Sweet Justice

Since the 2007 Jayhawks are already being compared to the 1995 team, it's fair to go ahead and finally claim payback for that 41-7 blowout in Manhattan that tarnished what should have been a breakout 10-2 season. That demon has been released and now the Hawks can reach for more. The performance was hardly flawless -- Talib got beat early, Reesing threw some INTs, the receivers offered up several dropped balls and Pendleton struggled to field the ball on punts. The reality is -- like KSU -- this is still a team filled with underclassmen and they can improve throughout the season. Iron out the mistakes and the ultimate goal is attainable.

On Saturday, we saw a team that breaks the KU mold of "we would've won, except this play didn't go our way or the ref blew that one call." Sure, the usual fits of anti-Jayhawk karma struck the Hawks as they were establishing control of the game. The most notable one would be the swing pass that bounced off Dexton Fields and nearly struck a helicopter before dropping into the hands of KSU's Chris Carney. The Cat's scored on the ensuing short drive, but KU played with guts all day and pretty much displayed a confidence in demeanor for the entire second half. As a unit, they are starting to display the gunslinger attitude of quarterback Todd Reesing. He throws an INT, but comes back with both guns blazin' on the next series. Talib gets toasted by Nelson, but he brushes it off and makes several big plays throughout the battle. Dexton Fields pops one in the air that leads to a KSU touchdown, but takes it to the house on the next series for the game-winner. It's clear, this is a different breed of Jayhawk football team. Looks they focus in on winning no matter what happens.

Recap |  Notes |  Photo Gallery

From Section 430, Row 19

• The fourth and one play will be debated by KU fans. Certainly, our section felt that it was an error. At that point, I didn't feel like our defense quite had control of the KSU offense. From an overall points standpoint, sure the safe play is to kick the field goal. However, it was clear to me that either way three or seven points scored on that drive would not matter. No matter what, our defense was going to have to show that they could stop KSU if we were going to win -- so you really have no reason not to go for it. Ultimately, the defense did figure out the KSU offense and delivered when the game was on the line.
• Follow up to that play. Of course, I'm on top of the stadium and I haven't re-watched the play yet, but it looked like KSU overloaded to KU's left side (Anthony Collin's side). KU did audible and go to the right. KSU may have suckered KU into that one. It looked like the entire K-State defense slanted to KU's right and blew up the option.
• Jordy Nelson was impressive on the field and off. It was only one leg, but he won the relay race. His postgame comment was very classy. There aren't a lot of players on rival teams that gain my respect, but he is definitely one.
• Nelson is really like a speedy little tailback that lines up wide. He really is the K-State running game. Other than the 68-yard TD catch, he had 9 catches for 69 yards -- a 7.6 average. Very much like a running back.
• I had the running strategy exactly backwards. Jake Sharp provided the early electricity and B-Mac punished a tired defense in the second half as they were sweating it out in their dark jerseys. Jon Cornish was a special back and we're following that up with a another special tandem.
• Chris Harris looks good and Kendrick Harper looks the part as well. Do we have three solid corners?
• Anthony Collins on offense and James McClinton on D are both proving to be dominating players and great leaders
• KU ended up with five possessions going against the wind in the first quarter. Conventional strategy says you run the ball to shorten the quarter, but you've got to credit Ed Warriner with sticking to his guns.
• KU is #20 in both polls.
• Lou Holtz awarded Aqib Talib a College Game Day sticker on ESPN. Lee Corso chose KU as his teamed that proved to be legit on Saturday.
• The two teams were similar, but a couple of differences seemed to be the edge for KU.
1. KU throws deep.
2. KU was able to establish a true ground presence. Factor in the injury to KSU center Jordan Bedore on that, but you wonder if Josh Freeman shouldn't be running the ball more.
3. KU's defense for the most part tries to keep the offensive players in front of them. The pressure generally comes from the four down lineman and a lot of heat comes from the middle (McClinton is an animal). The linebackers are shielded and run free. It's a conservative defense that as we saw in 2005 can suffocate teams. Still not there yet, but it is getting better. KSU is a true speed defense that wants to disrupt. Occasionally, they would pack the middle and leave four DBs on the outside in man-to-man at the line of scrimmage. It was clear in those situations that if Reesing could hit the open guy one broken tackle would mean a TD for KU.

"I told our players that this was the day. The time was right. Our program, our players are confident. They feel good about themselves. This 2007 team feels like they can win anywhere"
--Mark Mangino