LAWRENCE, Kan. – Make Joe Alls ride an elevator every time he stays in a hotel.
Alls and his teammates were subdued for 20 minutes at the Overland Park, Kansas Marriott hotel, just before departing for Kansas’ Memorial Stadium to take on the Jayhawks. Alls promptly rushed for a career-high 161 yards, including 89 on two drives in the second half that put the game away as the Falcons rolled to a 39-16 victory Saturday night.
But don’t tell him it was the elevator ride that did it.
“That was hectic,” Alls said. “I heard Coach Meyer saying ‘Whatever you’re doing is not working,’ and that had me shook because I’m claustrophobic. I got 10 300-pound guys around me and I’m stuck. … I started sweating, I couldn’t breathe. It was hectic. Man, I’m not getting in the elevator anymore.”
Elevator ride or no elevator ride, Alls ran with authority and was arguably the difference in the game. He and the offense got off to their first slow start of the season, and in the second quarter, they found themselves trailing for the first time. But, after a big defensive touchdown followed by a break on special teams, the Falcons found themselves ahead once again. That’s when Alls took over.
Right out of the gate in the second half, Alls ran for 15, 15 and 11 yards on three runs, the latter of which gave BG a 29-9 lead.
“Coach Meyer told us that we have to score right out of the gate,” Alls said. “That was going to be a big part of the game, because it took their momentum out of play. We started to run the ball, the offensive line made the holes, and all I did was run through them.”
Alls praised that offensive line further.
“It was the offensive line that helped me to the career day I had,” he said. “It was Jon Mazur, Greg Kupke, Dennis Wendel, D’Monn Baker, Scott Mruczkowski, James Williams. … All I did was run, they did their job. I don’t think they could have done a better job.
Coach Meyer was ecstatic for Alls following the game “I’m really happy for Joe Alls,” he said. “I said two years ago that we need a 1,200-1,300 yard rusher in this offense, and we’re going to get us one. Hopefully, we can keep him healthy.”
Alls also passed for a touchdown on what the Falcons call the throwback. The play, which used wide receiver Cole Magner twice last week against Missouri, features a handoff, this time to Alls, to the strong side of the field. Alls, protected by the offensive line, stopped, looked back to the short side of the field, and found Josh Harris wide open for the score and a 22-9 Falcon lead.
“That was a lot of fun,” Alls said. “We went over that in practice, and we were well-prepared for that play. We called timeout, and coach Meyer said, ‘Hey, throwback, let’s run it right now.’ I got the ball, saw them in man coverage, and I hit him.”
Harris credited the change of pace and momentum in the game to the play calling and adjustments made after the Falcons’ slow start.
“We decided to calm down and go back to the basics,” Harris said. “We got out of our empty set and wanted to slow the game down with some running.”
