Saturday Chatter | Newsletter Launch

Today, I'm releasing the first Hawk Digest Newsletter in PDF form. It's been a long-term goal to put together a weekly PDF during the season. The idea was just something fans could print out with a roster and starting line-up for game day. In theory, it's not too big of a deal. Throw together the standings, game schedules, rosters, line-ups, stats, etc. and drop it on the net for download. In practice, it takes a pretty good effort. KUathletics.com already offers several nice PDFs, but I thought we could consolidate it a bit. You'll find material posted on the HD site in the newsletter plus more. It's certainly not perfect and I'll be improving the design and tweaking the look throughout the season. Feedback is appreciated via the comments button below.

Hawk Digest Newsletter #1 PDF Download

(also can be found on the HD Newsletter link at the top of the site)

Now for our regularly scheduled Saturday Chatter info ...

Media Watch

Brian Hanni did an interview with Lee Corso this week on KLWN 1320. Corso continued to bash the Hawks for a "weak" schedule in 2007 and generally appeared to be un-informed about the 2008 KU squad. He spent most of the interview harping on how great Mizzou is -- occasionally referencing KU's tough schedule. Hanni noted after the interview that Corso appeared to be a little more "read up" on Missouri here in the early part of the year.

Mark Mangino mentioned that punt return skills were "just part of the story" for Daymond Patterson on his TV show this week. I'm looking forward to the rest of the book.

"The win over Mississippi State was probably one of the top two or three home wins in Joe Aillet Stadium history. Although MSU wasn't ranked, they had SEC caliber players across the board and were the more talented team overall. However, Tech outplayed them on special teams and were very opportunistic on defense. MSU had a vaunted defensive line, which got pressure, but did not get a sack on Tech's Taylor Bennett."
Jimmy Watson / Shreveport Times -- from an interview with KJ-IBT

"Phillip Livas is a one-man highlight show. You'll enjoy seeing him play. He had a big game last year against LSU and was a game-changer against MSU last Saturday. P.J. is a guy who can hurt you in a number of ways ... strong runner, good receiver out of the backfield and an excellent kick returner. Shane Womack, Philip Beck and Cruz Williams are a couple of other offensive playmakers who could make a difference."
Jimmy Watson / Shreveport Times -- from an interview with KJ-IBT

Jayhawk Quotes This Week

Mark Mangino -- On the Louisiana Tech defense:
“I think they are pretty sound fundamentally and assignment-wise. Their kids get where they need to be. Rarely on tape could you see them have an alignment bust on defense. They have corners that are good players that allow them to do things with their safeties and linebackers. They just play good fundamental football; the kind of football that coaches like to see.”

Ryan Cantrell -- On the team’s running game:
“Every team is going to try and key in on our run game. If you look at the stats from last year, you will see that the team went as our running game went. We have to run the ball, and I think that will be a major emphasis this week as we go and get prepared.”

Joe Mortensen -- On what the defense needs to improve upon:
“We want go get more turnovers. We are trying to lead the nation in turnovers. We got three last week, so four or five would be nice this week. We also want to get some big hits.”

Jake Laptad -- On the possibility of looking ahead to South Florida:
“I think it is pretty easy to stay concentrated, Coach Mangino keeps us level so we don’t get a big head.  So I think we are always really concentrated for the next game and the next game is always the most important game, as he always says, so we just try to focus on that. The next game.”

Caleb Blakesly -- On Louisiana Tech:
“I think Louisiana Tech is going to provide some challenges overall.  So far what we have seen on them they look like a pretty good team.  They beat Mississippi State.  They started the season out strong.  They come in with a lot of confidence and some momentum.  They have some real good skilled guys.  They look good as a team, but it is going to be the same as every other game.  We prepare and get ready for them like everyone else.”

Click here for more quotes from KUathletics.com 

Jimmy Watson / Shreveport Times

"The win over Mississippi State was probably one of the top two or three home wins in Joe Aillet Stadium history. Although MSU wasn't ranked, they had SEC caliber players across the board and were the more talented team overall. However, Tech outplayed them on special teams and were very opportunistic on defense. MSU had a vaunted defensive line, which got pressure, but did not get a sack on Tech's Taylor Bennett."

"Phillip Livas is a one-man highlight show. You'll enjoy seeing him play. He had a big game last year against LSU and was a game-changer against MSU last Saturday. P.J. is a guy who can hurt you in a number of ways ... strong runner, good receiver out of the backfield and an excellent kick returner. Shane Womack, Philip Beck and Cruz Williams are a couple of other offensive playmakers who could make a difference."

Game Day Preview: KU vs Louisiana Tech

Photo: www.annependleton.com

Series: Tied 1-1
Time: 6:00 p.m.
TV: FSN
Line: KU (-20.5)

Most Recent Meetings
2005 KU 34, LA Tech 14
1987 LA Tech 16, KU 11

The Rundown
After holding Florida International to just 2.5 yards per rush last week, the KU defensive line will step up from Sun Belt talent to WAC level talent when they take on Louisiana Tech tomorrow night. Throw in the fact that your talking about a WAC team that just knocked off SEC middleweight Mississippi State 22-14 last week and you like this matchup as a measuring stick for the d-line. Sure, most KU fans are focused solely on that offensive right tackle position and whether or not Jeremiah Hatch can help get the running game on track. That's a legitimate concern as well, but after last year, I have faith that Ed Warriner and John Reagan will get that worked out. So, that get us back to the d-line. If we want to play with the high-flying offenses of the Big 12, we need to improve over last year (minus James McClinton). Another solid game by the front line on defense will give us a peak into how far the Jayhawks can go in 2008.

The Key
From what I've heard, I guess the key is stopping Louisiana Tech's version of Daymond Patterson -- Phillip Livas. He wears #6 and is listed at 5-7/170 on the Tech website, but everyone has been raving about him all week. Evidently, Georgia Tech transfer QB Taylor Bennett can whip it around the field. That'll be a nice challenge for the secondary, though the word is the LA Tech wideouts actually struggled last week. RB Patrick Johnson is both a good runner and receiver.

The Bullets

• KU has been ranked 11 straight weeks in the AP poll. The longest streak ever for KU football
• KU has a 10-game home winning streak rolling right now
• Last week's 40-point performance was KU's lowest home output since the 39-20 victory over KSU in 2006 
• KU is 12-2 in the last 14 games played as an AP ranked team 
• Should Daymond Patterson be looking for Charles Gordon's freshman receptions record of 57? 
• All indications are that Jeremiah Hatch will start at right tackle 
• Kicker Jacob Branstetter has been cleared to play by the NCAA 
• The KC Star lists Johnathan Wilson, Kerry Meier and Dezmon Briscoe as the starters at wideout. We'll see. 

"Phillip Livas is a one-man highlight show. You'll enjoy seeing him play. He had a big game last year against LSU and was a game-changer against MSU last Saturday."
--Jimmy Watson, Shreveport Times from KJ-IBT

KU vs Florida International Chart Breakdown

  Behold the power of Excel as we get into the charts from last Saturday's Florida International. I love getting into the stats, but the reality is you gain the most just by watching the game. Generally, what seems to be happening is happening. Sometimes though, it's good to look a little deeper and see that the stats do back up what you thought you were seeing.

The main things I would note:

• KU's success on first down both offensively (4.82 yd ave) and defensively (2.58 yd ave allowed)
  
• FIU's conversion rates on third down -- 27% on 11 attempts for third and long  

 

Update on Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:14PM by DJ

"Generally, what seems to be happening is happening. "

hee, hee -- I actually put that in writing? Not my best work.

Welcome to the “Fun House”

This week we welcome a new writer to Hawk Digest -- ROWYHO. Enjoy!

Ahh, we made it!  Week one of college football has come and gone, and I for one am so happy that I can flip through the sports channels to find something other than a couple of steroid-juiced major league baseball teams deadlocked in a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning of a dreadfully boring baseball game. I like summer just as well as the next guy, but I love the autumn season and all that accompanies it with regard to sports.

Week one is usually the same story.  Inferior teams jam the non-con schedules for all the big name programs, and nine times out of ten, the more talented, stronger, better football team comes out on top and begins padding their records.  Occasionally, a big time program will let one slip away and it’s usually the week’s big story.  Usually, those slip up games are over-analyzed and printed until you can barely stand to stomach another article on the topic, and I hate that.  See Texas A&M, Pittsburg, and Virginia Tech this year.  But, at the risk of joining the very thing I hate, I must comment on the storied Michigan football program and their stellar start to this year’s football season.

WTF!  Are you kidding me?  Did they not learn their lesson last year?  I think if you get out your Webster’s and look up the Photo: Cherie0627 (FlickrCC)definition of “Embarrassment”, there is probably a picture of the Wolverines just after their loss to Appalachian St.  This year, Michigan hired the right coach to get things off on the right foot and make sure that never happens again.  Four million dollars later, Rich Rodriguez and his Wolverines suffer a season opening loss to Utah at the Big House, or I should say the “Fun House” when you consider the circus that is their home openers as of late.

Wow, money well spent boys.  True, Utah is a D-I football team and probably a pretty good one at that, but this is the almighty Michigan.  I’ve got to tell you there is a very noticeable shift in powers in college football, or at the very least true evidence of that old cliché-ish word “parity”.  And, it is very obvious that Michigan is not on the favorable end of that shift.

Note to the KU scheduler…Get on the home opener schedule at Michigan.  It will certainly improve your SOS and get those cupcake schedule naysayers and media jerks off your back.  And, if the last couple of years are any indication; it looks like a sure win.  Who wouldn’t want to celebrate that victory at the Big “Fun” House?  Just ask Appy St and Utah!  It’s a no-brainer!

Sound and the Fury: Husker Tradition vs Saturday Night Hamburgers

This one arrived a few weeks ago, but it was during the season previews.

Dear Hawk Digest,

Last night Alisha was talking to her step-dad (a huge lifelong Husker fan). Alisha mentions that we are going to try to go to the KU football rally tonight, and he immediately says let me talk to Randy.

He goes on to pose the following question. “Let me ask you this. If your football program has or is a “tradition”, why would you need to advertise to sell tickets?” Apparently, he heard a KU football radio advertisement that made some reference to “join the tradition , get your KU football tickets now!”

His argument was that you can’t call your program a “tradition” after one nice season of football. “Tradition” means your football program is so consistently good that your tickets sell themselves. A “tradition” is selling out nearly 300 consecutive games over umpteen years….See Nebraska.

I was caught off guard and extremely annoyed by his blatant attempt to tick me off just because he could. But, I tried to defend anyway.

I tried to make the argument about KU football and not Nebraska, because I think we can pretty much agree that Nebraska football is a tradition. I tried to use a generic definition of tradition. “Something that you do over and over again.” Just like it might have been my childhood tradition to eat a hamburger dinner every Saturday night growing up, KU has fielded a KU football team every Saturday since what, 1890? I tried to argue that success does not make a tradition, and he argued otherwise.

Frustrated, I ask him why would you start sh*t at 10:00 at night. Then, I just went on to say 76-39, see ya later putz!

His query ticked me off, but it was thought provoking. So, I’m interested in your take?

Sincerely,
Married into the wrong family in Lenexa


Dear Married/Randy,

Your mother-in-law must be involved in one of those May/December romances as it is pretty clear your father-in-law is about 22 years old. That must be weird for you.

For starters, your defense is perfectly acceptable. Tradition is not necessarily defined by winning. Still, KU has put together winning seasons over the decades just often enough to keep a KU football fanbase viable and eternally hopeful. Plus, as bad as it has been at times, the campus stadium with the view of Campanile has always made Kansas football games an awesome experience. It's easier to see now with capacity crowds on hand rockin' the joint, but it's always been there for those that could tough out some heartbreaking seasons.

Speaking of which, the old warhorse -- Memorial Stadium, represents a pretty big part of the KU tradition for me. Without opening up my media guide, it was built in the 1920's and actually expanded to seat 50k in the 1960's. That kind of capacity is middle of the pack now, but the fact that interest was that high forty years ago says something in itself. I know other programs that were playing in 30k stadiums into the 90s before expanding to 50k. A couple more bowl trips and Memorial will expand to over 65,000.

I've seen the college football venues that Notre Dame, Michigan, Mizzou, KSU, Florida State, Northwestern and TCU play in and I still contend that Memorial Stadium is my favorite football stadium. To me, it represents everything that a football stadium should be. Of course, I am biased and I know that's debatable even among KU fans, but I'll stand by that one until the end.

I should also mention Gale Sayers, John Riggins, Ray Evans, Fielding Yost, Don Fambrough, Pepper Rodgers, Nolan Cromwell, Don Carlos and on and on as part of the KU tradition. Put up against Nebraska football though, that doesn't hold too much weight. However, throughout the years, I've always been told about how great Nebraska fans are. My contention is that it's pretty easy to be a fan when you're smoking through the conference in an unbalanced competition. Put an NFL team in Omaha and start up a Nebraska State University back the middle of the last century and then I'll buy in.

So, I do have to admit that it's been during this decade that Nebraska fans have actually impressed me. Will you show up when the team is brutal? Oddly enough, the Corn fans still showed up to games and kept the sellout streak alive.* In fact, I was probably most impressed to see scattered pockets of Husker fans at Memorial Stadium near the end of last year's 76-39 beatdown.

Or, if you want an easy out, you can tell your croquet-challenged father-in-law:

"Tradition is as tradition does, Mr. Lollapalooza."

Good Luck!

*With a little corporate help, here and there.

Around the Big 12 - Week #1

Other than A&M, it was pretty good start for the conference. Wake Forest was probably not the best way to kick off the Art Briles Era for the Bears.

Big 12 vs BCS: 2-1
Big 12 vs All: 10-2

1-Oklahoma (1-0) #3, s = 86
The Sooners were up 50-0 at half time. The delay at halftime really helped out Chattanooga though as the second half score was 7-2. Cincy comes to Norman next -- 9-4 in 2007.

2-Missouri (1-0) #5, s = 22
There's going to be a lot of whining about the 42 points and 532 yards given up to Illinois; however, that's pretty much how the Tigers operate. They can win a shootout with just about anyone. The Tigers get to relax for a while now -- probably 'til October 18.

3-Kansas (1-0) #11, s = 88
The O-line needs to get better, but otherwise, the team looks to be on schedule. All of the sudden the LA Tech game takes on a whole different look. The Bulldogs knocked off the SEC's Mississippi St 22-14 -- an 8-5 bowl team last year with 15 returning starters.

4-Texas (1-0) #9, s = 11?
The Longhorns took care of business against Florida Atlantic 52-10. Now they prepare for a big long road trip -- all the way to El Paso for a matchup with UTEP (lost at Buffalo 17-42). UT only leaves the state of Texas twice during the regular season -- 10/4 @ CU and 11/15 @ KU.

5-Texas Tech (1-0) #13, s = 114
The Red Raiders hosted Eastern Washington and provided the usual offensive fireworks with a 52-24 win. I'm not sure that giving up 24 points convinces me that the defense is improved. They'll travel to Nevada next (won 49-13 vs Grambling).

6-Oklahoma State (1-0) #35, s = 106
Beating WSU 39-13 at a "neutral" site in Washington probably rates higher than the CU and Mizzou wins -- at least with me. Sure the Cougars were only 5-7 last year, but it's still basically a road win against the PAC-10. They get Houston (55-3 vs Southern) at home next week.

7-Colorado (1-0) #49, s =68
Every win in the non-con is a plus for the Buffs. They get Eastern Washington (see Texas Tech above) in Boulder next week before tackling WVU and FSU in Florida.

8-Nebraska (1-0) #58, s = 43
Okay, okay -- the Corn Meter is starting to rise a little bit. A nice 47-24 win over W. Michigan (5-7 in 2007). Those who would aspire to wear black shirts recorded four sacks and a pair of takeaways.

9-Kansas State (1-0) #64, s = 112
The Cats got all A's from the KC Star for their 45-6 win over North Texas so things are off and rolling in Manhattan. Louisville looked unimpressive yesterday so all of the sudden 4-0 is looking like a real possibility. Montana State comes to town next week.

10-Iowa State (1-0) #96, s = 113
The new uniforms are clearly working. The Clones beat up on South Dakota St. 44-17 last Thursday. Next they'll try to avenge last year's 14-23 loss to Kent St (0-1, 21-0 loss to BC). A nice early season measuring stick game.

11-Baylor (0-1) #89, s = 16
It wouldn't be any fun if it was easy right? The Bears will try to recover from the 41-13 home loss to Wake Forest by taking on FCS Northwestern State (4-7 in 2007).

12-Texas A&M (0-1) #105, s = 89
I don't really feel like A&M is the worst team in the conference, but how can you not put them here after losing 18-14 to Arkansas State (5-7 in '07) in College Station? Seriously, now you're making my Hawks look bad. It's supposed to be tough to win down there. Dropped from 46 to 105 in the Sportsline poll. Going on the road to New Mexico (0-1, 26-3 home loss to TCU).

# = CBS Sportsline Rank
s = CBS Strength of Schedule

KU's Daymond Patterson TD Video (FIU Game)

Inside the Tent: Kansas 40, Florida International 10

“It was unbelievable to play the first game of the season with the place filled up. Having the crowd loud and behind you is something special. I don’t think there has been a first game here in a while that has been sold out. It was a lot of fun and a good way to start the season.”
--Todd Reesing on the opening day crowd

From Row 46

• Daymond Patterson for Heisman. Hopefully, I'm the first one to get that in print.
• Seriously, when I saw #28 in the first open practice, he seemed to be on a different level and I came away thinking the kid could make an immediate impact. Of course, I also thought he was Eric Tyler.
• Kerry Meier had 9 catches for 62 yards. I'm not sure that is correct. I really thought he had 22 catches on that one drive in the first quarter.
• During my postgame comments, I was thinking that Jeremiah Hatch did get the start and Matt Darton came in later. The real media reports that Darton actually started.
• Even with the missed extra point, the offensive line play has secured the #1 spot on areas to be concerned about. They seemed to improve in pass protection throughout the game despite the heavy blitzing; however, 128 yards in rushing is not where we want to be.
• I think that Angus Quigley has got to be part of the first-half rotation next week. While the O-line is still developing, we need his drive-through-the-tackler power on the field. There's no reason to keep running Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford into a wall. I'd spread that over the three ball carriers until we sort out the run blocking. We know it takes a physical toll over the season for each back and we want fresh ball carriers in November. Besides, he earned it on the field (led all rushers with 47 yds) and I don't believe the blocking was any different than what it was for Jocques Crawford or Jake Sharp.
• Quigley critics will say that his technique is poor -- he doesn't keep his pads low. Okay, maybe ... I really don't care if he gets the yards. Plus, when he gets past the LBs, he makes it a point to punish the opponent DBs.
• The offensive tackles obviously struggled, but I liked what I saw from the defensive tackles. Particularly enjoyed the pressure that Jamal Greene put on FIU's QB on the fourth and short in the first half. The FIU O-lineman could only hold onto the jersey as Greene bulled into the backfield to harrass the QB (no holding call).
• It may not be bad if Maxwell Onyegbule is used only as a pass rush specialist. It worked with Brandon Perkins.
• It seemed like we did have some more speed from the edge on the d-line. The jury's still out though.
• The style of this defense always catches me off guard. They really control the game and smother the opposition. I always compare that to the 2005 defense which really created more chaos. Both results are very effective, just interesting to once again note the difference.
• I saw absolutely no drop off on the defensive side of the ball. More confidence and possibly a stronger d-line overall.
• The Breeze starts off the year with nine catches and three TDs. Not too bad, but I'm surprised the yardage total was so low (55 yards)
• This is a fan's perspective, but FIU did seem better to me this year over last. Easy to say with the scoreboard improvement, but they've got some talent out there. Just not quite a cohesive unit yet on both sides of the ball. I'll be surprised if they don't pick up multiple wins in the Sun Belt.
• I know this is a cliche, but I'm pretty sure Alonso Rojas outkicked the coverage on that FIU TD return. That's a good problem to have. He can really boot it and it is possible that we can improve our field position advantage over last year.
• A 47-yard field goal by Rojas? Bonus.
• The kick return team seemed to struggle, but the FIU kickoffs were a little awkward.
• Todd Reesing saw a lot of pressure early. He's got a great ability to stay cool and at times excel in those situations. He was throwing a little high last night, which I'm sure he would like to avoid.
• The offense seemed to lose focus late in the third quarter as usual during these types of mismatch games. It really does seem to mirror the crowd attention span. As the crowd exits, so does the offensive intensity.
• Seems like I've been to Memorial for a lot of record-breaking attendance games, but it was impressive that we notched 52,112. I'll give the fans a win on that one. A little bit late arriving, but maybe we can blame K-10 construction for that issue. Let's talk about completing the north bowl.

Gameday - Kansas Jayhawks vs Florida International Golden Panthers

Photo: www.annependleton.com

Series: KU 1-0
Time: 6:00 p.m.
TV: None
Line: KU (-36)

The Rundown
The road to the national championship starts today.

The Key
Will  KU fans fill up the stadium? It's already a failure that the Jayhawk Nation was not able to create an advance sellout. We'll let them off the hook if it does sellout, but anything short of capacity tonight will count in the loss column for the fans.

The Bullets

• My main focus tonight will be watching the offensive tackles
• The parking point system is so jacked up now that what was once a tailgate of four groups for my crew, now has our group parked in four different locations. Collectively $8000 in donations and no one is happy. Doesn't matter though -- it's not about the tailgate. Just get me in the game.
• I'd like to see The Breeze (Dezmon B) catch every ball thown his way.
• On the defensive side, I'm going to be focused on Jeff Wheeler
• Our first extra point or field goal attempt of the day will probably occur in virtual silence as the KU fans will be chewing their fingernails
• I can't wait to see #3 carry the ball in live action
• I'm also curious as to who will actually be playing linebacker tonight.

Todd Reesing SI Video