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