Great Games in KU Football History: 2007 vs. K-State

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to when times were good. Yep, the past, that place where KU football wasn’t a habitual laughingstock, where it wasn’t a disgrace. This series will explore the games that made us proud to be a Jayhawk football fan. And what better time to flash back to than that magical 2007 season that led to the Orange Bowl win the following January.

October 6, 2007 was the first time a KU team had gone to Manhattan and won for 18 years. The last time they did so, both teams were pathetic. That game was a tossup as to who would be the doormat of the Big 8. By 2007, times had changed.

KU was 4-0 and had destroyed Florida International, Toledo, Southeast Louisiana, and Central Michigan. K-State was the first test, and they passed it with flying colors.

But it wasn’t easy. K-State started off the scoring in the first quarter with a 68-yard completion from Josh Freeman to Jordy Nelson, and at that point it looked like more of the same for KU football.

KU running back Jake Sharp ran one in from 20 yards out early in the second quarter and we were all tied up. K-State responded with a rushing TD of their own, and it looked like KU would trail at the half. Nope. That’s when KU remembered they had a man named Todd Reesing on the team. After an interception that eventually amounted to nothing for K-State, Reesing took over. He connected with Aqib Talib (?!?!?!?!?) for the tying touchdown with just 11 seconds left on the first half clock.

KU then took a 21-14 lead late in the third quarter with a 28-yard TD pass from Reesing to Dezmon Briscoe. K-State tacked on a late field goal to trim the lead to four going into the fourth quarter.

Things looked like more of the usual in Manhattan after a K-State TD gave the Wildcats a 24-21 lead, but again, that man Reesing came to play, and he wasn’t leaving without a win.

A touchdown pass to Dexton Fields (missed two-point conversion) with six minutes to go in the game gave KU the lead they would never surrender. Chris Harris had a key interception, and Scott Webb nailed a field goal with just over two minutes remaining and the Kansas defense did the rest. With just over a minute to go and K-State driving, Aqib Talib intercepted a Josh Freeman pass and sealed the game for KU.

Kansas 30, Kansas State 24. KU was 5-0 for only the second time in 39 years.