LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Sure, it was a loss. Nevertheless, McNeese State showed flashes of good things to come in a 42-24 season-opening setback on Saturday night to Kansas.
The offense accounted for 420 total yards, with 325 coming through the air. Cody Stroud threw for 215 yards and a touchdown on 22 of 27 passing. He also punched in a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. Backup Riley Dodge threw for 107 years and a touchdown on 9 of 14 passing.
“The way they was blitzing us, we thought that would be effective,” Stroud said. “We mixed in some screens, threw probably five or six different types of screens, and with them sending the blitzes like they were trying to stop the run game, it opened up a lot.”
That was the extent of the Cowboys’ success. They allowed the Jayhawks to run for 301 yards on 55 carries.
Head coach Matt Viator said coming into the game that his team needed to get ahead early to force Kansas into throwing the ball, but Kansas jumped out to a 21-3 lead with 1:51 remaining in the first half.
“Unfortunately, we got behind and we couldn’t get them out of just running the ball and throwing play-action,” Viator said.
It also didn’t help the Cowboys’ cause that they accumulated penalties in key situations. On two third downs, McNeese State stopped Kansas, but because of penalties, the drives were kept alive and Kansas was able to score two touchdowns.
The Jayhawks looked snappy and much faster than last year, when they struggled to a 3-9 finish in Gill’s first season, beginning with a shocking 6-3 loss to North Dakota State.
Webb, who started seven games in an injury-marred 2010 season, attempted only 10 passes, but completed seven for 146 yards.
Pierson, a true freshman, went 47 yards on his first carry to set up a touchdown and 13 yards into the end zone the second time he touched the ball. He had 73 yards on five carries.
After getting stopped cold on their first possession, the Jayhawks went 84 yards in eight plays on their second, with Webb hitting Daymond Patterson on a 25-yard scoring pass following Sims’ 30-yard scamper up the middle.
The Jayhawks took a 21-3 lead into halftime following Sims’ 1-yard touchdown run and Pierson’s 13-yard carry out of a wildcat formation.
The Cowboys scored on their first possession of the second half, rolling 76 yards in 12 plays. Stroud flipped a short pass to Champlain Babin, who got two excellent blocks while going into the end zone. Babin had five catches for 108 yards.
The Jayhawks answered with Shepherd’s 56-yard catch-and-run. Shepherd and Kale Pick seemed to be running the same route, and both had their hands up. But Shepherd, a couple of steps behind Pick, was the one who pulled in the ball.
Dodge, on fourth and 14, found a wide-open Wes Briscoe for a 32-yard scoring pass in the third quarter. Then back came the Jayhawks, with Sims getting a short touchdown run for a 35-16 lead early in the fourth.
Stroud connected with Babin on a 60-yard pass play, then got into the end zone two plays later. He hit Damion Dixon for a two-point conversion that made the score 35-24 with 8:32 to go before Webb hooked up with Shepherd on another long scoring pass.
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