Decision to kick deep costs Kansas in loss to No. 16 Oklahoma State

Clint Bowen made three big in-game decisions as Kansas’ interim head coach on Saturday.

Two of them worked. One backfired. Big time.

And it cost Kansas in a 27-20 loss to No. 16 Oklahoma State on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Kansas had just tied the game 20-20 with a 35-yard field goal by Matthew Wyman with 4 minutes, 56 seconds in regulation. On four previous kickoffs, the Jayhawks ordered Trevor Pardula to kick pooch — or “sky kicks” — to avoid the Cowboys’ dangerous kickoff returner Tyreek Hill.

This time, Pardula kicked it to the Cowboys’ 1, and Hill returned it 99 yards down the sidelines for the game winning score and his second kickoff return for a touchdown in two weeks.

“We wrestled with that,” Bowen said of kicking to Hill, a dynamic transfer from Garden City (Kan.) Community College. “For the most part, we had chosen the sky kick.

“That kid changes games. … He forces you to make decisions that affect field position the whole game. … When you choose the sky kick, they are taking over with good field position. We felt Pardula could get it there. He’s a special kicker. He probably didn’t get his best shot on that one.”

The return by Hill marked the second straight week Kansas, 2-4 and 0-3 in the Big 12, had allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and spoiled the home debut of Bowen, who replaced the fired Charlie Weis prior to last week’s game at West Virginia.

Kansas had a final shot at sending the game into overtime when it took over at its 20 with 2:04 to play. Junior Michael Cummings, making his first start of the season, moved the Jayhawks to midfield, but the drive ended with an interception by Oklahoma State’s Josh Furman with 53 seconds to play, allowing the Cowboys to improve to 5-1 and 3-0.

“I’m proud of the effort our kids came out and played with,” said Bowen, whose team trailed 20-7 at halftime and did not allow any points on defense in the second half. “They could have possibly let that thing get away, but fought, and we made it a game.”

In fact, Kansas could have upset a ranked team for the first time since beating Georgia Tech in 2010 had Bowen adopted to go for a couple of first downs instead of settling for two field goals in the second-half comeback.

In the third quarter with Kansas trailing 20-7, Kansas’ Michael Reynolds sacked Oklahoma State quarterback Daxx Garman, who fumbled at the Cowboys’ 15, and Kansas’ Keon Stowers recovered.

Facing fourth-and-goal at the OSU 4, Bowen ordered a 21-yard field goal by Matthew Wyman with 3:08 left in the quarter, even though the Jayhawks would still trail by two scores. On the previous two plays, Cummings had lost a yard rushing and threw an incomplete pass, giving Bowen a reason to doubt whether KU could punch it in from the 4

“The fourth and four … it just didn’t have a good feel,” Bowen said. “On third-and-four, the play kind of got blown up, and it didn’t feel like there was a smooth rhythm to things. We considered going for it. … We just felt taking the points and getting it to a 10-point game was where we wanted to go.”

The second decision was even tougher.

Trailing 20-17, Cummings appeared to have made a first-down with a third-down scramble to the Oklahoma State 17, but a replay review ruled he was about a half yard short. Kansas tried pulling Oklahoma State offsides on fourth-and-one, and when the Cowboys didn’t bite, Bowen called time and sent Wyman out for a 35-yard field goal that tied the game with 6:55 left in regulation.

“We just thought we had to tie the game,” Bowen said.

The tie lasted 12 seconds. Hill barely wrinkled his uniform in becoming the first player in OSU history to return kickoffs for touchdowns in consecutive games.

Naturally, some Jayhawks players wanted to go for the first downs, especially the fourth-and-one.

“I wanted to go for it bad,” said tight end Jimmay Mundine. “I was screaming, ‘Let’s go for it, let’s get the win now.’ But I understand … that’s not my role.”

Cummings, who thought he had picked up the first down, understood his coach’s decision to kick the field goal.

Until Hill returned the ensuing kickoff.

“If we can go back and change it, we probably would,” said Cummings. “But that’s one of those decisions you make in real time, and sometimes you end up on the bad side of it.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2014 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Decision to kick deep costs Kansas in loss to No. 16 Oklahoma State."