SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Kansas 38,
Southeast Missouri 16
@Western Kentucky 31,
Eastern Kentucky 17
KANSAS 38, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 16
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Southeast Missouri (0-1) dropped its season-opener to Football Bowl Subdivision and Big 12 Conference member Kansas, 38-16, Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
SEMO forced three turnovers in the game and was within a touchdown of KU twice in the first half.
It took just 45 seconds for KU to score its first touchdown of the 2017 season. Peyton Bender threw a 77-yard pass to Steven Sims who dashed to the end zone giving the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead on the third play of their opening drive.
A pair of penalties backed SEMO up to its own 14-yard line and KU took over on downs with excellent field position at the Redhawks 34-yard line following a punt. Six plays later, Chase Harrell made a one-handed grab in the end zone on an 8-yard fade from Bender to push KU's lead to 14-0 with 8:57 to play in the first quarter.
SEMO forced two consecutive turnovers after that.
Omar Pierre-Louis jabbed the ball loose from punt returner Tyler Patrick and Omardrick Douglas recovered at the KU 24-yard line.
On third-and-8, Jesse Hosket hooked up with Trevon Billington on an 8-yard completion for SEMO's first touchdown of the season. Billington's first career catch and score cut the Jayhawks lead to 14-7, capping a 5-play, 24-yard drive with 8:52 remaining in the second quarter.
KU faced third-and-9 when Shabari Davis intercepted Bender's pass at the Jayhawks 48-yard line the next time it had the ball. That turnover, however, resulted in a SEMO punt.
The Jayhawks scored once more in the final 54 seconds of the first half when Bender threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sims widening KU's lead to 21-7 at the intermission.
SEMO held KU on its first drive of the second half and began the third quarter in great field position at the Jayhawks 35. The Redhawks settled for a 45-yard field goal by Nicholas Litang, the first of his SEMO career.
The Jayhawks answered with two touchdowns on its next three drives after Litang's field goal.
Bender's 32-yard completion to Ben Johnson helped set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Dom Williams at the end of a 3-play, 54-yard drive.
Bender then found a wide open Ben Johnson for a 57-yard strike downfield on the first play of KU's ensuing drive. Those two scores, which came in a span of three minutes, gave the Jayhawks a 35-10 advantage.
KU recovered a SEMO fumble and used a 25-yard field goal by Gabriel Rui to up its lead to 38-10 early in the fourth quarter.
A 41-yard rush by Marquis Terry set up the final touchdown of the game, a 22-yard pass from Hosket to Kristian Wilkerson with 12:17 to go.
Bender completed 23-of-37 passes for 364 yards and four touchdowns and Sims added four catches for 142 yards and two TDs to lead KU. The Jayhawks racked up 437 yards of total offense for the night.
Hosket threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 25-of-44 passes en route to his third game with multiple TD passes in four starts.
Terry rushed for a game-high 87 yards on 23 carries.
Wilkerson was one of nine different Redhawks with a catch. Wilkerson made a career-high nine receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. Billington followed with four catches for 44 yards.
Defensively, Davis and Al Young each intercepted a pass for the first time in their careers, while Douglas notched his first career fumble recovery.
Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference and All-American linebacker Chad Meredith paved the way with six tackles. Meredith, who now has 182 career tackles, took over sole possession of eighth among SEMO's all-time career leaders in tackles for loss.
Mike Ford followed close behind with five tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Ford, who missed the last four weeks of the 2016 season, made his first start since Oct. 22.
Joe Dineen led all tacklers with 15 stops.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 31, EASTERN KENTUCKY 17
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University held Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Western Kentucky University at bay for much of the first half and stayed within striking distance for most of the second half, but lost 31-17 on Saturday at Houchens-Smith Stadium in Bowling Green.
Two touchdowns over a two minute and 36 second span early in the fourth quarter allowed the Hilltoppers (1-0) to build a cushion they would need throughout the game.
A two-yard touchdown run by D’Andre Ferby with 14:56 left in the second quarter got WKU on the board. A 66-yard touchdown toss from Mike White to Lucky Jackson at the 12:20 mark allowed the home team to build a 14-0 lead. The Hilltoppers led 17-0 at the break.
Midway through the second quarter, Luder Jean Louis forced a fumble with a sack and Eric Reed scooped up the ball and raced deep into WKU territory. The Colonels started the drive at the Western 36 yard line. An eight-yard third down pass from Tim Boyle to Neiko Creamer came up a yard short and EKU was stopped on a fourth down run to end the drive.
Eastern Kentucky threatened to put together a scoring drive in the final minute of the first half. A 15-yard pass from Boyle to BK Smith on the first play moved the ball to midfield. However, the drive was doomed by a bad snap and the Colonels were forced to punt.
EKU put together a scoring drive to start the second half. On the second play of the drive, Boyle connected with Ryan Markush for a 50-yard gain to the WKU 22 yard line. Three plays later, Boyle found Smith for 10 yards on a 3rd-and-4 play. On the next play, Boyle hooked up with Markush in the left corner of the end zone for six. Lucas Williams added the extra-point to make it a 10-point game, 17-7.
Another third quarter scoring drive allowed the Colonels to cut the margin to 10 again, 24-14. Boyle engineered a 14-play, 76-yard drive that took 6:19 off the mark. Boyle went 6-for-10 on the drive, capping it with another scoring toss to Markush. This time he found the senior wide receiver from 10 yards out with 2:12 left in the quarter. Jason Lewis gained 23 yards on the ground during the drive.
Eastern strung together another long scoring drive midway through the fourth quarter. The Colonels had to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Williams to draw within 14, 31-17, with 5:03 left in the game. The drive covered 56 yards in 13 plays and used 4:39 off the clock.
The Colonel defense forced WKU to punt on its next possession and got the ball back with 3:05 left in the game. The offense moved the ball again, driving to the six yard line before time ran out.
Boyle finished 29-of-46 for 320 yards. He tossed two touchdown passes and did not throw an interception. Markush caught seven balls for 107, including two scoring receptions. LJ Scott had a team high 25 rushing yards on eight carries. Jean Louis and Taquan Evans each finished with 1.5 sacks.
White went 20-for-31 through the air for Western Kentucky. He totaled 264 yards and through one touchdown pass. Jackson caught five passes for 144 yards. Marquez Trigg led the ground game with 61 yards on 16 carries.