The 2008 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the school's 119th year of intercollegiate football. The team was looking to continue the success of the prior season in which they lost only a single conference game and went on to win the Orange Bowl. In the ninth week, after defeating Kansas State 52–21, the Jayhawks became Bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive year, a school record. Also, for the first time in school history, Kansas made back-to-back appearances in a Bowl game after accepting the invitation to play in the Insight Bowl versus the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The team finished the regular season with a victory over their archrival, the Missouri Tigers (who was then ranked 13th in the BCS Poll), in the Border War. The Jayhawks concluded the season with an 8–5 overall record (4–4 in the Big 12 Conference).
The team was led by head coach Mark Mangino, in his seventh season, with Ed Warinner as the offensive coordinator for his second season (fourth year overall) and Clint Bowen (eighth year) in his first season as the defensive coordinator, having served the previous two seasons as co-defensive coordinator. Junior Todd Reesing returned to the starting quarterback position after a record-setting performance in the previous season.
After this season, Kansas went into a lengthy downfall, the team would not return to a bowl game until 2022, and would not record a winning season until 2023.
They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
Schedule
Following the, season the NCAA ranked the Jayhawks schedule as the seventh toughest in NCAA Division I FBS, out of 119.NCAA Toughest Schedules
Roster
KU dismissed junior cornerback Anthony Webb in June for violating team rules. At the same time, senior defensive tackle Todd Haselhorst left the team for health reasons. KU lost three running backs in August. Carmon Boyd-Anderson transferred to Southwest Baptist University. Donte Bean and Kyle Winkley left the team for Washburn University. Sean Ransburg did not qualify academically for the fall. Kicker Stephen Hoge quit the team in mid-August. Tight end and defensive end Kevin Glover left the team for personal issues.
2008 Kansas Jayhawks football roster (starters in bold) Quarterbacks 5 Todd Reesing – Jr. 17 Tyler Lawrence – So. 19 Kale Pick – Fr.
Running backs 1 Jake Sharp – Jr. 3 Jocques Crawford – Jr. 6 Rell Lewis – Fr. 15 Sean Ransburg – Fr. (DNQ for fall) 22 Angus Quigley – Jr. 23 Tyler Hunt 31 Steven Foster – Fr.
Wide receivers 2 Raymond Brown – Sr. 4 Gary Green II – Sr. 9 Raimond Pendleton – Jr. 10 Kerry Meier – Jr. 13 Marcus Herford – Sr. 18 Xavier Rambo – So. 19 Reece Petty – So. 27 Willie O'Quinn – Fr. 28 Daymond Patterson – Fr. 30 Kyle Winkley – Fr. 36 Jack Dowdell – Fr 37 Micah Brown – Jr. 80 Dezmon Briscoe -So. 81 Jonathan Wilson – So. 85 Rod Harris – So. 88 Dexton Fields – Sr. 89 Tertavian Ingram – So.
Tight ends 11 A.J. Steward – Fr. 43 Ted McNulty – Fr. 42 Kevin Glover- So. 82 Nick Plato – Fr. 83 Tanner Hawkinson – Fr. 86 Tim Biere – Fr. 87 Bradley Dedeaux – So. Offensive line 50 Ryan Cantrell – Sr. 55 Justin Pessetto – So. 56 Kayl Anderson – Jr. (Long snapper) 59 Sal Capra – So. 60 Jose Rodriguez – Jr. 62 Alex Smith – So. 63 Ian Wolfe – So. 64 J.D. Hill – Fr. 66 Adrian Mayes – Sr. 67 Ben Leuken – Fr. 68 Carl Wilson – So. 69 Trevor Marrongelli – Fr. 70 Matt Darton – Sr. 71 John Williams – Fr. 73 Joe Semple – Fr 74 Jeff Spikes – Fr. 75 Nathan D'Cunha – Jr. 76 Brad Thorson – So. (TR) 77 Jeremiah Hatch – Fr. 79 Chet Hartley – Sr.
Defensive line 47 Maxwell Onyegbule – So. 78 Gary Draper – Fr 81 Russell Brorsen – Sr. 84 Jeff Wheeler – Jr. 87 John Larson – Sr. 90 Richard Alspaugh – Sr. 91 Jake Laptad – So. 92 Patrick Dorsey – Fr. 93 Darius Parish – Fr. 94 Caleb Blakesley – Jr. 95 D.J. Marshall – Fr. 96 Dustin Spears – Jr. 97 Richard Johnson, Jr. – Fr. 98 Duane Zlatnik – Fr. 99 Jamal Greene – So. Linebackers 8 Joe Mortensen – Sr. 12 James Holt – Sr. 38 Josh Richardson – Fr. 40 Mike Rivera – Sr. 41 Arist Wright – Jr. 45 Justin Springer – So. 49 Drew Dudley – So. 51 Dakota Lewis – So. 52 Steven Johnson – Fr. 53 Chris Heinz – Fr. 55 Nathan Sydney 56 Corwin Hicks – Fr. 57 Chea Peterman – Fr. 58 Jake Schermer – Jr. 61 Jordan Fee – Fr.
Cornerbacks 16 Chris Harris – So. 20 Taylor Lee – Fr. 23 Ryan Murphy – Fr. 24 Kendrick Harper – Sr. 27 Greg Brown – Fr. 29 Isiah Barfield – Fr. 30 Anthony Davis – Fr. 35 Corrigan Powell – Fr.
Safeties 7 Patrick Resby – Sr. 25 Darrell Stuckey – Jr. 26 Phillip Strozier – So. 28 Eric Tyler – Fr. 36 Tang Bacheyie – Sr. 39 Lubbock Smith – Fr. 44 Olaitan Oguntodu – So. 46 Justin Thornton – Jr.
Punters 18 Alonso Rojas – So. 22 Kyle Davis – Jr.
Kickers 14 Jacob Branstetter – Fr. 33 Grady Fowler – Jr.
Coaching staff
2008 coaching staffFront Office & Head coaches Head coach – Mark Mangino Director of football operations – George Matsakis Associate director of football operations – MaryKay Ulrich On-Campus Recruiting Coordinator – Rajeeb Hossain Director of sports medicine/head football trainer – Murphy Grant Head team physician – Dr. Larry Magee
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – Ed Warinner Wide receivers – David Beaty Recruiting coordinator/tight ends – Brandon Blaney Offensive line/run game coordinator – John Reagan Offensive graduate assistant – Tommy Mangino Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/safeties – Clint Bowen Defensive line – Joe Bob Clements Linebackers – Steve Tovar Cornerbacks – Je'Ney Jackson Defensive graduate assistant – Joseph Fowler
Special teams coaches Running backs/special teams coordinator – Louie Matsakis
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Chris Dawson Equipment supervisor – Jeff Himes
Game summaries
Florida International
The largest crowd in Memorial Stadium history (52,112) witnessed Kansas' first victory of the 2008 season. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing set career highs for passes attempted (52) and passes completed (37). Wide receiver Kerry Meier led Kansas with 9 receptions for 62 yards, and Dezmon Briscoe led Kansas with 3 touchdown receptions. Freshmen Punt Returner Daymond Patterson made an explosive debut with Kansas by returning a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. Despite the success of the passing game, Kansas struggled to run the ball, with primary running backs Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford being held to 29 and 32 yards respectively.
Louisiana Tech
Reesing continued his record-breaking ways from the previous week, throwing for a personal best 412 yards, after completing 32 passes on 38 attempts and 3 touchdowns. The running game again struggled as the Jayhawks rushed for 128 yards, but did not break the 100 yard mark until the 4th quarter. Junior running back Angus Quigley played most of the snaps in the second half, and led the Jayhawks with 84 yards. The defense played well, making several key plays and holding Louisiana Tech to no points. Key defensive plays included an interception in the end-zone by Chris Harris and safety Darrell Stuckey chasing down and tackling a Louisiana Tech player on a long break-away run, to prevent him from scoring a touchdown.
South Florida
Sam Houston State
Heading into the game against Sam Houston State, Kansas was ranked #19 in the AP Poll. This made the 14th consecutive week that Kansas was ranked in the Top 25 (dating back to 2007), a school record. Angus Quigley made his first start at running back for Kansas, rushing 16 times for 61 yards and a touchdown. Crawford had his best rushing game of the season thus far, rushing for 43 yards on 13 attempts and a touchdown. Kerry Meier led Kansas in receiving with 8 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown. After four weeks of play, Meier leads Division 1 in receptions for a wide-receiver. Reesing passed for 356 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas continued to emphasize the passing game. Reesing made several impressive scramble plays, one of these scrambles resulted in a 68-yard touchdown pass to Kerry Meier. Reesing in this game set the Kansas all-time record in touchdown passes with 47.
Iowa State
Heading into the game against Iowa State, Kansas was ranked #16 in the AP Poll. This made the 16th consecutive week that Kansas was ranked in the Top 25 (dating back to 2007), a school record. Coming off a bye-week, Kansas entered the game 17 point favorites. However, Iowa State started the game with a flawless performance. Iowa State Quarterback Austen Arnaud started the game with six straight completions and a touchdown as Iowa State took an early 14 to 0 lead. Iowa State then added two field goals in the second quarter to go up 20 to 0 at halftime. Kansas started the second half well when running back Jake Sharp caught at 67-yard touchdown pass from Todd Reesing. Kansas scored again with an Angus Quigley touchdown run that cut Iowa State's lead to six. On Kansas' next possession they found themselves with a 4th and 6 on the Iowa State 23-yard line. Kansas decided to go for it and Kerry Meier caught a touchdown on the play as Kansas took its first lead 21 to 20. In the 4th Quarter Dexton Fields caught a 50-yard pass, but Todd Reesing fumbled it on the next play. Arnaud then threw an interception and Kansas capitalized with a Jake Sharp touchdown run to go up 28 to 20. After Iowa State scored its first touchdown of the second half, Kansas responded when Kerry Meier caught a 21-yard touchdown to put Kansas up 35 to 26. Arnaud led Iowa State to another touchdown to cut the lead to 35 to 33 with 1 minute 15 seconds left in the game. Iowa State then recovered an onside kick, but failed to advance the ball. Kansas' victory was the third largest comeback win in school history. Reesing finished with 319 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Kerry Meier led Kansas in receiving again with 7 receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Jake Sharp had his best performance of the season with 79 yards rushing, 109 yards receiving and two touchdowns.
Colorado
Heading into the game against Colorado, Kansas was ranked #15 in the Coaches Poll. This made the 17th consecutive week that Kansas was ranked in the Top 25 (dating back to 2007), a school record. Before the start of the game Kansas Coach Mark Mangino asked the KU student section to refrain from an expletive kickoff chant that has become a student tradition. Despite Mangino's plea, the student section yelled the chant louder than ever. Colorado scored first with an 11-yard Cody Hawkins touchdown pass. Colorado got the ball back soon thereafter, but Hawkins threw an interception inside the red zone and the Kansas defense prevented another Colorado score. Kansas first got on the board with a Jake Sharp touchdown run in the 2nd Quarter. On Colorado's next possession, Hawkins was sacked for a 17-yard loss and a safety to give Kansas its first lead. Once again Kansas came out and played much better in the second half. In the second half Todd Reesing passed for his only touchdown to Dezmon Briscoe and Sharp rushed for two more touchdowns. Sharp's first start of the season was successful as he rushed for 118 yards on 31 carries and for 3 touchdowns. Sharp's performance was by far the best of any Kansas running back through the first 6 games of the season. Reesing had his most accurate game of the season, completing 27 of 34 passes for 256 yards and 1 touchdown. Wide receiver Kerry Meier had 9 receptions for 94 yards. A few hours after the Kansas win, the only other undefeated North team in Big 12 play, Missouri, lost to Oklahoma State. Kansas stood atop the Big 12 North with a record of 2–0.
Oklahoma