early lead to 17-0 after the extra point.
Key stat: KU’s 24 points in a quarter were the most since 2010.
Second quarter
Key play: Senior cornerback Dexter McDonald kept Southeast Missouri off the scoreboard, intercepting a pass in the end zone in the final minutes of the half.
Key stat: Cozart completed eight of 11 passes.
Third quarter
Key play: Senior receiver Tony Pierson hauled in a pass, spun off a defender and raced 67 yards for a touchdown.
Key stat: McDonald notched his second interception.
Fourth quarter
Key play: With the game still in doubt, Kansas recovered a late onside kick after Southeast Missouri State cut the lead to 34-28 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Key stat: KU rushed for 261 yards on 41 carries.
Reason to hope: Four words: Offensive coordinator John Reagan. For one night, Kansas’ new spread offense showed some real promise. Now what happens when the competition improves?
Reason to mope: KU officials announced the attendance as 36,574, the lowest for a season opener at Memorial Stadium since 2003 (27,775).
Looking ahead: The Jayhawks travel to face fellow basketball power Duke next Saturday.
Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com
Report card
B | Offense | You can question the competition, but the Jayhawks’ offense finally looked like a respectable unit. Cozart displayed some impressive chemistry with Harwell |
B | Defense | The Jayhawks held Southeast Missouri State without a first down for the entire first quarter. Senior linebacker Ben Heeney was active and dangerous in the middle of the field. |
B | Special teams | Sophomore kicker Matthew Wyman opened the scoring with a 43-yard field goal and had a 49-yard attempt blocked. It was a mild surprise: KU’s Charlie Weis had said that freshman John Duvic would handle field-goal duties. |
A | Coaching | After five straight losing seasons, you have to start somewhere. It wasn’t flawless, but the Jayhawks dominated at times. Something they really have not done over the past four seasons. |
This story was originally published September 7, 2014 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Game report: Kansas 34, Southeast Missouri 28."