Not a lot of time to update today, but if you haven't stumbled on this one yet, check out the Official KU Football Spring Football Website.
The Recycler | tagged Spring Football, Videos, ku football | Print Article | Permalink Email Article 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 | tagged Colorado, Mark Mangino, Scott Webb, ku football | Print Article | Permalink Email Article The battle for the north just became a little more intriguing as Nebraska QB Patrick Witt is leaving the Huskers. There's a poll on that Corn Nation link that indicates NU fans like Zac Lee as the starter which still means it's a complete mystery as what kind of performance the Huskers will get out of that position. I guess I'll be watching more NU football in September than I normally would, trying to figure out if they're going to have someone decent or not. Speaking of which ... we need some blowouts in the non-con, so Kale Pick can get some live action to prep for 2010.
Last week there was news that WR Xavier Rambo was transferring to Delta State. The UDK had the official story in case you don't feel like the Gridiron is a true source.
I also mentioned last week that there is a new KU blog on the block -- Jayhawksnest.com. That makes eight blogs actively covering KU sports. When I started, it was Phog Blog and Jayhawk Nation. Here's the rundown.
Hawk Digest - The worldwide leader in unofficial websites dedicated strictly to KU football.
Rock Chalk Talk - SBNation blog provides the best all-around KU sports coverage.
Oread Boom Kings - Formerly, KJ-IBT/KF-IBT. All-around coverage with more of an edge. Part of a building network.
The Shiver - Comprehensive with a cool WordPress "magazine" layout.
Jayhawks Nest - All KU-Sports with a weekly video feature and YouTube channel.
Phog Blog - Used to be the big one. Definitely geared toward Kansas basketball, but they'll comment on the other sports as well.
Jayhawk Nation - Emphasis on basketball.
Rock Chalk Jay-Blog - All KU sports.
DJ's Stories, The Recycler | tagged KU blogs, Nebraska football, ku football, xavier rambo | Print Article | Permalink Email Article 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
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 | tagged ISU, Jayhawks, clones, cyclones, iowa state, kansas, ku football | Print Article | Permalink Email Article So it's time to check progress on the list from this past summer:
--Big 12 Championship
Musicians like to say a bad practice makes for a good performance. September was a little mediocre, so let's assume the Jayhawks show us awesome in October
--Charles Gordon is avenged on November 15, 2008
It shall be done
--A full house for opening day (borrowed from 2007)
Check (with a bonus sellout vs Sam Houston)
I know it's been out for a while, but I thought it would look good on the site.
