Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / CU 2007

SOMETHING SPECIAL BREWING
By this time, KU fans knew something special could be in the works if the 6-0 Jayhawks could pull off a win in Boulder. Mark Mangino only had two conference road wins in his first five years and KU had already notched a big one in Manhattan.

The matchup with Colorado had a little more national attention and you could see intensity on both sides of the ball. It shaped up to be a defensive battle throughout the first half, but Todd Reesing did go on one of his long gallups. Scott Webb pulled off a crazy one-step 48 yard field goal to give KU a 3-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, CU answered on a trick play-action TD pass that put them up 7-3. KU answered with a Jake Sharp TD about 90 seconds later and retained the lead throughout. The Hawks pushed it out to 19-7 on Derek Fine TD catch in the fourth, but the Buffs did tighten it up and KU had to make a defensive stand at the end of the game to preserve the 19-14 win.

The 7-0 Jayhawks would be ranked #9 in the BCS poll -- rarified air for KU football diehards. Nationally though, the Jayhawks were starting to bristle the national pundits and their concept of the natural college football order. The "who have they played" chorus was growing and it had a verse that would change each week and went something like, "we'll see how they do in College Station, we'll see how they do in Stillwater."

Fans pretended to be annoyed, and the team used it as motivation. A perfect balance and a great ride.

PHOTO THAT SAYS IT ALL:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2007/oct/20/ku_vs_colorado/36652/

VIDEO LINKS:
6sports summary: http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2007/oct/21/15682/

QUOTES:

"We have some hard-nosed, tough kids. We have some talented kids, but the heart and soul of this team is the overachiever, hard-nosed kids. They were the ones that really buckled down here tonight."
--Mark Mangino

"We never feel unbeatable. You just have to prepare every week : Once you go out there feeling unbeatable, that's when you end up upset."
Aqib Talib

"I was just trying to get it down as fast as I could. If I didn't get it down the first time, I was going to run. Webb had an awesome kick. A (48)-yard, one-step kick."
--Kyle Tucker

"It was crazy, exciting. We're 7-0 now. We're ready to go out and get eight."
--Kyle Tucker

More from the series: Mangino's Greatest Hits

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / KSU 2007

THE TEXAS HANGOVER AGAIN (aka MANGINO-PRINCE II)
One week earlier, Wildcat fans were celebrating the Ron Prince stomp after the purple once again knocked off Texas. This time it happened in Austin and the #24 Cats were looking forward to boosting their ranking and re-claiming the glory days with a win over the 4-0 Jayhawks. It looked good early on as Todd Reesing threw an interception on the first drive. That was followed by Jordy Nelson smoking Aqib Talib for long run after a catch that went for a TD and a 7-0 KSU lead. Something strange happened in Manhattan though. The Jayhawks answered when Jake Sharp scored on a 20-yard run. It was the first KU touchdown in Manhattan since 1999.

There were more fireworks in the first half as the Cats took a 14-7 lead, but Aqib Talib scored on a short TD with 11 seconds left to tie it up again for halftime.

KU really asserted themselves in the second half, starting with the 28-yard screen pass that Dezmon Briscoe took to the house and into the pages of Sports Illustrated. However, the Cats kept battling and the KU attitude of "something bad is going to happen" was hanging in the minds of large contingent of the crimson and blue fans in the stands. It did when a screen pass to Dexton Fields bounced off his facemask and straight into the air deep in KU territory. KSU intercepted and several plays later the Cat's fooled KU with a Leon Patton to Deon Murphy 5-yard halfback TD pass for 24-21 lead.

Then, the legend took over. Todd Reesing immediately drove KU down the field and answered with a 30-yard slant pass TD to ... you guessed it, Dexton Fields. After a botched PAT, KU led 27-24.

There was more action to come as KU added another field goal, but they couldn't quite put the purple away until Talib intercepted Josh Freeman in the final minutes of the game. The Hawks won 30-24 and would end up with a #20 ranking in the AP Poll. As sometimes happens in early season rivalry matchups, one teams goes on to a good or great season and the other fades into obscurity. That really seemed to be the case in this one as KSU never seemed to recover from losing to KU in Manhattan for the first time since 1989. KU went on to make program history, but the KSU road win was the hump that the Jayhawks had to get over to become a program. Personally, I think that hump was more mental than physical. The rest of the year would prove it out -- the Jayhawks learned how to win in Manhattan.

PHOTO THAT SAYS IT ALL:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2007/oct/06/ku_vs_kstate/36291/

VIDEO LINKS:
6sports summary: http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2007/oct/07/15493/

QUOTES:

"We finally played a Top-25 team, on the road, and we got the win. What are they going to say now?"
--Aqib Talib

"That was the kind of game, we would've gave away last year."
--Aqib Talib

"I thought clearly (KU) was the best team we have played all year. I tried to say it very clearly to our team, to anybody that would listen, that this team had no weaknesses."
--Ron Prince

"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

More from the series: Mangino's Greatest Hits

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / KSU 2006

MANGINO-PRINCE I
You see the highlights above and remember that it was a 6-6 squad with some good memories. At times though, the 2006 season was a pretty severe test for Kansas football fans (@Toledo, @NU, A&M, OSU, @Baylor). We started over at quarterback after finally getting Jason Swanson up to speed in 2005 and we had to replace Mangino's first set of great linebackers along with ends Charlton Keith and Jermail Ashley. Charles Gordon also left for the NFL. It was a young squad and when you set the scene for the late-November home matchup with KSU, you have to remember that Ron Prince was bringing a bowl-bound 7-4 Wildcat squad to Lawrence fresh off a home win over #4 Texas. It was Captain Ron's first year and it would be KU's first look at Josh Freeman. KU's record stood at 5-5, so let's just say Wildcat confidence was pretty high.

It didn't go as planned for Josh Freeman though, as he ended up with three fumbles and three interceptions. On the Crimson and Blue side though, Jon Cornish rushed for a career-high 201 yards, two TDs and a ref knockdown as the Jayhawks came away with a 39-20 win. The Hawks scored 19 points in the fourth quarter with the help of a couple of Freeman turnovers. Anthony Webb intercepted a screen pass and took it 42 yards for a TD. Then Jeff Wheeler got a hold of Freeman and he coughed up the ball to Wayne Wilder. The big DT carried the ball 34 yards before little Leon Patton somehow willed Wilder out of bounds. No problem, Cornish scored on a 12-yard TD run the very next play.

The Hawks would get smoked by Mizzou 42-17 the following game at Columbia, but the KSU win was a growing up game for the young Jayhawks and a big tone setter for the 2007 season.

PHOTO THAT SAYS IT ALL:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2006/nov/18/ku_vs_kstate/23655/

VIDEO LINKS:
6sports summary: http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2006/nov/19/11329/ 

QUOTES:

"I was rooting for them. I wanted them to beat Texas so that would make us look even better - after they beat Texas and come and get served by us."
--Aqib Talib

"I've never liked K-State."
--Jon Cornish

"There was just something about the game plan that (assistant coach) Bill Young and the defensive staff put together. Everything clicked. When you looked at them on tape and you looked at what we were doing, I thought we really had a chance to play well."
--Mark Mangino

"It helps the big picture of our program. That KU is now a team that you've got to reckon with in the North, in the conference, in the state of Kansas. That's the important thing."
--Mark Mangino

8 of 12 | More from Mangino's Greatest Hits

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / Houston (2005 Fort Worth Bowl)

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:

• Mark Mangino's first bowl win at KU
• KU's first bowl win since 1995
• Clinched Mangino's first winning season at KU
• Saw a really large contingent of Jayhawk fans make the trip to Fort Worth (not the most prestigious bowl out there). Fifteen to 20k sounds about right to me and it set a nice precedent that KU fans have exceeded in the last two bowl games.

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

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / ISU 2005

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM
Continuing the series in chronological order, next up is the under-rated battle that took place with Iowa State to finish the 2005 season. The game had a playoff-type atmosphere as Clones needed a win to claim the North for a trip to the Big 12 title game in Houston and KU needed a win to secure a bowl bid. A pretty good number of red and yellow clad Iowa State fans were in house and I remember hearing a "Houston" cheer several times during the game. That was somewhat understandable as ISU actually jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first half. KU rallied though in the fourth and Brian Luke had to come in to for Jason Swanson when he was injured on a hit after a big completion. Luke scored on QB sneak TD that had to be over-turned by video review. Looking at the replay, it wasn't exactly visible that the ball went over, but the position of his torso and the ball meant that it had to be over the line. It was frightening in that the on-the-field call was no TD, so the video evidence had to be conclusive. From a logic standpoint, it was, but it didn't necessarily provide a clear-cut view of the ball crossing.

Luke then hit Derek Fine for the two-point conversion to tie the score at 14. ISU came back and scored to take a 21-14 lead. In the final minutes, Luke led another drive that featured a 35-yard pass to Marcus Henry then culminated with a 15-yard TD pass to Dexton Fields. Overtime saw the Cyclones miss a field goal on their possession. Enter Scott Webb with a 34-yard field goal that went right down the middle of the uprights for the 24-21 win and a trip to the Fort Worth Bowl. From the east side at that time, the explosion on the sideline from the players was something I've never seen before. Unfortunately, I've never seen any decent video of that as you really would have had to have a camera focused on the entire bench during the kick. A huge win for Mark Mangino, and I'm not sure that Iowa State really ever recovered from that one.

PHOTO THAT SAYS IT ALL:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2005/nov/26/ku_vs_iowa_state_112605/8456/

VIDEO LINK:
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2005/nov/26/7500/

QUOTES:

"It was fun, I cleared everything from my head and tried to just do what I do everyday in practice. We're going bowling."
--Scott Webb

"I was just ready. I was excited to get the opportunity again. I'm excited, especially for all us seniors. Lets go bowling."
--Brian Luke

"This feels awesome to end the season like this. I was playing for our seniors. Guys have been here with for five years. We came here and been through some bumpy times, it hasn't been easy by any stretch, but to end it like this is something special."
--Brian Luke

"The kids reached back for a little extra. I'm glad those 20 guys get to play in another game. They deserve it."
--Mark Mangino

6 of 12 | More from Mangino's Greatest Hits

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / NU 2005

The End
It was a 36-year streak and it ended on this day with a 40-15 win for the Hawks in Lawrence. Plenty of big plays in this one highlighted by the 70+ yard TD run by Jon Cornish that broke it open. The run itself was symbolic as Cornish brushed aside that last NU tackler and enjoyed a long jaunt to the endzone. I always notice that toward the end of the run Jon secures the ball one final time. I always took it as a realization of the significance of that one single play -- one of the greatest in the history of KU football. It wasn't all Cornish though -- the defense harrassed Zac Taylor all day and Mark Simmons had a couple of big TD catches as Jason Swanson came into his own. The first Swanson to Simmons TD started the party off right and let the Huskers know that KU was there to play. Simmons' last TD was another circus diving catch.

Photo That Says It All:
http://www2.kusports.com/photos/galleries/2005/nov/05/ku_vs_nebraska_110505/7701/

More Video:
http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2005/nov/05/7298/

Quotes:

"The jubilation in the locker room was unprecedented. We have never celebrated so hard and been so happy about one victory."
--Jon Cornish

"We finally took that step where we beat the powerhouse Nebraska. I know they're not the Nebraska of old, but they're still Nebraska."
--Kevin Kane

"Having all those oldtimers come up and thank you for the first win since '68 -- it's such an incredible feeling. To be able to give that back to the fans and let them celebrate and have so much fun, and to be able to witness something lots of people haven't been able to witness their entire lives. Yes, it was one of the best feelings I've ever been a part of."
--Banks Floodman

 5 of 12

Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / MU 2005

Link to the KUsports.com Highlights 

This one gets a little lost among some of the other, but the 13-3 win over Missouri in 2005 was key for the season. The week before Jason Swanson got some time in a blowout loss at Colorado. You started to see that KU might finally have a leader at QB and sure enough the Jayhawks were a whole different team against the Tigers. The game ended a four-game losing streak and also introduced us to Aqib Talib as he intercepted a Brad Smith pitch for a huge turnover. His take:

"He kind of pitched it and dude didn't catch it," said Talib

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Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / MU 2004

Following Charles Gordon Gate the Jayhawks put on their red sox and headed to Columbia as Clark Green ripped through the heart of Mizzou's defense. This game was never close and a lot of people were surprised Pinkel survived this one. This game was available via webcast and this quote came from the Missouri broadcast team shortly after halftime:

"A lot of Missouri fans are now enjoying this one from the parking lot."

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Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / KSU 2004

K-State fans were blind-sided by this one for some reason. It ended the "Decade of Dominance" and signified and immediate shift in power. K-State squeezed out another win in Manhattan in 2005, but otherwise, it's been all KU. John Randle and Mark Simmons starred in this one as the game ended with Jayhawk fans jumping the fence from the hill to get on the field and snag a goalpost.

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Mangino's Greatest Hits: KU / MU 2003

A daily look at Mark Mangino's greatest wins in chronological order. We start with the 35-14 win over #23 MU in Lawrence.  This was a game that Mizzou fans thought was in the bag. Bill Whittemore, Gabe Toomey and company had other ideas. This one signaled the official start of the Fighting Mangino era.

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