THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
WWW.KANSAN.COM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2005
FOOTBALL
Kicker scores award
Perfect performance earns recognition
BY RYAN COLAIANNI rcolaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
If kicking the winning field goal against Iowa State to send Kansas to a bowl game was not enough, Scott Webb was named Big 12 Conference special teams player of the week yesterday.
The sophomore kicker connected on all three or both fields.
his field goal attempts on Saturday, from 48, 33 and 34 yards out. The 34-yarder was the field goal that gave Kansas the 24-21 victory and extended its season. Webb has missed just three field goals all year, converting 14 of 17
Webb
"That's what I dream about every night." Webb said. "I finally got to do it. It felt really good to get it done."
attempts.
Webb's 48-yard field goal on Saturday was a career long.
Teammates mobbed Webb after he kicked the field goal, and fans rushed the field in celebration.
Webb, Tulsa, Okla., native, got his opportunity for the kick after Iowa State missed a 41-yard field goal in its first possession of overtime.
Webb has missed just three field goals all year, converting 14 of 17 attempts. Webb's 48-yard field goal on Saturday was a career long.
"Scott is a young guy that has really really put hours into his kicking," Kansas football coach Mark Mangino said. "He has worked hard in the weight room; you can see how much stronger he is. He is a confident guy."
Webb is just the third Kansas player to receive a player of the week honor this year. Senior linebacker Brandon Perkins was named defensive player of the week after tallying five sacks against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 17. Senior defensive end Charlton Keith was also named defensive player of the week after the 40-15 victory against Nebraska on Nov. 5. after recording eight tackles and a sack
A panel of media members covering teams around the conference makes the selections.
Other selections of the week were Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson on offense and Texas safety/cornerback Michael Huff on defense.
Edited by Ty Beaver
Kansan file photo
PAGE 10A
Kansas sophomore kicker Scott Webb kicks the game-winning field goal giving the Jayhawks a 24-21 victory against Iowa State in overtime at Memorial Stadium Saturday. Webb was named SBC Big 12 Conference special teams player of the week.
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino looks at his playbook on the sideline during a game this season.
Victory allows coaches extra time to work with players Kansas prepares for postseason
BY RYAN COLAIMNI
rcolaiani@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
By qualifying for bowl competition this season, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino earned a few extra weeks of practices with his team.
Those extra sessions will enable him to continue to groom his young players for the future.
"You get time to work with your young kids. It's not spring ball, it's winter ball." Mangino said. "In a program like ours, we could use it." Only three true freshmen have seen action this year, meaning the remainder of the freshmen class will be able to redshirt.
"If you can do it, it's great," Mangino said of a player redshirting. "We'll really benefit here in the long run from having redshirted most of the class."
Mangino said Sunday that the team would not practice early this week, because it would have nearly a month until its next game.
The team's weight room routine and on-field practice schedule will be dependent on which bowl the team goes to.
Injury update: Mangino said Sunday that he believed that senior quarterback Jason Swanson should be ready to practice soon, indicating that he should have no problem playing in the team's bowl game in a month.
After the game on Saturday, Mangino said that there was no quarterback controversy, despite the strong play by senior Brian Luke.
Junior wide receiver Charles Gordon was seen in a sling after the game on Saturday.
His status appears to be more serious. Mangino said he thought Gordon would be ready to play but would need a few weeks to recover from an apparent shoulder injury.
"How he responds physically over the next week or two will tell the rule." Mangino said.
Destination unknown: Mangino spoke with Athletics Director Lew Perkins a few times after their bowl-qualifying victory over Iowa State about which bowl Kansas would attend.
Mangino said on Sunday that Perkins had been contacted by multiple bowls besides the Fort Worth Bowl.
"The bowl picture is still very much cloudy at this point," Mangino said. "We won't rule anybody out and we'll see how it falls."
Mangino said he would love to play close to the state of Kansas so that more Kansas fans could attend. That would most likely mean playing in the Fort Worth Bowl or the Houston Bowl.
— Edited by Erick R. Schmidt
VOLLEYBALL
Team receives bid to NCAA Tournament
Jayhawks to face Bruins in first round on Friday
BY MATT WILSON
mwilson@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
When the Jayhawks head to Los Angeles for their third straight week of NCAA tournament Friday, they will play three
Kansas is coming off three straight losses and may be without the talents of senior setter Andi Rozum, who was among the Big 12 leaders in assists this season. The Jayhawks finished the regular season at 15-14 overall and 7-13 in the Big 12.
teams sporting better records.
Bochard led the Kansas volleyball team to its second straight NCAA tournament last year. Kansas lost to Washington in the second round.
Despite that, Kansas volleyball coach Ray Bechard said his team would be ready to go when the first serve comes.
"We're excited to get to play at least one more week."
Bechard said. "I think the players thought that Saturday's match was their last."
Kansas is coming off three straight losses and may be without the talents of senior setter
"It's going to be fun," said sophomore opposite hitter Emily Brown. "We're excited to play."
Andi Rozum, who was among the Big 12 leaders in assists this season. The Jayhawks finished the regular season at 15-14 overall and 7-13 in the Big 12.
Here's a look at the other teams that will be playing in the UCLA pod Friday night:
The 14th-ranked Bruins, KU's first-round opponent, enter the match with an 18-10 record, including a 10-8 Pac-10 record. UCLA finished the season with a 3-1 victory against California, its seventh victory in its last nine matches. The Bruins finished in a fifth-place tie in the conference standings.
UCLA
In addition, the Bruins are tough to beat on their home court. They compiled a 6-3 record at Pauley Pavilion during the regular season. Their three losses came against tournament-bound teams Arizona, Southern California and Stanford.
Long Beach State
Co-champions of the Big West Conference, Long Beach State enters the tournament on fire. Despite losing its last match of the regular season, the 49ers finished the season with a 25-6 record. Before the loss to Florida A&M, Long Beach State had won nine consecutive matches
The 49ers, unlike many mid-major programs, took on all comers this season. They legiti-
They didn't play a high-caliber non-conference schedule, but they did face Long Beach State and UCLA earlier in the season. The Toreros beat the 49ers 3-1 at home and fell to the Bruins 3-1 in Reno, Nev.
mized their record with victories against major conference teams Michigan (Big 10), Arkansas (SEC) and Rutgers (Big East).
The No.18 Toreros posted a stellar 22-5 record and finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 10-4 mark in league play. The WCC had five teams selected to the NCAA tournament.
- Edited by Theresa Montaño
THE COLUMN
JIMMY CHAVEZ
JCHAVEZ@KANSAN.COM
Football finally no laughing matter
It was fitting that in a season that resembled the wildest of roller coasters, it came down to one game, one quarter, one play.
"We came in, and football was just pretty much laughed at, I thought. We all felt that way. I'm just really happy for all the guys who put in the effort and made the foundation for KU football," said senior quarterback Brian Luke.
Four weeks ago, many left this Kansas team for dead. At least three times Saturday against Iowa State, fans likely gave up on the team. You could feel it in the stadium. Fans were feeling a season that started with such promise slipping away.
1
All the anticipation seemed like years ago, and then Luke stepped in, a man who has had a roller coaster of season.
Although he started the season backing up Adam Barmann, Brian Luke showed promise and played well, but then slipped and lost his job to Jason Swanson, who put Kansas in the position to go to a bowl game.
In the end, Luke was caineu in for a second consecutive year to come to the rescue when Swanson injured his knee in the fourth quarter. Trailing 14-6, it could not have seemed more grim for the Jawhaks.
Once again, Luke defied the odds, helping to lead Kansas to a dramatic, come-from-behind victory that showed determination and perseverance that many never thought this team had.
Now Kansas heads to a bowl game, a feat many considered, but never with this much drama. It shows that this program is finally ready to become a competitor in the Big 12, something these seniors only dreamed about when arriving here.
The students feel it, too. This season, they showed up for a change - the average home attendance was 43,675, a record set in 1969, when Kansas was coming off an Orange Bowl appearance as defending Big 8 champion.
They couldn't imagine a home game would count so much by the time leaves were completely off the trees. For fifth-year seniors like Luke, Clark Green and Banks Floodman, they know football is no longer an afterthought. After Saturday's game, fans were already talking about next year's first game in anticipation.
This change is the result of firm belief in a team and its coaching staff. Whatever happens from here, this is where it started.
Times have changed at a school long considered a basketball school. You could say the wood has been sawed, and nobody's laughing anymore.
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino always used sawing wood as an analogy for the program's steady progress. When he arrived in 2002, football was always mocked. Every game, with the exception of Nebraska and Kansas State, would be played before crowds that could fit into Allen Fieldhouse.
Now, during Mangino's fourth year at the helm, fans talk about Jayhawk football in a different light. They have a sense of pride that has many alumni remembering earlier days, when the football team was a serious contender.
Chavez is a San Antonio senior in journalism.
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