Last week against North Dakota State, the fans at Memorial Stadium booed the Kansas Jayhawks as the clock wound down on their 6-3 loss.
So imagine the players’ surprise when many of those same fans rushed the field in the aftermath of their 28-25 upset against No. 15 Georgia Tech on Saturday.
What a difference a week makes.
Freshman running back James Sims became the first freshman in school history to rush for 100 yards in his debut, freshman quarterback Jordan Webb threw for three touchdowns in his first start and the Jayhawks (1-1) won their first game since Oct. 10, 2009.
Sims, filling in for injured freshman running back Deshaun Sands, ran for 101 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown run that would give the Jayhawks a 21-17 lead they would not surrender.
The performance was one of many unexpected breakouts against the Yellow Jackets, but sophomore wide receiver Bradley McDougald said he knew the true freshman had it in him.
“He is a great running back,” McDougald said. “He reminds me of Toben (Opurum) last year, that’s what the guys in the locker room were talking about.”
Other than a few snaps out of the Wildcat formation for sophomore quarterback Kale Pick, Webb had the keys to the car in his first career start. He finished 18-for-29 with 179 yards passing, three touchdowns and a hard-luck interception off a McDougald bobble.
Two freshmen, Webb and Sims, carrying the Jayhawk offense against the defending ACC champions. As the fans mobbed Webb and his teammates after the victory, the hope for what might develop in the next four years was on display for everyone involved.
“It was awesome. It was exhilarating,” Webb said. “It was just cool to see the fans back into it – hopefully. Hopefully they’re back into it every week. I think it’s going to be a fun year.”
The defense was able to contain the much-hyped Yellow Jacket (1-1) triple-option offense, limiting senior quarterback Joshua Nesbitt to a 33.3 percent completion rate. Nesbitt finished 5-for-15 with 116 yards passing and a touchdown, but the Jayhawks were able to subdue his true threat: the ground game. Nesbitt averaged 2.2 yards on 15 carries.
“When the other team fires the corner about every play, you probably should be able to throw one and complete it,” said Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson.
With Georgia Tech down to their final down, Nesbitt missed wide-open receiver and the Jayhawks were able to run out the clock on their first victory over a top-fifteen ranked school at Memorial Stadium since 1984.
Just as he told his team last week when they lost to their FCS opponent, Gill reiterated that this victory is just one game in a long road back to relevance for the Kansas football program.
“No, we didn’t prove anything,” Gill said. “It’s just one ball game. We’re here to be successful over a long period of time, many years. One game doesn’t define our program, two games doesn’t define our program.”