The fourth-down decision was based on history and a gut feeling.

Kansas coach Mark Mangino elected to go for the end zone on fourth-and-8 with 9:20 left in Saturday's game against Nebraska. Quarterback Adam Barmann didn't get the time he needed and his pass to Charles Gordon was off the mark.

"I'd rather put the game in the hands of our defense than in our kicking game," said Mangino. "Johnny Beck hit two (field goals) tonight, so give him credit, and he didn't even know he was going to do it.

"I just have more faith in the defense than just kicking. But Beck gave us some encouraging signs."

Beck had been the starting kicker for Kansas earlier this season, but was replaced by Scott Webb last week against Texas Tech. Webb missed a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter and Beck came on Saturday to connect on field goals of 36 and 39 yards.

Barmann said Nebraska dictated the tempo on the fourth-down play.

"We were going to run a corner route to Gordon. I got flushed out of the pocket a bit and had to throw early," he said. "They were bringing the house a lot and that forced me to throw early. Nebraska brought a lot of pressure, so we were checking a lot. Our offensive line was solid, but it just didn't work out."

Mangino said there was no emotional call to arms in the huddle during the timeout before that fourth-down play.

"That's just in the movies. It doesn't work well for me," he said. "We were talking technical stuff. I like the route we called. They were in the coverage we anticipated. We just didn't connect it."

Barmann said KU had more opportunities to end a 36-game winning streak by Nebraska against the Jayhawks.

"It's frustrating. We're so close, just a few plays away," the senior said. "As a quarterback, you want your coach and offensive coordinator to have confidence in you and I love that. We just didn't execute down the stretch."

The Jayhawks resorted to trickery on their next-to-last possession. Facing fourth-and-14, Kyle Tucker dropped back into punting formation. Barmann took the short snap and took off to his right. He pitched the ball to Tucker, who was pushed out-of-bounds by Barrett Ruud for a gain of 4 yards.

The Husker offense didn't pick up a first down, but did run a little more than two minutes off the clock.

Kansas got one more shot, taking over at its 22-yard line with 1:05 left in the game.

Gordon figured heavily in the Jayhawks' plan. He picked up 8 yards on the first pass, recovered a fumble after John Randle caught a pass, then caught a 9-yard pass.

Barmann's last pass, to the end zone, was batted away by the Husker defense to end the game.

Mangino took no solace in the fact the Jayhawks led Nebraska twice. This was KU's third narrow loss this year, losing 20-17 to Northwestern and 31-30 to Texas Tech.

"There is never a moral victory. It's either a win or a loss," said Mangino. "This was a very hard-fought, knock-down, drag-out football game. Our kids stayed composed and played with poise. They  fought to the last second on the clock."

Gordon was all over the field for the Jayhawks. The sophomore got his first career interception in the first quarter and had a second in the fourth quarter. He forced a fumble, broke up a pass and had three tackles. On offense, he caught three passes for 21 yards and returned three punts for 22 yards.

Randle led the KU ground attack with 105 yards on 23 carries.

"We wanted to win. We didn't want to just come close," said Randle, a sophomore. "Nebraska's defensive line is very good. We could run on them some, but there were battles with our offensive line.

"They started stacking people in the box and that's how they stopped us. It doesn't really matter whether we're in the shotgun or the I-formation. We can run out of either."

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com