Kansas defense still proud after Texas loss

The Kansas Jayhawks (1-7, 0-5) fell just short of an upset victory at home on Saturday, falling to No. 23 Texas, 21-17.

The Kansas defense put together a tremendous effort against the Longhorns, who have one of the more explosive offenses in the Big 12 this season. The Jayhawks held Texas to just seven total points before the fourth quarter. The Longhorns took advantage of a short field to score on their opening drive of the game, before the Jayhawks defense took over and stifled quarterback David Ash and his weapons for most of the remainder.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter, when backup Case McCoy led the Longhorns to two fourth-quarter scores and the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, that the Kansas defense finally showed cracks.

Despite the loss, the Jayhawks defense is still proud of their performance on Saturday.

"I'm pretty proud of the guys," said junior linebacker Huldon Tharp. "We hung in there and played exceptional for the majority of the game. Unfortunately they made a few more plays than we did in the end, but as a whole we had a good game."

Tharp spoke of the defense's aggression and passion and how it would continue, with fellow linebacker Ben Heeny agreeing the team needs to build upon the performance moving forward.

"Our coaches are going to give us the best game plan to win," said Heeny. "They make the right calls. If we keep doing what they tell us to do, keep grinding, keep working hard and keep getting the extra work in we will see a win."

Kansas takes on Baylor at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday in Waco.