Today, I was inspired by this post on TechCrunch that posed the question, "Who Killed Microsoft?"
It was an empty post, yet 35 comments had already been made. Rather than trying to answer questions that are sent to me, I think I'll try this one out as a weekly and see how it goes. I'm even going to try to leave the body empty if I can (at least brief). For starters though ...
Who Killed Kansas State's Football Program?
This image was just too classic to pass on. I like how they split the negative options, so it always appears the "yes" votes are way out in lead. Either way, the answer is clear and you should head on over and exercise your right to vote:
I've got a pretty good backlog of original content building up, but Kansas football news is dominating the scene right now. This has become a 365-day a year operation. Looks like I need to find some interns. Anyway, let's roll with the best news first.
BEST MANGINO CLASS EVER
Hey, print is not dead because I read this one in the print version of the KC Star. Four-star safety Bradley McDougald (6-0/181/4.5) out of Dublin, Ohio committed to KU yesterday and plans to play at wide receiver. Rivals is not listing him yet, but Scout has him on their list as a three star. I can't wait to see what kind of bump this gives us in the Rivals team rankings.
D.J. BESHEARS TALKS DB
The word over at Rock Chalk Talk is that D.J. Beshears will play at cornerback for KU. It makes sense for his size (5-9/185) and McDougald thinking receiver. I really like the depth we're building in the secondary with this class.
KANSAS FOOTBALL AWARDS JANUARY 31
This was in the forum yesterday, but I think it's worth another mention. It'll be 7: 30 p.m. on January 31 at the Lied Center in Lawrence. I attended last year and I would recommend the event for all fans. The video alone is worth the trip.
GALE SAYERS HONORED AGAIN
They say KU football history started in 2007. Wrong again, my dirtbag friends. Just so happens that the greatest running back to ever play the game is a Jayhawk. Gale Sayers will be in inducted into the John McClendon Minority Athletics Administrators Hall of Fame on June 19 in Orlando, Florida. Old-timers remember what Sayers did on the field. I always remember him for the post-Terry Allen coaching search. He was part of the committee and when word started to surface that Mark Mangino was the leading candidate, Sayers said, "This is the right guy for the job."
That was all I needed. On the field, off the field -- the guy knows football.
DJ Goodwin
Bradley McDougald officially came off the KU board for both sites yesterday. Essentially, he's not ready to announce a decision. There's a lot of chatter that this will still happen, but we'll see.
The Red Solo Cup Ole Miss blog is pushing an interesting rumor:
We're hearing rumors which would lead us to believe that the Rebels will be playing the Kansas Jayhawks in 2009. If this is indeed true, the matchup will be held in Dallas at the New Cowboys Stadium (is that really what they're calling it?) with a guaranteed payout of $6 million for each team.
Everyone on the Gridiron Board is all in except me. I like the gambler's attitude over there, but I don't see this as a good idea. Yeah, the money would be nice, but it's a 12-game schedule and the physical toll of matching up with an SEC team in the non-con is going to wear on us by mid-season, just like the USF game did last year. We have Texas, OU and Tech on our schedule and conference games count (non-cons are to prepare for Big 12 play). We need to focus on winning the division and championship game.
Also, consider that we need development time for the brand new interior line and the new linebackers. We will not be ready for top 10 competition in September.
JAMES HOLT vs THE NATION
Graduating senior James Holt will get in on one of the senior All-Star games. It's called the Nation vs Texas and will be played January 31 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The game starts at 2:00 p.m. and will be televised by CSTV.
THE NEW DL COACH
The Jayhawks announced their new defensive line coach earlier this week. Fresno State's DL coach Kerry Locklin take the position at KU after working with the FSU line since 2000. Here's a look at the Fresno State defensive stats during his tenure:
| Year | PA | Yds Allow/G | Rush/G | Pass/G | YPR |
| 2000 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| 2001 | 25 | 381 | 117 | 264 | 3.2 |
| 2002 | 27 | 405 | 160 | 245 | 3.9 |
| 2003 | 23 | 381 | 175 | 206 | 4.6 |
| 2004 | 21 | 340 | 165 | 175 | 4.1 |
| 2005 | 22 | 347 | 149 | 198 | 4.2 |
| 2006 | 28 | 363 | 141 | 222 | 4.2 |
| 2007 | 27 | 407 | 181 | 226 | 5.0 |
| 2008 | 31 | 411 | 210 | 201 |
5.6 |
ESPN's Holly Rowe interviewed Todd Reesing at the basketball game last night. Holly, when Todd says we're a two-sport school, we're a two-sport school.
Looks like former KU defensive coordinator Bill Young is considering a move to Oklahoma State? That was quick. Sources (i.e. message boards) indicate the $700,000 annual salary is inflated.
Did you know that Nebraska fans refer to Iowa as the ChickenHawks?
KU has it's highest ranking overall that I can remeber on Rivals this late in the recruiting season at #32. A few days ago they were actually at #31. Leading the north is Nebraska at #24 and Missouri is just behind KU at #33. Full list of Rivals Big 12 Team Rankings. I don't like Scout's list so much. The have Nebraska #28, Mizzou #30 and KU at #44. Of course, Rivals is pretty much recognized as the source for football recruiting rankings.
Updated Scout Recruiting List with D.J. Beshears:
Rivals is reporting that Denton, Texas WR D.J. Beshears (5-9/185) has commited to Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks. Beshears is a three-star by Rivals and is KU's 23rd commitment for the 2009 class.
Flickr photos:
http://flickr.com/photos/80171498@N00/2930898290
http://flickr.com/photos/80171498@N00/2930898126/
Interview with high school coach from October when he was committed to ISU
Hey DJ, could you post an updated list of the all time wins for coaches at KU. I was wondering how close Mangino is to reaching the top of it and if he can do it next year perhaps.
--Fabio
Excellent question. It actually good happen next year as Mark Mangino now has 45 wins. That puts him at number three with an overall record of 45-41 in seven years. A.R. "Bert" Kennedy is number one with a record of 53-9-4, which he achieved also in a seven-year span from 1904-1910. It'll take nine wins to take over the top spot, so it is a possibility. One thing is certain. Glen Mason (47-54-1) is cooked for the number two spot. I think we all feel pretty good about the Fighting Mangino's picking up three wins next year.
Here's the top ten and of course, number eight on the list demonstrates how challenging it's been to get and retain good football coaches at the University of Kansas:
Source: http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/big12/kansas/coaching_records.php
Nebraska will be travelling to play Washington in 2010 and according to the Seattle Times that game may take place at Qwest Field.
Former KSU strength and conditioning coordinator Rod Cole landed at Tarleton State. He was with K-State for 13 years. According to this page, it doesn't appear that the Wildcats have named a replacement.
The Shiver has another rundown on WR commit Erick McGriff today. In this piece, they speak directly to McGriff.
The most reliable Kevin Young is at KU report we have so far (from the Phog Gridiron forum).
And finally, KUsports.com columnist Bill Mayer promises everyone a postcard from hell in his latest religion and football post. Required reading.
The KU blogs are working hard this week. I found a couple of recruiting profiles/stories in the feed this morning:
Denverjhawk has spoke with WR commit Chris Omigie and has a good report on that encounter over at Rock Chalk Talk:
"... expectations for his time at Kansas he said he hopes to come in and play as soon as possible. His biggest goal however is to, 'Win the Big 12 as a team and individually help to accomplish that.' Chris particularly is looking forward to a matchup with Oklahoma although he said it seems that Kansas, 'doesn't like Missouri too much so it will be fun to play them too.'"
To bookend that perfectly, The Shiver put together a nice piece on WR commit Erick McGriff:
“Playmaker. He is a money player. If we needed something to happen, we put the ball in his hands."
--McGriff's high school coach John Ross
THE WINNING TRADITION BEGINS
You can't say that it was the greatest game from a competitive standpoint or that it had near the prestige of the contests we've battled in over the past couple of years. Still, at the time, the 42-13 Fort Worth Bowl win over Houston to cap off the careers of a lot Mangino's first era players felt pretty good and has the following distinctions:
KU quarterback Jason Swanson was the game MVP hitting on 19-of-29 passes for 307 yards and four TDs, but it was team effort overall. Brian Murph took a punt return to the house. Jon Cornish had a big game (101 yds) and of course, the KU defense suffocated the Houston attack. The play that stood out for me though, was the Charlton Keith snag of Kevin Kolb's sideline pass and the resulting dive into the endzone. That all happened right in front of me and the KU fan section, so we had an up-close view of that action. The video doesn't do it justice.
PHOTO THAT SAYS IT ALL:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2005/dec/23/ku_vs_houston_122305/9546/
VIDEO LINKS:
6sports summary: http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2005/dec/23/7766/
Fan pep rally footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBRuM1LHfD0
QUOTES:
"That was a huge win for us. We practiced for three weeks and have been going at it since last November, so it was sweet to have something at the end of the tunnel for us."
--Jason Swanson"Our defense shut the run down. They did a nice job of dinking and dunking for a little while. But our guys wore them down up front."
--Mark Mangino"Our defense shut the run down. They did a nice job of dinking and dunking for a little while. But our guys wore them down up front."
--Mark Mangino"We've come a long way. It's pretty neat to be a part of the foundation."
--Nick Reid"I don't think the score is indicative of tonight's game. We had some bad things happen. We didn't coach or play very well so that's why things turned out the way it did."
--Art Briles (Houston coach at the time)
7 of 12 | More from Mangino's Greatest Hits
In the final analysis, the Big 12 did end up being the best conference in football for the 2008 season. Not at playing actual football of course. No, no, no ... the Big 12 is the best at entertaining. According to wizofodds.com, the Big 12 had the highest cumulative TV rating average during bowl season. The data is much easier to see on Tim Griffin's blog. Basically though, the Big 12 pulled a 6.13, followed by the Big 10 with 5.70 and the SEC with 5.65. Live with that Tim Tebow. Live with that and know it.
Question: Why can't the real media blogs have a blog roll?
