Game report: Texas 23, Kansas 0
First quarter
Key play: On Kansas’ opening drive, QB Montell Cozart threw a red zone interception that stopped a golden scoring chance. The ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Key stat: Cozart completed one of five passes.
Second quarter
Key play: After another Cozart interception late in the half, Texas quarterback Tyrone Swoopes ran 7 yards for a touchdown, giving the Longhorns a 13-0 lead at halftime.
Key stat: Cozart threw three interceptions in the first half.
Third quarter
Key play: Inside the Texas 5, Cozart missed on a fourth-down, fade route intended for receiver Nigel King. Charlie Weis said he liked the one-on-one matchup.
Key stat: Both teams went scoreless.
Fourth quarter
Key play: Early in the quarter, Texas kicker Nick Rose hit a 42-yard field goal that appeared to put the game out of reach.
Key stat: KU finished with 140 yards passing.
Player of the game: Texas receiver Jaxon Shipley, who finished with six catches for 81 yards and also had a crucial punt return that set up Texas’ first touchdown.
Reason to hope: The KU defense is getting better. Texas is not a juggernaut offense, but the Jayhawks held them without a long, sustained drive for pretty much the whole game.
Reason to mope: In year three under former NFL offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Kansas’ passing offense has the same crippling issues.
Looking ahead: KU will head out on the road to face West Virginia, a team it defeated in Lawrence last season.
| Rustin Dodd, rdodd@kcstar.com
Report card
F | Offense | Start with the good: Junior running back De’Andre Mann had a quietly solid game, rushing for 86 yards in 17 carries. The rest of KU’s effort bordered on pathetic. There were 82 total plays and zero points. |
A- | Defense | On Texas’ three touchdown drives, the Longhorns combined to move the ball just 58 yards. The defense was even better than some of the surface statistics show. Linebacker Ben Heeney was his usual self, adding 10 tackles. |
C | Special teams | Punter Trevor Pardula had a nice game, but the Jayhawks could really use a spark in the return game. Two punt returns totaled just 5 yards. And Texas had a big return to set up a score. |
C- | Coaching | On the one hand, KU’s staff put the Jayhawks in position to hang with Texas. And the defense was stout. On the other hand, it’s still perplexing that the passing game can be this bad. |
This story was originally published September 27, 2014 at 8:46 PM with the headline "Game report: Texas 23, Kansas 0."