4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN GAMEDAY --- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8. 2005 Evenly matched teams to clash in Fort Worth KU Blitz AT A GLANCE For the second time in three ◆ For the second time in three seasons, Kansas will be playing in the postseason. The Jayhawks won three of their last four games to become bowl eligible after losing their first four Big 12 Conference games. Kansas vs. Houston - Kansas came from behind to top Iowa State in overtime 24-21 on Nov. 26. Sophomore kicker Scott Webb booted a 34-yard game winner to send Kansas to a bowl game. Senior quarterback Brian Luke eluded the charge rushing and passing for touchdowns in the fourth quarter after he replaced senior Jason Swanson who was injured. LAST TIME OUT PLAYER TO WATCH Senior quarterback Jason Swanson. Kansas fans will know early if Swanson is completely healthy from the apparent leg injury he suffered against Iowa State. Swanson has been efficient since taking over the starting job against Colorado and will need to continue to not make critical mistakes at crucial times. 5 QUICK FACTS 23 23 Players on the Kansas roster who are returning to their home state to play in the Fort Worth Bowl. 2 2 Touchdowns, one rushing and one passing, by senior quarterback Brian Luke in the fourth quarter, leading to Kansas' come-from-behind victory over Iowa State. 106 106 Tackles this season for Big 12 defensive player of the year Nick Reid. 20 20 Seniors who will wear a Jayhawk uniform for the last time in Fort Worth. 21 LOOKING FORWARD 21 Tackles for loss for senior defensive end Charlton Keith, which leads the conference. A victory on national television would continue to show that Mangino is improving the Jayhawks and will have immense implications on his ability to recruit players to Kansas. A victory will also give Kansas seven wins for the first time since 1995. KEY TO VICTORY - Keeping the Kansas defense off the field. Houston has one of the best offenses in the country, averaging more than 450 yards of total offense per contest. If Swanson and the rest of the Kansas offense is able to run the ball effectively and shorten the game, Kansas should win. 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 23, Amon G. Carter Stadium Kansas OFFENSE The Kansas offense provided a late fourth-quarter surge to top Iowa State last month and became bowl eligible. Kansas will need that offensive performance to last the entire game if it wishes to win its first bowl game since 1995. Senior quarterback Jason Swanson is expected to start, despite not finishing the game against Iowa State because of an injury. Swanson righted the Kansas offense after Kansas' quarterbacks struggled during the first three Big 12 Conference games. Swanson has passed for 913 yards and three touchdowns in his five games this season. DEFENSE The Dec. 23 contest against Houston will mark the last game for one of the best defenses to ever play at Kansas. Led by senior linebackers Kevin Kane, Nick Reid and Banks Floodman, the Kansas defense went from one of the worst units in the Big 12 in 2003 to one of the best during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. The Jayhawks will need one final solid performance from one of the best rush defenses in the country. The Houston offense comes into the game averaging more than 450 yards per contest and nearly 30 points per game. If the Kansas defense allows those kind of numbers, the Jayhawks may be in trouble. SPECIALTEAMS Sophomore kicker Scott Webb had the best game of his young career against Iowa State when his team needed it the most against Iowa State. He kicked three field goals, including the game winning 34-yarder in overtime to make the Jayhawks bowl eligible. Webb has been solid in the kicking game, missing just three field goals on the season. Sophomore punter Kyle Tucker has also been solid, averaging nearly 43 yards per punt. Kansas also blocked a punt against Iowa State, and if the Jayhawks can get good field position through punt returner Charles Gordon, the Kansas offense will have an easy time scoring. COACHES Houston There is no doubt that the strength of Houston is By becoming bowl eligibl for the second time in three seasons, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino becomes just the third Kansas coach in Jayhawk football history The leader of the defense and leading tackler is sophomore safety Rocky Schwartz. to qualify his team for two bowl games. Mangino has turned around a team this season that at one point was 3-4. Through Mangino, the team has rattled off three victories in its last four games.The bowl game now gives Mangino a huge recruiting boosts, and the opportunity to work with his team for another month and groom his young players for future seasons. OFFENSE — Ryan Colaianni its offense. Houston will run a wide-open style of offense that will remind Kansas fans of Texas Tech's offense. The leader of the Houston offense is junior quarterback Kevin Kolb. Kolb has thrown for 3,034 yards this season and 8,941 in his three seasons as quarterback. Kolb's favorite target on offense is senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall. Marshall has 69 catches this season for 927 yards and six touchdowns. Kolb will also look to throw to Donnie Avery. Avery has 517 yards on the season and five touchdowns. Leading the rushing attack is senior running back Ryan Gilbert. Gilbert fan for 1,030 yards this past season and had nine touchdowns. Gilbert and Marshall were both selected this season to the First Team All Conference USA. Kolb was a second-team selection. DEFENSE Schwartz is the only player on Houston to record more than 100 tackles. Schwartz had 105 tackles on the season and one interception. Junior linebacker Wade Koehl is the Cougar's most active defender behind the line of scrimmage. Koehl has recorded 14 tackles for loss and four sacks on the season. In total, Koehl has 85 tackles and one interception. Another player to watch on the Houston defense is linebacker Brendan Pahulu. Pahulu had 95 tackles on the season, nine tackles for loss and two sacks. Pahulu is only a sophomore and rounds out the trio of young players that will all be back again next season for Houston. SPECIALTEAMS Ben Bell will handle the kicking duties for Houston. While Bell did not attempt a lot of year, he was used field goals, going just 7-of-11 on the field goals, going just 7-of-11 on the year, he was used heavily on extra points. Bell converted on 35-of-38 extra point attempts. Houston struggled to find a consistent field goal kicker 9 on the season with his long coming at 50 yards. Look for Lawrence to try the longer field goals while Bell will attempt the shorter ones. Justin Laird is the team's punter. He averaged 38.5 yards per punt and had bad f i v e pints land inside the 20-ward line. Ricky Wilson is the team's kick returner. Wilson averaged 21.7 yards per return and had a long of 74 yards. Wilson shares the punt returning duties with Marshall. Marshall is a threat to return one to the end zone as he is averaging 17 yards per return and has one touchdown. COACHES Art Briles is in his third season as coach of the Houston Cougars. Briles is 16-19 at Houston.Briles became the first coach at Houston to have also played his college ball at Houston. Briles has led Houston to one bowl game, a 56-48 triple overtime loss to Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl in 2003.Houston's offensive philosophy of the wide-open style of play and a lot of throwing came when Briles was an assistant coach at Texas Tech. Briles was the assistant head coach and running backs coach atTexasTech before coming to Houston. He worked on the Red Raiders' staff from 2000-2002.Before that, Briles' only experience came at the high school level. Daniel Berk UH Blitz AT A GIANCE Houston enters the game with a winning record of 6-5. The team's biggest victory of the season came at Tulsa, which went on to win the Conference USA Championship. Houston played a difficult non conference schedule featuring Oregon and Mississippi State. The team lost a pair of heartbreakers to UTEP and Central Florida by a combined total of five points. - Houston became bowl eligible in its last game against in state rival Rice. The Cougars downed the Owls 35-15. Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb threw for 222 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions. Senior wide receiver Vincent Marshall also had a solid game catching five passes for 125 yards. LAST TIME OUT Kevin Kolb. Kolb is in his third season as starting quarterback for Houston. He began his career as a starter as a freshman three seasons ago. Because the Kansas defense has had so much success this season against the run, look for Houston to air out the ball plenty against the Kansas secondary. PLAYER TO WATCH 5 QUICK FACTS 4565 108 Houston has scored 108 points in the second quarter this season while only allowing 54 points. Kansas will have to play all four quarters in this one to secure a bowl victory. 108 456. 5 The Houston offense averages 456.5 yards per game in total offence. 1,030 Senior running back Ryan Gilbert has 1,030 yards on the season. 1.030 3 Houston had three members of its team receive honorable mention freshman All-American honors. Houston is a young team, and with three weeks to prepare for the Jayhawks, the young players will have plenty of time to grow up. 11-20 2 11-20 Houston is 11-of-20 this year on field goal attempts. A victory would move Houston to 7-5 and give the Cougars their second triumph of the year against a BCS conference team. LOOKING FORWARD KEY TO VICTORY - The passing game. It is not a secret that Houston likes to throw the ball. If Kolb doesn't face a lot of pressure and is able to sit in the pocket and deliver crisp passes, it will mean trouble for the Kansas defense. Around the Big 12: Bowl Edition Rose Bowl January 4th Texas vs. USC The BCS finally got it right with this one. The nation's only two undefeated teams will square off in what some are labeling the early game of the century. USC is the early touchdown favorite but Texas has destroyed everyone it has played. Champ Sports Bowl December 27th Colorado vs. Clemson A surging ACC team that is now ranked in the Top 25 will take on a limping Big 12 team that lost its last three games of the season by wide margins. Colorado had to return most of its tickets for the Big 12 Title game, and even fewer fans are expected in Orlando. BY KELLIS ROBINETT Alamo Bowl December 28th Nebraska vs. Miss Braska vs. Michigan San Antonio hit the jackpot with this game. The Alamo Bowl picks fourth in the bowl order in both the Big 12 and Big 10 but came away with two national powers. Any other year, this match up would be in a BCS game. Union Tribune Holiday Bowl 20th Oklahoma vs. Oregon The Sooners finished the year on a tear to get to San Diego but the Ducks were hoping for a BCS bid after finishing 10-1. The winner in this game could come down to which teams wants to be there. December 29th Oklahoma vs. Oregon Missouri vs. South Carolina Independence Bowl December 30th Minnesota Mississippi to South Carolina The Tigers are back in Shreveport for the second time in three years to take on Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks. South Carolina had a breakthrough year in the SEC under its first-year coach. This will be Missouri quarterback Brad Smith's last game. Houston Bowl December 31st Iowa State vs. TCU The Cyclones missed out on a chance to play in Houston last week after they lost to the Jayhawks. They might have gotten a good deal out of the loss though by avoiding the Longhrns. TCU only lost one game all year, an early rivalry match with SMU. Cotton Bowl December 2nd Texas Tech vs. Alabar Texas Tech to Florida If you combined Texas Tech's offense with Alabama's defense you would have the best team in the country. Unfortunately, that's not possible and we're left to watch a high-powered Red Raider offense stalemate a stingy Crimson Tide defense. 4