THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4,2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
FOOTBALL
Coach may use redshirt freshman to spark offense
Mangino considers change
BY RYAN COLAIanni
rcolaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
A weak performance this weekend by a trio of Jayhawk quarterbacks could lead to a new face in the backfield.
After the offense struggled to move the ball in Saturday's 30-17 loss at Texas Tech, Kansas football coach Mark Mangino talked Sunday about the likelihood of using freshman Kerry Meier this season.
"We still think we are still in the part of the season where we are working with him every day, trying to see if he can be ready to play in games here in the near future," Mangino said.
"We are really not to the point where we would say just
Meier
yet that we would absolutely redshirt him, but we haven't made a decision."
On Saturday, senior quarterback Brian Luke started, but was ineffective.
He went 13-for-27 for 109 passing yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions.
Junior Adam Barmann was 8-for-10 for 45 yards, while freshman Marcus Herford went 0-for-1.
Mangino stressed that work on the practice field this week would be key in determining if Meier would play this season.
Mangino said he now plans to keep having Meier receive repetitions during practice to help him develop.
He said there were still a few weeks to decide if he would put the redshirt on Meier and that special circumstances would have to occur to make him consider using Meier this season.
"We would play him after five or six games if we needed to, if we felt we were in position to compete for a championship," Mangino said.
Meier was in contention for the starting job during training camp this summer, but he underwent a procedure just before the Jayhawks' first game to fix a heart problem. That kept Meier out of practice for more than a week.
Mangino said that any decision to redshirt Meier would be discussed with the quarterback.
"We want him to feel comfortable, whether he should
play at any particularly point in time." Mangino said.
During the Big 12 coaches' teleconference Monday, Mangino didn't say that Luke would be his starter for the game against Kansas State.
Mangino said that it would be important for his offense to play two halves of football.
The Jayhawks were shut out in the first half against Texas Tech before scoring 17 points in the second half. The team also struggled to score in the first half against Louisiana Tech.
Togetherness, on and off the field
Kansan file photo
Senior forward Kimberly Karfonta moves the ball past Missouri State sophomore defender Megan Beebe Aug. 31. Karfonta made her first career start this weekend in Lincoln, Neb., during the game against the No.25 Cornhuskers.
BY ALISSA BAUER
abauer@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
While competitors focus on their opponents, champions focus on one another.
The Kansas soccer team, returning from a Big 12 Conference championship, has captured what many teams only attempt. It has found the basis for success, which is more important than talent, awards, accolades and All-Americans; team chemistry.
"I think a lot of times the difference between an average team and an exceptional team is team chemistry," Senior forward Kimberly Karfonta said, "We work at it because we are a family."
Although accurately measuring team unity may be difficult, freshman forward Jessica Bush said she noticed differences between Kansas and its opponents.
"We have very talented athletes on our team, but there are a lot of things that set us apart from other teams," Bush said. "I don't know a lot about teams in the Big 12, but so far, in the games that we have played, it's our team chemistry."
Junior defender Afton Sauer praised the coaching staff, led by Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis, for contributing to team unity.
"Even our team chemistry with the coaches is big." Sauer
I think a lot of times the difference between an average team and an exceptional team is team chemistry. We work at it because we are a family."
"I
Kimhely Karfonta Senior foward
said. "We have a very good relationship with our coaches that most teams don't have. Coach has opened up his own family to us, and that is something really special, and that you don't see in other programs. His family is our family."
The soccer women may have a bond to rival other Kansas teams as well.
"I'm not really sure, but if other teams are like ours I'd be really shocked," Bush said. "We're all really good friends, and it's just kind of rare that you see that."
Sauer said despite their tight bonds, team members pushed each other to improve every day.
we never go easy in practice, so this makes our team even better on game days." Sauer said. "We know each others' limits. It shows on the field that we are willing to work for every single person on the team."
SEE TOGETHERNESS ON PAGE 10A
PAGE 12A
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
North left in cold in conference openers
BY DANIEL BERK
dberk@kansan.com
KANSAN SENIOR SPORTWRITER
Big 12 Conference play began last weekend, and the North didn't fare well, winning only two games.
Nebraska and Colorado were the only two teams to register victories. Kansas State lost to Oklahoma on the road, Missouri lost its conference home opener against Texas, and Kansas was unable to upset Texas Tech.
Nebraska had the closest game of the weekend, defeating nationally-ranked Iowa State at home in double overtime.
taylor's game was completed in the second overtime when he connected with running back Cory Ross on a nine-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the difference as Nebraska held on
Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor led the Cornhuskers to an upset victory, throwing for more than 430 yards and two touchdowns. He was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Nati Harrik/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
"It w.s.a total team win," Nebraska football coach Bill Callahan said. "It was anybody's game, and it could have gone either way. We were fortunate to come away with a win."
27-20.
Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor throws against Iowa State's Tim Dobbins in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Taylor completed 36 of 55 passes for 431 yards on a day the Huskers all but abandoned their running game. He set school records for completions and vards. Nebraska defeated Iowa State in double overtime, 27-20.
Nebraska plays Texas Tech at home next weekend and will look to improve to 2-0 in conference play.
Callahan commended the Kansas defense for its efforts against Texas Tech and said he knew it would be tough to shut down Texas Tech quarterback Cody Hodges.
It was Colorado's first road victory against a team from the South since the 2001 season, when it defeated Oklahoma State.
"Whoever wins the North division is going to have to win road games against South teams," Barnett said. "It is always big to win on the road, and this was no exception."
Colorado is tied with Nebraska at the top of the North division after a 34-0 pounding on the road against Oklahoma State.
Colorado returns home this weekend to face Texas A&M, which won its conference opener 16-13 against Baylor at home.
started better for the Buffaloes.
Though it was only the first game, Colorado football coach Gary Barnett said the conference season could not have
The Buffaloes will try to go 2-0 before heading to Austin, Texas, in two weeks to play the No. 2 Texas Longhorns.
Kansas State's 43-21 road loss at Oklahoma could have impacted Kansas' chances in the North.
Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder said he was upset with the way his team played and said the team had a lot to work on before playing in the Sunflower Showdown this weekend.
"The OU game wasn't really a contest. If it was, we weren't involved," Snyder said. "Kansas has developed into a good football team, and we will have our hands full. Before focusing on them, we have to get our own game figured out."
The Kansas vs. Kansas State game is set to kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday and will be televised
on Fox Sports.
Missouri will try to rebound from its 51-20 loss to Texas when it travels to Stillwater, Okla., to play Oklahoma State.
— Edited by Ty Beaver
DANCING NACHOS
MICHAEL PHILLIPS
MPHILLIPS@KANSAN.COM
Football success has price
LUBBOCK, Texas - The game is called college football, but this is more accurately a football college.
During the past five years, Texas Tech has undergone a nearly $90 million renovation of its football facilities and the surrounding area. The result is top-notch facilities that would impress any recruit. At Kansas, Mark Mangino has spent the past two years lobbying for a similar, $40 million facility.
But Texas Tech's expansion has come at another cost. The neighborhood across the street from the stadium has been bulldozed to make room for a hotel. More land has been cleared nearby to make room a highway that will run from Interstate 27 directly to the stadium.
The next time Mark Mangino or Lew Perkins say Kansas needs new football facilities to compete, remember that keeping up with the Joneses — or the Jones SBC Stadium — comes with a cost.
Perkins has handled the issue commendably, assuring students and staff that the building will not have an effect on graduation ceremonies that take place on the hill. At some point, however, the demands of a top-25 football team come in direct conflict with those of a college community like the one in Lawrence.
Currently, the football team has to take a bus from the offices in Anschutz Sports Pavilion to Memorial Stadium to practice. When the final $22 million is raised for the $40 million facility, a site will have to be chosen.
If the choice is a site near Memorial Stadium, no matter the exact location, it will cause an uproar from students and faculty. But Mangino and his staff would likely be unhappy with any other location.
in texas, where football is the state religion and the Red Raiders are beginning to contend for major bowl games, residents are fine with devoting several blocks of campus to football. It also helps that the campus is on a wide-open piece of land.
Lawrence residents claim to want a successful football team, but only in the same way that you want a clean bedroom. It'd be nice, but you don't want to expend any effort to make it happen.
At Kansas, Mangino has none of these luxuries. He coaches in a city where the first basketball practice will be televised, but the first conference football game was not
Perkins is committed to making the Jayhawks a consistently good football team, and Mangino is the right man for the job. Once he is provided with the right tools, he should be able to compete for the same caliber of players as Texas Tech.
Right now, Lawrence residents want it all. They want a big-game atmosphere on Saturdays and a chance at going to January bowl games. They also want the area around Memorial Stadium to remain untouched, giving football a small corner of campus but keeping everything else intact.
It doesn't work both ways. Schools like Texas Tech have raised the bar, and it won't be lowered anytime soon. There is a cost to being on top, and right now it's one that most Kansas fans aren't willing to accept.
That's why the Jayhawks will continue to play college football while Texas Tech is a football college.
♦ Phillips is a Wichita junior in journalism.
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