TCU’s Gary Patterson praises KU coach Clint Bowen

TCU coach Gary Patterson, who has his team in the running for the inaugural College Football Playoff, is a Kansas native and a longtime observer of the state’s two FBS programs.

After TCU’s 34-30 victory over Kansas, Patterson was asked if KU interim coach Clint Bowen should be hired on in a full-time capacity.

“He cares about KU,” Patterson said, “that’s the ultimate No. 1. The same thing happens with (Bill) Snyder at Kansas State; he cares about Kansas State. I think Kansas people deserve somebody like that. I think that’s the kind of people they are here; they want somebody who’s going to care about them (and) also be a good ball coach.

“Unless they find somebody better out there, but to me it would be hard to be any better than what they played today.”

Fake works for KU

That successful fake field goal by KU? It was not planned. When Kansas lined up for a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter, holder T.J. Millweard was supposed to put the ball down for sophomore kicker Matthew Wyman. But when the snap was low, and Millweard bobbled the ball, his quarterback instincts took over. A transfer quarterback from UCLA, Millweard rolled to his left and found senior tight end Trent Smiley for the first down.

“(I) just tried to stick it in there on Trent,” Millweard said, “and Trent made a great play, and he deserves all the credit.”

The first down kept the drive alive, and Kansas finished it off with a touchdown, cutting TCU’s early lead to 7-6 midway through the first quarter.

Mundine stays hot

Senior Jimmay Mundine continued a torrid stretch with seven catches for 137 yards on Saturday. Mundine racked up the most yards by a Kansas tight end since 1974. He was also the first KU tight end to go over 100 yards since 1995, when Dwayne Chandler accomplished the feat. The highlight came on a 67-yard catch-and-run in which Mundine ran through a bevy of would-be tacklers.

“I didn’t want to get tackled tonight,” Mundine said. “I feel like the game really slowed down for me today.”

Tribute for seniors

The Jayhawks honored 21 seniors during a ceremony before the game, including 13 starters. Among those seniors was starting right guard Ngalu Fusimalohi, who missed the game after being injured last week. He was replaced by true freshman Junior Visinia, a Grandview native.

This story was originally published November 15, 2014 at 10:02 PM with the headline "TCU’s Gary Patterson praises KU coach Clint Bowen."