Recap: Texas-El Paso vs. Kansas
Posted September 13, 2009
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El Paso, TX (Sports Network) - Jake Sharp ran for 104 yards, caught six passes for 29 yards and scored three total touchdowns, leading the 24th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks to a convincing 34-7 win over UTEP.
Sharp was part of a vaunted Jayhawks (2-0) rushing attack that garnered 255 yards in the victory, their second this season after crushing Northern Colorado, 49-3, last week. Kansas also limited UTEP to four total yards on the ground.
Todd Reesing completed 25-of-41 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown and also threw an interception. Kale Pick added 87 yards rushing on two carries, while Toben Opurum had 62 yards on the ground with a score on 16 touches.
Dezmon Briscoe made eight receptions for 154 yards in the win.
Trevor Vittatoe threw for 187 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-25 efficiency for UTEP (0-2), which lost to Buffalo last week. Donavon Kemp caught three passes for 85 yards and a score, while Donald Buckram led an anemic rushing attack with 31 yards on the ground.
Jacob Branstetter's 21-yard field goal six minutes into the game was the only scoring of the first quarter, giving Kansas an early lead.
After a UTEP punt in the second quarter, the Jayhawks needed eight plays to go 71 yards for a touchdown. Reesing found Briscoe for 21 yards on 3rd-and-9 from Kansas' 30 and later hit him for an 14-yard completion down to the opposing 13-yard line. Two plays later, Sharp rushed in from one yard out for a 10-0 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half.
An interception later helped set up a Branstetter 24-yard field goal for a 13-0 edge, and Sharp added a five-yard touchdown reception with 1:21 remaining in the half to account for the 20-0 lead at the midway point.
The Jayhawks extended their lead further in the third, as Sharp ran for a three-yard score to cap a 24-yard drive that was aided by a solid punt return around the midway point of the frame.
Each team scored a touchdown in the fourth, although the game had long been decided. Opurum gave Kansas a 34-0 lead with a one-yard score to finish a 13- play, 80-yard march, and UTEP finally got on the board during the ensuing series on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Vittatoe to Kemp to account for the final score.
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