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| Source: KU Sports |
A pitfall of mankind: we don’t know a good thing until it’s gone. As the Oklahoma State Cowboys scored at will this past Saturday in their 70-28 win over a demoralized Jayhawks team, I began to reminisce about the Mark Mangino days. Mangino won KU 3 bowl games, including a BCS game over the No.3 Virginia Tech Hokies. KU football was heading in the right direction, what a season...
Although the Orange Bowl was amazing, it truly was just a blip and it is not an accurate representation of his tenure. With a team destined to win the Big 12 North, the 2009 team lost 7 straight to close out the year and miss out on a bowl game. Mangino was just 2 games over .500, 50-48, at KU, and it looked like he was starting to "lose" his players. Granted, Mangino’s teams had their rough patches as well, I still miss those close losses and the overall toughness the team showed week in and week out.
Although the Orange Bowl was amazing, it truly was just a blip and it is not an accurate representation of his tenure. With a team destined to win the Big 12 North, the 2009 team lost 7 straight to close out the year and miss out on a bowl game. Mangino was just 2 games over .500, 50-48, at KU, and it looked like he was starting to "lose" his players. Granted, Mangino’s teams had their rough patches as well, I still miss those close losses and the overall toughness the team showed week in and week out.
During those days, Memorial Stadium was rocking and it was hard to find a ticket (A side note: Students are receiving complimentary tickets this week for a nationally televised game against Oklahoma).
‘A roll of toilet paper wouldn’t be long enough’, Mangino famously said about the injuries and overall adversity his team overcame in their 40-37 upset of arch-rival and No. 13 Missouri in 2008. The famous, ‘Keep sawin’ wood,’ was one of my favorites; the boss was an incredible motivator and, by no coincidence, a disciple of Bill Snyder (more on him later). Mangino was a bear, and often times a mean, mean bear, but no one could question his passion for the game of football and the University of Kansas. He expected the utmost from his players (Raimond Pendleton), from himself (Press-Conference), and from the officials (The BCS!). (Maybe he was on to something with these Texas refs). Not to pour salt in the wound, but Kansas fired a National Coach of the Year just 2 years after winning the prestigious award. It’s a touchy subject, so enough about that.
With rumors run amok that Mangino may be returning to Memorial Stadium this Saturday, on the Oklahoma sideline, I succumb to the omnipotent Football Gods who have officially beaten me into submission. Bob Stoops, the head coach of this Saturday’s visiting No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, said, “Sometimes people think the grass is greener somewhere else, and sometimes you find that it’s not that way,” Turner Gill has made football painful. Where do we go from here?
‘A roll of toilet paper wouldn’t be long enough’, Mangino famously said about the injuries and overall adversity his team overcame in their 40-37 upset of arch-rival and No. 13 Missouri in 2008. The famous, ‘Keep sawin’ wood,’ was one of my favorites; the boss was an incredible motivator and, by no coincidence, a disciple of Bill Snyder (more on him later). Mangino was a bear, and often times a mean, mean bear, but no one could question his passion for the game of football and the University of Kansas. He expected the utmost from his players (Raimond Pendleton), from himself (Press-Conference), and from the officials (The BCS!). (Maybe he was on to something with these Texas refs). Not to pour salt in the wound, but Kansas fired a National Coach of the Year just 2 years after winning the prestigious award. It’s a touchy subject, so enough about that.
With rumors run amok that Mangino may be returning to Memorial Stadium this Saturday, on the Oklahoma sideline, I succumb to the omnipotent Football Gods who have officially beaten me into submission. Bob Stoops, the head coach of this Saturday’s visiting No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, said, “Sometimes people think the grass is greener somewhere else, and sometimes you find that it’s not that way,” Turner Gill has made football painful. Where do we go from here?
Week 6
Box-Score Courtesy of: KU Athletics
Kansas (2-3,0-2) vs. #6 Oklahoma State (5-0,2-0)
Date: Oct 08, 2011
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Kansas.............. 7 0 7 14 - 28
Oklahoma State...... 35 21 7 7 - 70
I want to commend Micah Brown, the mastermind of this awesome show, he is truly the best in the biz and it is not an easy job. I bet he is just as tired of supporting these moral victories (win the second half) week after week.
On a sun-bathed Boon Pickens Stadium, the Hawks marched down 80 yards in just 10 plays on the game’s opening possession to grab an early 7-0 lead. Leaping for joy, I suddenly froze, realizing that we had to play defense. Toben Opurum promptly ransacked the Cowboys backfield on the first play and pinned down Brandon Weeden for a sack. Woah, the No. 6 Cowboys were a little slow out of the gate! But, no need to worry, the tides changed like I thought they would. The weather and good fortune would not last much longer and little did the Jayhawks know, a storm was brewing to the west, and another was unfolding right before their eyes. The weather mirrored the tone of the game in a sad case of Pathetic Fallacy. The ominous storm clouds began to roll in while the Cowboys rolled out to a 35-7 first quarter romp. Suddenly, it was a downpour in more ways than one; 56-7, Halftime.
Had Mike Gundy not pulled off the dogs, the Cowboys could have easily scored 100. Weeden was 24 of 28 for 288 yards and 5 touchdowns until he was pulled late in the second quarter. Justin Blackmon had 8 catches for 84 yards and 2 scores, while the backup quarterback, Clint Chelf, was 14 of 21 for 206 yards and 2 TD’s. Oklahoma State racked up 600 yards as a whole, and the 70 points scored were the most they had scored in school history since their 1973 beat down on Southern Illinois. This record setting theme has become a weekly event. Rally up the family and head down to the field because tonight the home-team is rewriting history. Not to mention, had KU not so kindly turned the ball over in their own territory, OSU would have racked up even more yards with longer drives.
I want to give Turner Gill a chance; I have always wanted to give him a chance. Last year, heck, this year, can be considered a bit of a buffer season. We don’t need to see wins, but we need to see improvement. Right now, we are seeing neither. I respect the stress that is involved in a job like his (coaching, dealing with the media, recruiting, presenting a positive image to the community, a lot of public speaking), but Coach Gill, do you feel you have earned your paycheck? I know he has not, but I want to BELIEVE he will! The sand is slipping through the hour-glass; it’s time to save us some embarrassment.
B-E-L-I-E-V-E. Gill said at his Press Conference that the Jayhawks seemed stuck on the first letter of the team’s acronym. B- Believe in each other and things not yet seen. I don’t doubt that the Jayhawks have not lived up to his aspirations, but I still don’t believe in things not yet seen: a pass rush and sound tackling. These defects are not easily resolved, and there hasn’t been any progress from year 1 to 2. Through five games the Jayhawks defense has been one of the worst in the country, and has actually been one of the most rancid in history. Although the talent level will plummet after this week, the Jayhawks are on pace to break some records… not the good kind:
Historically:
Most Yards per Game Allowed/season: 553 (Maryland) - KU 556 (Thru 5 games)
Most Points per Game Allowed/season: 50.3 (La-La) - KU 49.4
Most Points Total in Season/season: 572 (ECU) - KU 274 (on pace for 593 pts allowed)
Current rankings: National Ranking: Kansas Stat
Total Defense: 120. Kansas -- 556 ypg
Total Defense: 120. Kansas -- 556 ypg
Scoring Defense: 120. Kansas -- 49.4 ppg
Turnovers Created: 120. Kansas – 2
Pass Defense: 119. Kansas -- 332.8 ypg
Rushing Defense: 113. Kansas -- 223.2 ypg
Passing Efficiency Defense: 120. Kansas -- 181.58
First Downs Allowed per Game: 118. Kansas -- 25.6
Third Down Conversion Defense: 116. Kansas -- 54.69% converted
Red Zone Defense: 99. Kansas -- 89% opp conv.
Sacks per Game: 100. Kansas -- 1.2
Tackles for Loss per Game: 98. Kansas -- 4.8
A short 70 miles to the West, another Kansas football team is off to a 5-0 start. Led by one of the greatest minds in the game, Bill Snyder, the Kansas State Wildcats continue to win football games with talent that is comparable to KU. Although Kansas State usually recruits more of the junior-college type players, Kansas still has had a better track record on the recruiting front. Recruiting, however, does not win football games; consequently, Gill’s success is a moot point until he beats Snyder. Next week, for the Sunflower Showdown, I will delve a little more into the recruiting trends and how Bill Snyder maximizes the talent available (something Mark Mangino was well known for).
The Cowboys scored 8 unanswered touchdowns on Saturday. In no way possible can I condone that kind of defense, but to their credit, Weeden could possibly be the most talented, savvy, player the Jayhawks will face this season. Even though Landry Jones and the No. 3 Sooners will be the fourth straight top 10 scoring offense that the Jayhawks have faced, Weeden, is by far the most experienced gun-slinger. Aaron Rodgers, the Super Bowl Champion Quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, is one year younger than the 28 year-old Weeden. No defense that Vic Shealy threw at Weeden was going to confuse him, much less slow him down.
The naiveté of this Jayhawk squad is obvious: Tony Pierson fumbled after an 18 yard jaunt, Marquis Jackson was accountable for 2 early timeouts because he didn’t know where to line up. Although these young’uns are uber-talented, they still have some maturing to do.
The 2 interceptions by Jordan Webb hurt, but his numbers were still fairly good, 25 of 36 for 316 yards and 2 TD’s. Bill Young, the former KU and current OSU defensive coordinator, brought more men in the box, so while the number of pass-attempts was a little high, it was a matter of being forced to one-dimension. The carries were distributed well, and if Brandon Bourbon can return this week from his concussion, I expect Chuck Long to continue to mix in all four backs.
I will step down from my soap-box. I don’t mean to be singing the same dark tune every week, but while the offense and special teams have taken a few steps forward, the defense has regressed into dormancy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I can’t put a finger on how many miles away that end is? Will Turner be able to right the ship before Sheahon Zenger does in firing him?
It was just a few short years ago when former Athletic Director, Lew Perkins, fired Mark Mangino for mistreatment of his players. Kansas Football has not been right since. Even the bad Mangino teams played defense: Charles Gordon, Nick Reid, Charlton Keith, Gabe Toomey. This Kansas defense can’t be mentioned in the same paragraph (just were)!
If OU scores 70 this Saturday Night on ESPN2, for the world to see, nothing will be answered. That is almost inevitable, but if the Jayhawks show life on defense, Gill have some momentum to carry into the coming weeks. Hopefully he figures out how to capture lighting in a bottle before the biggest game of his early coaching career, when the Kansas State Wildcats come to town October 22nd. His job could be riding on the line.
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