Duke Falls to No. 22 Kansas, 44-16

Saturday, September 19

Lawrence, Kan.

12 p.m.

Duke University

Kansas

Duke Falls to No. 22 Kansas, 44-16

9/19/2009 3:30:00 PM | Football

By: Duke Sports Information

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The Duke football team dropped a 44-16 decision to 22nd-ranked Kansas on Saturday afternoon in front of 50,101 fans at Memorial Stadium.

The loss moves the Blue Devils to 1-2 heading into next week's Homecoming game against N.C. Central. Kickoff at Wallace Wade Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

On Duke's first snap from scrimmage in the opening quarter, quarterback Thaddeus Lewis hooked up with wideout Austin Kelly for a 66-yard gain to the Jayhawk 21 yard line. Following a timeout, Lewis darted 21 yards for a touchdown on a draw play to put the Blue Devils on top.

Kansas responded by driving 60 yards on seven plays for a 14-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Todd Reesing to wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe. The score would remain tied until late in the second quarter when Reesing found Jake Sharp for a seven-yard touchdown pass to cap a four-snap, 53-yard drive with just under five minutes left in the half. Duke's Charlie Hatcher blocked the extra point attempt to keep the score 13-7.

Following a Duke punt, the Jayhawks scored on a six-yard toss from Reesing to Kerry Meier with just 1:16 left before intermission and the teams went to halftime with Kansas ahead, 20-7.

The Jayhawks extended their lead to 27-7 just over two minutes into the third period when Maxwell Onyegbule returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown. The Blue Devils responded by marching 48 yards on seven plays for a 37-yard field goal by Will Snyderwine to make the score 27-10 with 11:21 remaining in the third quarter.

On their next possession, the Jayhawks drove 70 yards on eight plays to take a 34-10 advantage when Toben Opurum scored on the ground from three yards out. A 31-yard field goal by Jacob Branstetter with 23 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 37-10 in favor of the home team.

With 9:22 remaining in the fourth period, Duke marched 74 yards on 16 plays with quarterback Sean Renfree finding wide receiver Donovan Varner for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Duke's two-point conversion failed as Lewis' pass intended for Varner was deflected, keeping the score 37-16. Kansas accounted for the final margin with a three-yard scoring run by Opurum.

For the second straight week, Duke utilized a pair of quarterbacks. Lewis finished the day completing 16-of-27 throws for 184 yards while Renfree came off the bench to hit on 14-of-23 pass attempts for 115 yards. Kelly caught five passes for a career-high 98 yards while Johnny Williams had a team-high eight grabs for 75 yards.

Jay Hollingsworth and Patrick Kurunwune paced the Duke ground game with 38 and 28 yards, respectively. On defense, cornerback Lee Butler produced a career-high 10 tackles while safety Catron Gainey and linebacker Vincent Rey had eight stops apiece.

Reesing was 28-of-41 through the air for 338 yards and three touchdowns.