Sandhusker
Well-known member
Big 12 Football
Last year, Kansas lost two football games in overtime and in two other games gave up double-digit leads in the fourth quarter to fall by 1 and 3 points.
"We left exactly four wins on the field last season," All-Big 12 cornerback Aqib Talib said with a frown. "And they all cut about the same."
Those close calls dropped the Jayhawks to 6-6. Then came the cruelest cut of all.
Despite being bowl eligible, Kansas didn't get a bid. The last of the Big 12's eight bowl slots came down to Oklahoma State and KU, and the Independence Bowl picked OSU. KU was one of nine bowl-eligible teams nationally that were left out.
So does that mean KU football is demoralized?
Hardly. Talib says he wouldn't be surprised if Kansas won nine games — something that has happened in Lawrence, Kan., only twice in the modern era (10-2 in 1995 and 9-2 in 1968).
"This is the year to turn KU football around," he said. "We have the talent and we have the schedule."
All four of Kansas' nonconference games are at home and against non-BCS conference teams. In the Big 12, the Jayhawks don't face either Texas or Oklahoma, and they get Nebraska at home.
As for talent, 16 starters return, led by Talib, a Playboy preseason All-American.
"I don't care what our record was last year," said the junior from Richardson, Texas. "With the team we had and as young as we were, that was a good year for us.
"With mostly the same team coming back, it should be a real good season for KU."
Head coach Mark Mangino, who signed a retooled five-year contract last August, said he's not in the prediction business. But he saw signs in the spring and summer that the Jayhawks have grown up and are ready to produce.
"You just sense it," Mangino said. "The leadership is there, and the commitment for winning is there.
"We haven't had a whole bunch of problems this summer with kids running home because the dog was sick or their grandfather had a root canal. Kids stayed. They worked. They did what they had to do."
So did the coaches. After a season with so many near misses, Mangino said his staff reviewed every play from 2006 to search for how to get over the hump.
What did they find?
"Physical breakdowns by players," Mangino said. "Mental breakdowns. Coaching decisions. We put it all together, shared the blame and studied how to handle those situations in the future."
Talib is ready to move on after being part of a secondary that finished last in the nation in pass defense.
"We gave up a lot of big plays," he said. "It's not like we got picked apart the whole game. And we had young safeties and a juco cornerback who had never played Division I before.
"Now, everybody is back and knows what they are doing. We want to make the biggest jump in NCAA history — from last to first."
Kansas at a glance
• Coach: Mark Mangino, sixth year, 25-35.
• Best player: Cornerback Aqib Talib. The Jim Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back has gone to a Big 12 player five of the past six years. "Let's keep it in the Big 12," Talib said. "I kind of feel like it's my turn."
• Best newcomer: How about a three-way tie among these true freshmen making strong bids to start — cornerback Chris Harris from Bixby, Okla.; receiver Dezmon Briscoe from Dallas; and tailback Carmon Boyd-Anderson from Jacksonville, Texas.
• Good news: The setup for a breakout year is here — a tame schedule and 16 returning starters. Also, work has begun on a new $31 million football complex, which should enhance future recruiting.
• Bad news: Inertia. This program has had only one winning season in the past 11. Concerns remain about depth in both lines and about replacing Big 12 rushing leader Jon Cornish, now playing in the Canadian Football League.
• Key game: There are two — Oct. 6 at Kansas State and Oct. 20 at Colorado. KU is 2-18 in Big 12 road games under Mangino. The Jayhawks need to win at least one of these, if not both, for any kind of breakthrough year.
• Camp chatter: Sophomore Todd Reesing appears to have taken the quarterback job away from incumbent Kerry Meier. The 5-foot-11 Reesing, from Austin, Texas, was pulled out of a redshirt year in 2006 with three games to play and nicknamed "Sparky" for the boost he gave the offense. . . . Linebackers Mike Rivera and Joe Mortenson have switched positions, with Rivera moving outside and Mortenson inside. . . . Only in Kansas would the football field be named for a basketball player. Tom Kivisto, who played on KU's 1974 Final Four team, donated $10 million to the football project. Kivisto made his fortune with a Tulsa, Okla., energy company.
Last year, Kansas lost two football games in overtime and in two other games gave up double-digit leads in the fourth quarter to fall by 1 and 3 points.
"We left exactly four wins on the field last season," All-Big 12 cornerback Aqib Talib said with a frown. "And they all cut about the same."
Those close calls dropped the Jayhawks to 6-6. Then came the cruelest cut of all.
Despite being bowl eligible, Kansas didn't get a bid. The last of the Big 12's eight bowl slots came down to Oklahoma State and KU, and the Independence Bowl picked OSU. KU was one of nine bowl-eligible teams nationally that were left out.
So does that mean KU football is demoralized?
Hardly. Talib says he wouldn't be surprised if Kansas won nine games — something that has happened in Lawrence, Kan., only twice in the modern era (10-2 in 1995 and 9-2 in 1968).
"This is the year to turn KU football around," he said. "We have the talent and we have the schedule."
All four of Kansas' nonconference games are at home and against non-BCS conference teams. In the Big 12, the Jayhawks don't face either Texas or Oklahoma, and they get Nebraska at home.
As for talent, 16 starters return, led by Talib, a Playboy preseason All-American.
"I don't care what our record was last year," said the junior from Richardson, Texas. "With the team we had and as young as we were, that was a good year for us.
"With mostly the same team coming back, it should be a real good season for KU."
Head coach Mark Mangino, who signed a retooled five-year contract last August, said he's not in the prediction business. But he saw signs in the spring and summer that the Jayhawks have grown up and are ready to produce.
"You just sense it," Mangino said. "The leadership is there, and the commitment for winning is there.
"We haven't had a whole bunch of problems this summer with kids running home because the dog was sick or their grandfather had a root canal. Kids stayed. They worked. They did what they had to do."
So did the coaches. After a season with so many near misses, Mangino said his staff reviewed every play from 2006 to search for how to get over the hump.
What did they find?
"Physical breakdowns by players," Mangino said. "Mental breakdowns. Coaching decisions. We put it all together, shared the blame and studied how to handle those situations in the future."
Talib is ready to move on after being part of a secondary that finished last in the nation in pass defense.
"We gave up a lot of big plays," he said. "It's not like we got picked apart the whole game. And we had young safeties and a juco cornerback who had never played Division I before.
"Now, everybody is back and knows what they are doing. We want to make the biggest jump in NCAA history — from last to first."
Kansas at a glance
• Coach: Mark Mangino, sixth year, 25-35.
• Best player: Cornerback Aqib Talib. The Jim Thorpe Award for the nation's top defensive back has gone to a Big 12 player five of the past six years. "Let's keep it in the Big 12," Talib said. "I kind of feel like it's my turn."
• Best newcomer: How about a three-way tie among these true freshmen making strong bids to start — cornerback Chris Harris from Bixby, Okla.; receiver Dezmon Briscoe from Dallas; and tailback Carmon Boyd-Anderson from Jacksonville, Texas.
• Good news: The setup for a breakout year is here — a tame schedule and 16 returning starters. Also, work has begun on a new $31 million football complex, which should enhance future recruiting.
• Bad news: Inertia. This program has had only one winning season in the past 11. Concerns remain about depth in both lines and about replacing Big 12 rushing leader Jon Cornish, now playing in the Canadian Football League.
• Key game: There are two — Oct. 6 at Kansas State and Oct. 20 at Colorado. KU is 2-18 in Big 12 road games under Mangino. The Jayhawks need to win at least one of these, if not both, for any kind of breakthrough year.
• Camp chatter: Sophomore Todd Reesing appears to have taken the quarterback job away from incumbent Kerry Meier. The 5-foot-11 Reesing, from Austin, Texas, was pulled out of a redshirt year in 2006 with three games to play and nicknamed "Sparky" for the boost he gave the offense. . . . Linebackers Mike Rivera and Joe Mortenson have switched positions, with Rivera moving outside and Mortenson inside. . . . Only in Kansas would the football field be named for a basketball player. Tom Kivisto, who played on KU's 1974 Final Four team, donated $10 million to the football project. Kivisto made his fortune with a Tulsa, Okla., energy company.
