2B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FORT WORTH BOWL
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2005
BOWL HISTORY
Fort Worth Bowl will be Kansas' 10th all-time
BY RVAN COLIAanni
rcolaiani@kansan.com
KANSAN STEFF WRITER
This year's Fort Worth Bowl is the 10th bowl appearance in Kansas football history. Below is a recap of the previous nine appearances for the Jayhawks.
2003 — Tangerine Bowl
Kansas met North Carolina State and Phillip Rivers and the Kansas defense was unable to stop him. Rivers passed for nearly 500 yards and threw five touchdowns on the way to a comfortable 56-26 victory, spoiling Kansas' first bowl appearance since 1995.
Kansas coach Glen Mason made his second bowl appearance at Kansas, dominating UCLA. Kansas cruised to a 51-30 victory in a game that saw Kansas quarterback Mark Williams pass for three touchdowns and 288 yards. The Jayhawks were in control the whole way.
1995 — Aloha Bowl
1992 Aloha Bowl
Meenan True/KANSAN
Kansas fell to Mississippi State 10-0 on New Year's Eve under legendary coach Don Fambrough. Mississippi State recorded the only score it needed 12 seconds into the game on Mississippi State quarterback John Bond's 17-yard run. Kansas fumbled the opening kickoff at its own 17-yard line to set up the play. Mississippi State later added a field goal to seal the victory.
1975 Sun Bowl
Three Pittsburgh running backs ran for 100 yards each and led their team to a 33-19 victory against the Jayhawks. Future hall of fame running back Tony Dorsett rushed for two touchdowns and helped the Panthers accumulate 372 total rushing yards.
Despite picking up more total yards than North Carolina State, Kansas was unable to capitalize, falling 31-18. Kansas senior quarterback David Jaynes passed for 218 yards, but also threw two interceptions.
1972 — Liberty Bowl
1969 Orange Bowl
Kansas appeared to have the game against Penn State in hand as the final seconds of the Orange Bowl ticked away. Kansas kept Penn State from completing a two-point conversion and kept a 14-13 lead. Referees flagged the Jayhawks for 12 men on the field, however, and gave the Nittany Lions a second chance. Penn State won 15-14.
Rachel Sevmour/KANSAN
KU quarterback Jason Swanson manuvered past Missouri's Lorenzo Williams during the 1st quarter of the football game Oct. 29 at Memorial Stadium. Kansas defeated Missouri 13-3
1961 — Bluebonnet Bowl
FOOTBALI
Kansas dominated Rice in the Jayhawks' second all-time bowl game, winning 33-7. Quarterback John Hadl was 7-of-10 for 64 yards in his final game at Kansas. Running back Curtis McClinton added a rushing touchdown, as well.
1948 Orange Bowl
Kansas had a chance to score the game-winning touchdown against Georgia Tech on a first and goal from the one-yard line in the last minutes of the game. Kansas quarterback Lynne McNutt fumbled the quarterback sneak on first down, gave the ball back to Georgia Tech and gave Kansas a loss in its first-ever bowl appearance.
KU faced rough road 6-0 home record saved Jayhawks
Lenexa resident Mike Auer cheers on the Jayhawks from the stands of Memorial Stadium on Nov. 5. I've been a Jayhawk fan "since I was born Dec. 22, 1969," Auer said. The Jayhawks had their last victory against Nebraska in 1968, until Saturday's game ended in a 40-15 Kansas win.
BY RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
There has not been a season in the history of Kansas football with more ups and downs than the current 2005 season, from 3-0 to 3-4 to 6-5 and bowl eligibility.
Kansas 30, Florida Atlantic 19
The season began with promise and Jayhawk fans expected nothing short of postseason play. That dream was often challenged, but in the end the Jayhawks went bowling. Here's a look back at all 11 games.
Kansas started its season during Labor Day weekend with a matchup against Florida Atlantic. Kansas looked average at best and a noticeable trend was shown in the first game: shaky quarterback play.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino pulled starter Adam Barmann in favor of Brian Luke, hoping to jump start the struggling offense in the second quarter with Kansas up 9-7. The move did not set the offense into motion immediately with Kansas failing to score again until a field goal from Scott Webb in the third quarter.
Florida Atlantic came back to take the lead late in the third quarter with a touchdown, up 13-12. Brian Luke responded for Kansas, orchestrating a seven play touchdown drive for an 11-point victory.
Kansas 36, Appalachian State 8
Luke made his first start of the season the next week but even against the lesser opponent it took until the end of the first quarter for Kansas to score.
For the second consecutive game, the Jayhawks had solid play from their running backs, gaining over 200 yards on the ground.
Junior running back Jon Cornish gained 104 yards on just 10 carries to pace the Jahawks. Mangino used three quarterbacks during the contest, but Luke would retain his starting job.
Kansas 34, Louisiana Tech 14
Up next was believed to be Kansas' most difficult non-conference game. Luke took a firm grasp of the starting quarterback job, throwing three touchdown passes. Despite being tied 7-7 at halftime, the Kansas offense came alive in the second half with Luke's passes helping Kansas cruise to a 34-14 victory.
The victory made Kansas 3-0 for the first time since 1997. The Kansas defense was dominant in getting pressure on Louisiana Tech quarterback Matt Kubick, sacking him seven times. Senior linebacker Brandon Perkins led the way, setting a school record with five sacks.
Texas Tech 30, Kansas 17
Dismissing the three non-conference opponents appeared easy for the Jayhawks, but they would next face their toughest challenge yet, traveling to Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders came into the game nationally ranked and touted the top offense in the country. Kansas struggled early, down 20-0 at halftime. The Kansas offense helped out Texas Tech, fumbling in the end zone and giving away a touchdown.
The Kansas offense was able to find success in the second half, cutting the Texas Tech lead to 27-17, but
that was the closest Kansas would get, falling 30-17 and having its win streak snapped.
Mangino again had trouble at the quarterback position, using three during the game, but none were able to help Kansas get a rare Big 12 road victory.
Kansas State 12. Kansas 3
The offense was worse in the following game, accumulating barely 200 yards of total offense. The Jayhawks were unable to capitalize on the good field position given to them by their defense, leading to a 12-3 loss to the Wildcats in Manhattan. The Kansas defense held Kansas State to 183 yards of total offense, but the Jayhawks were unable to get yards from their quarterbacks again, completing just eight passes and using three quarterbacks.
The Kansas offense hit a new low against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 19. Kansas 3
At Arrowhead Stadium, more than 50,000 fans attended a game that featured two struggling teams. Mangino had said the week before that he would stick with Luke for the entire game, which he would, but Kansas would not accumulate more than 100 yards of total offense. After the game Mangino called it the
worst offensive performance he had ever seen.
The Kansas offense once again gave the opposition points when a pass from Luke was intercepted on the opening drive and returned for a touchdown. Kansas never gained any offensive continuity and fell 19-3.
Colorado 44. Kansas 13
The following week in Boulder, Colo., Mangino went with Luke again, but that was short-lived when senior Jason Swanson replaced him late in the first quarter with Kansas down 9-0.
Swanson immediately led Kansas down the field for a field goal. In the second quarter Swanson would hit Charles Gordon for a seven-yard touchdown giving Kansas its first touchdown in more than two games and cutting the score to 16-13 in favor of Colorado at halftime.
That would be the closest Kansas would come with Colorado benefiting on multiple Jayhawk special teams blunders that resulted in points for the Buffaloes. The Buffaloes went on to give the Jayhawks their worst loss of the season.
Kansas came into the Border Showdown struggling, after losing
Kansas 13, Missouri 3
four straight games. A bowl game was the last thing Kansas fans believed was possible at the time but for the third consecutive year, Kansas came in determined against its biggest rival.
The Kansas defense was able to hold dual-threat quarterback Brad Smith in check the entire game in what Mangino called the best executed defensive game plan he had ever seen.
Swanson started at quarterback and didn't put up spectacular numbers passing, but was efficient, helping the Jayhawks milk the clock late in the contest when they held to a 13-3 lead. Senior running back Clark Green was able to help the Kansas offense move the chains, rushing for 125 yards and the game's lone touchdown. The victory put Kansas back at, 500 at 4-4.
Kansas 40. Nebraska 15
36 years was all the Kansas football team was able to talk about in the week leading up to its game against Nebraska. 36 was the number of straight victories Nebraska held over Kansas.
Kansas had production from all three units, getting touchdowns on defense, offense and special teams. It was a two-point game midway through the third quarter with Kansas up 17-15, but then the points started to come for the Jayhawks.
The game was capped off with a Kevin Kane interception return for a touchdown for a 40-15 victory, ending one of the longest losing streaks in the country.
Texas 66, Kansas 14
After the Kansas defense stifled the Nebraska rushing attack to just 21 yards, it was now the top rushing defense in the nation and boasted a top five defense overall heading to Austin, Texas. The Longhorns were ranked second nationally, and were upset about Mangino's comments after last year's meeting in Lawrence when Mangino blamed officials for a lavihawk loss in the final seconds.
Texas made its point and ran and passed all over the Kansas defense, accumulating more than 600 yards of total offense.
Kansas 24. Iowa State 21 (OT)
Kansas needed this victory to become bowl-eligible. Iowa State had plenty to play for too, needing a victory to qualify for the Big 12 championship game in Houston.
Iowa State led for most of the game until Kansas tied the game at 14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The score was a one-yard rush from Luke, who replaced Swanson just a few plays earlier after Swanson was injured. Iowa State scored on the following drive to go up 21-14. That is where the score would stay until the final minutes when Luke hit Dexton Fields for a 15-year touchdown to tie the game and force overtime.
Iowa State had the ball on its first drive of overtime, but the Kansas defense held and forced a missed Iowa State field goal attempt. The stage was set for sophomore kicker Scott Webb to kick the winning field goal. Webb drilled the 34-yard field goal to give Kansas the victory and make Kansas bowl-eligible for the second time in three years.
Edited by Kellis Robinett
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