Fort Worth Bowl
2005
Kansas 42
Houston 13
FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jason Swanson started the season hurt. He ended
it by leading the Kansas Jayhawks to their first bowl victory and first
winning season in 10 years. Swanson threw for 307 yards and four
touchdowns, one more than he had in the regular season, and the Jayhawks
beat Houston 42-13 Friday night in the Fort Worth Bowl.
Houston, with record-setting quarterback Kevin Kolb, came in as the team
touted for its high-powered offense. Instead, the Jayhawks (7-5) had a
season-high 538 yards and won for the fourth time in five games. all
since Swanson became the starter.
Tailback Jon Cornish turned two shovel passes, his only two catches from
Swanson, into scores of 13 and 30 yards. He also rushed for 101 yards on
16 carries. Brian Murph, who hadn't returned a kick all season, turned a
muffed punt into an 85-yard score in the first quarter that put the
Jayhawks ahead to stay (video). He also
caught a 48-yard TD pass.
After leading Conference USA with 457 total yards per game during the
regular season, Houston (6-6) was held to a season-worst 244. That was
126 yards below their previous low.
Kansas had been in only one other bowl since a victory over UCLA in the
1995 Aloha Bowl capped a 10-2 season. The Jayhawks lost 56-26 to North
Carolina State in the 2003 Tangerine Bowl that ended Mark Mangino's
second year as coach. "It's a winning season for the first time in 10
years. Our players worked hard to achieve that," Mangino said. "It was a
good day for us."
Swanson started his fifth straight game, going 19-of-29 and earning MVP
honors. The senior hurt his leg during the preseason, but took over
after Adam Barmann and Brian Luke struggled.
Houston has lost six straight bowls since winning the 1980 Garden
State Bowl. The Cougars' previous postseason appearance was a 54-48
triple-overtime loss to Hawaii in the 2003 Hawaii Bowl that ended coach
Art Briles' first season at 6-7. The Cougars slipped to 3-8 last year.
Kolb, a junior, started his 36th straight game and already is the career
total offense leader at the school where David Klingler and Andre Ware
also threw passes. Kolb was 20-of-44 for 214 yards with three
interceptions, all turned into scores by Kansas. Kolb had a 1-yard sneak
for Houston's only touchdown, and Ben Bell (32 yards) and T.J. Lawrence
(44 yards) kicked field goals.
"This year was a lot of fun, we came together as a team to get ourselves
into a bowl game," said Cougars sophomore Donnie Avery, who had five
catches for 71 yards. "This is a setback, but we'll be back in a bowl
game next year."
Charlton Keith got between Kolb and his intended receiver on a quick-out
pass in the fourth quarter. He jumped up and grabbed the pass, then
sprinted 14 yards and dived into the end zone (video).
Theo Barnes had two interceptions for the Jayhawks. The first set up
Cornish's 30-yard TD in the third quarter (video),
and the second led to Murph's TD catch with 9 minutes left for the final
touchdown.
Five minutes into the game, Murph muffed a punt. The ball rolled
several yards away from him before he picked it up, circled around
several defenders and ran all the way to the left sideline. He then cut
back across the field and slipped past a tackler into the open for the
longest Kansas punt return since 1971.
Swanson had completions of 31 and 19 yards on the first two plays, but
the Jayhawks didn't get another first down on the opening drive. The
Cougars then went three-and-out before Justin Laird's 57-yard punt that
Murph muffed. Cornish's first TD came in the second quarter (video).
Mark Simmons added a 32-yard score in the third when he caught Swanson's
pass near the 20, then was free when he twisted inside and the defender
slipped (video).
Kolb is sacked by KU
Murph on punt return
Attendance: 33,505
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
KU- Murph 85 yd punt return (Webb kick)
Second Quarter
UH- FG Bell 32
KU- Cornish 13 yd pass from Swanson (Webb kick)
UH- Kolb 1 yd run (Bell kick)
Third Quarter
KU- Cornish 30 yd pass from Swanson (Webb kick)
UH- FG Lawrence 44
KU- Simmons 32 yd pass from Swanson (Webb kick)
Fourth Quarter
KU- Keith 14 yd int. return (Webb kick)
KU- Murph 48 yd pass from Swanson (Webb kick)
Individual Statistics
Passing
KU- Swanson 19-29-307
UH- Kolb 20-44-214
Rushing
KU- Cornish 16-101, McAnderson 7-41, Swanson 7-33
UH- Kolb 9 8 , Battle 3-8, Gilbert 9-7
Receiving
KU- Gordon 6-86, Simmons 5-77, Murph 4-78, Cornish 2-43
UH- Avery 5-7, Briles 4-36, Gilbert 3-41, McGilvray 3-29
