LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Todd Reesing threw for 368 yards and Aqib Talib set a team record with a 100-yard interception return, leading unbeaten Kansas past Florida International 55-3 Saturday night and handing the Golden Panthers their 16th loss in a row.
Reesing tossed a 19-yard TD pass to Derek Fine and also scored on a 9-yard run as the Jayhawks, with four straight blowouts, got off to just their second 4-0 start in 26 years. The only Big 12 team to play all four nonconference games at home, Kansas has outscored Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International 182-23.
Reesing was 23-for-37 and erased Kansas’ one-game passing record for a sophomore, which he’d set with 313 yards the week before. The Jayhawks had 615 yards of total offense, tying for fifth-best in school history. Florida International had 255.
Talib, an all-Big 12 cornerback who’s also scored four touchdowns in the last five games as a part-time wide receiver, leaped high into the air to pick off Wayne Younger’s pass about 2 yards deep in the end zone.
He started down the sideline, picked up several blocks, then cut back all the way across the field and sprinted out of Younger’s lunging tackle attempt to score the Jayhawks’ sixth touchdown. It goes into the books as a 100-yard return.
Altogether in Kansas’ hot start, Reesing has hit 73 of 125 passes for 1,119 yards and 11 TDs. He has yet to play in the fourth quarter. He finally threw his first interception when a pass bounced off Talib as he took a hard hit and floated into the arms of Cory Fleming in the third quarter.
Florida International (0-4) dropped to 5-22 since becoming a major college program in 2005. The Golden Panthers’ losing streak is the longest currently in major college football.
The Jayhawks seized a 7-0 lead before their offense took the field when Raymond Brown blocked a punt and Dakota Lewis fell on the ball in the end zone. It was the Jayhawks’ third special teams TD this season.
Brandon McAnderson rushed for 105 yard on 13 carries and scored on runs of 5 and 23 yards for Kansas. Jake Sharp scored on a 2-yard run and Jeff Webb kicked two field goals.
Chris Abed’s 42-yard field goal got the Golden Panthers on the board in the first quarter, the only points Kansas has allowed in the opening period all year.
Add A Comment