 "Photo: Sam Grenadier")
When Jamar Wall slammed Kansas running back Jake Sharp into the turf, sending the crowd and teammates into a frenzy, defensive end Brandon Sharpe’s thoughts became a reality.
“It started from the highlight film, when we see some good hits that we did during the season and stuff,” said Sharpe, who had 2.5 sacks in a 42-21 win against Kansas Saturday. “I was saying in my head, ‘I wanted to convert some of those to the game.’ I guess some of the guys heard me thinking. That hit was nice.”
And it showcased the defense’s renewed confidence and swagger that disappeared in a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M two weeks ago. The Jayhawks put up their lowest amount of offensive yardage all season, quarterback Todd Reesing was sacked six times and Kansas had three turnovers.
The rejuvenated effort from defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill’s group came on the heels of a nightmarish outing, in which the Red Raiders allowed more than 500 total yards to the Aggies — 321 on the ground.
Averaging only 2.2 yards per carry, Kansas amassed 71 rushing yards against Tech. The only bright spot for the Jayhawks was receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who had 110 yards and a touchdown on nine catches.
Tech middle linebacker Brian Duncan, who had a big hit of his own on Sharp, said the defensive unit made a conscious decision to play without disrespect — a problem against A&M.
“I think we most definitely respect these guys,” he said. “I don’t think last week we came out fully respecting. The fire in our hearts wasn’t there last week.”
Neither was a defensive touchdown, but cornerback LaRon Moore took care of that against Kansas.
He returned a fumble 32 yards for six points in the fourth quarter, marking the second time it has happened this season. Defensive end Daniel Howard took one to the house from 82 yards out against Nebraska, which was the last time Tech’s defense stepped up as the offense struggled.
“I believe we just gave back to fundamentals,” Moore said. “We gave back with fire, but we went back to the basics, worked on tackling, worked on pad level. We went out there and played with a passion. That’s what we lacked last week. We wanted to win the game, but we didn’t want to play hard during the game.”
Tech coach Mike Leach was particularly impressed with how Reesing, who eventually got benched, was flustered all game. He said it was nice to witness his defense get back to form after being stunned by the Aggies last week.
“I think it’s a big win,” he said. “I was proud of the way our defense stepped it up. Our defense had played really well for two weeks, and they played as bad as you could play last week. Then they played good this week.”
Especially Tech’s secondary, considering Reesing’s stature and the talent in receivers Kerry Meier and Briscoe. The Jayhawks punted five times and had 88 yards passing in the first half and 99 in the second, something Moore attributed to defensive changes that confused Reesing.
“I believe we just focused in on them and had different kind of coverages,” Moore said. “Reesing didn’t really know what we were doing. I believe we mixed it up a lot.”
Sharpe said it was one of the best outings for the defense all season and pointed to a speech made by linebacker Bront Bird that resonated with the team.
“Bront had a speech on (Friday night) about fighting and don’t be the one that’s gonna say you’re gonna fight and don’t fight and run off,” Sharpe said. “We all just stood in and fought with each other, had fun.”
The Red Raiders face No. 19 Oklahoma State next week at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.
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