ORANGE BOWL JANUARY 3,2008
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JANUARY 17,2008 SPECIAL SECTION
GAME (CONTINUED FROM FRONT)
said. "They're very aggressive with it — we watched on tape for about a month of them leaving the gunners exposed — walking off the gunners and trying to just outnumber you to block punts. We said that we're not going to let them do that."
"If they did it more than once, we were going to throw the ball out there, and they did. It ended up being a key play."
With the momentum wrenched from Virginia Tech's control, Kansas was able to stay ahead for the remainder of the game. With just more than 11 minutes to play in the contest, Kansas sophomore safety Justin Thornton made an outstanding read on an erratic pass by Virginia Tech junior quarterback Sean Glennon, intercepting the pass and advancing the ball to the Virginia Tech two-yard line. On the next play, Kansas sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing plunged two yards into the end zone to extend the Kansas lead to 24-14.
The game-clinching touchdown
run was one of many excellent plays the Jayhawk field general made Thursday night. Reeing finished 20-of-37 with 227 passing yards and one passing touchdown. His favorite receiver was Fields, who tallied 101 yards on seven receptions. Senior wide receiver Marcus Henry was the beneficiary of Reesing's touchdown pass and totaled 20 yards in his final collegiate contest. The Jayhawks spread the ball around on offense, completing passes to eight receivers and rushing the ball nine or more
times with three different ballcarriers. The Kansas defense made the offense's job easier by forcing three turnovers, setting the team up with good field position.
"It was really an up-and-down game, a roller coaster of emotions," Reesing said. "Our defense was able to get turnovers and get us the ball in good position, and that was huge for the game. The offense came through when we had to, made plays when we needed to and got the ball in the end zone and points on the board."
The Jayhawks needed nearly all of their 24 points to hang on and defeat a Virginia Tech team that fought until the clock read zeroes. The Hokies scored on a 15-play, 78-yard drive with 2:51 remaining to cut the Jayhawks' lead to three points, but McMcAnderson rumbled his way to first downs several times on Kansas' next drive to run out the clock and seal the victory.
Kansas spent much of the 2007 season breaking school records and setting new and lofty standards for a
program that had spent much of the past century mired in mediocrity. It spent Jan. 3 capping off a season that was one victory short of perfection, but close enough to be considered a triumph.
"Our kids were determined to play well," Mangino said. "A lot of folks counted us out on this one, and we heard that for about a month — that's OK because we've been in that position quite a bit. I think we always play better when we're an underdog anyhow."
Success never tasted so sweet for fans, players
BY CASE KEEFER
KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR
CKEEKAN.COM
CKEEKAN.COM
Senior wide receiver Marcus Henry gets a piece of a punt by Virginia Tech punter Brent Bowden during the second half of the game.
MIAMI — The Kansas football players kept their mouths glued shut as tightly as a rag doll all season long. They said they didn't listen to the naysayers' criticism of their weak nonconference schedule, and it didn't bother them when analysts questioned their legitimacy.
They all lied. Seconds after the 24-21 victory against Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl became final, the players rushed the field and insisted that they just validated the most phenomenal football season in school history.
"Any doubts that we didn't belong on top all are gone," said senior tight end and captain Derek Fine "We just beat the No. 3 team, a very, very good team, the ACC Champions."
Sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing added that the doubters were silenced now. But Reesing and Fine weren't just saying it. They were yelling it.
Maybe they elevated their volume so reporters could clearly hear their statements over the pandemonium on the field that comes with winning a Bowl Championship Series bowl game. That's not what it sounded like, though.
Reeing and Fine's tone and expression just made you feel like they were releasing five months of pent-up frustration. It was a moment that can normally only be found in cheesy sports movies. It even seemed awkward without uplifting orchestration.
Most of the players repeated those feelings in the locker room and in the postgame press conference, but it wasn't the same. Reesing and Fine hollering about respect to people standing inches away from them was the perfect ending to a storybook
season. And they had a point.
After starting the season with four straight victories, the Jayhawks weren't supposed to beat in-state rival Kansas State in Manhattan, where they hadn't won in nearly 20 years. But Kansas traveled up the road and racked up more than 430 yards of total offense in a 30-24 victory.
Beating Texas A&M 19-14 in a slug-it-out game at Kyle Field, one of the most storied stadiums in college football, was supposed to prove to the nation that Kansas was for real. It didn't.
The attitude then shifted to "OK, well, Kansas can't possibly win two straight games on the road." But Boulder, Colo., and College Station, Texas, became tour stops on the Jayhawk invasion in late October.
ESPN personalities called out the Jayhawks as frauds. Columnists wrote that they were over-rated. The majority of the national media still doubted them. I doubted them.
It took a 76-point massacre against Nebraska and a 15-point victory on the road against Oklahoma State in front of a national primetime television audience to finally receive positive attention.
But none of that mattered when it came to predicting the Orange Bowl. Kansas wasn't going to be able to win the special teams battle against Virginia Tech, and the Hokie defense was far too superior.
"A lot of folks counted us out on this one. We've heard that for about a month," said coach Mark Mangino. "And that's OK because we've been in that position quite a bit. I think we play better when we're an underdog anyhow."
Wrong again. The Jayhawks made a big special teams play of their own when junior linebacker Joe Mortensen blocked a field goal in the third quarter. Reesing threw for a gritty 227 yards, which was just enough.
Victory gives team hope for next season
Kansas spent the season proving that it excelled as the underdog. And it spent the Orange Bowl proving the cynics wrong.
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
But after Kansas finished its first 12-win season with a 24-21 Orange Bowl victory against Virginia Tech, the junior middle linebacker's comments seemed perfectly acceptable.
MIAMI — If Joe Mortensen would have said anything like this six months ago, everyone would have considered him insane.
"Next year, it's not a step down. We're not trying to maintain, we're trying to step up." Mortensen said. "We are trying to play in a national championship."
Whoa there, Jayhawk.
But the prospects of Kansas becoming a football haven don't sound so empty now. A magnifying glass isn't needed to see in what direction an Orange Bowl victory sends the Jayhawks.
Only three years ago, Kansas was one of the most downtrodden programs in all of college football. It was enduring nine straight losing seasons, and no signs of developing a consistent football program appeared in Lawrence.
"It's a great place to start, a bowl victory," sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing said. "We've got big
And in the Orange Bowl, it was those guys who will be coming back who dominated the statistics sheet. Reseing threw for a touchdown and rushed for another, junior receiver Dexton Fields
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Sophomore quarterback Todd Reed celebrates his fourth-quarter two-yard rushing touchdown, which gave Kansas a 24-14 lead with 10:57 in the game.
shoes to fill next year; we're losing a lot of great seniors that helped this team out in a lot of ways. But we've got a lot of guys back, too."
A band director reacts to a ruling on the field of a reception by Virginia Tech tight end Greg Boone. The band and the Spirit Squad traveled to Florida to cheer on their team.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
caught seven passes for 101 yards and junior linebacker Mike Rivera recorded 10 tackles and a sack. The list could stretch on and on. But the contributions from the young guys made it clear that Kansas has the talent to make it more than a one-year success story.
The biggest plays of the game came from the hands of players who will return. With just more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Virginia Tech lined up to attempt a 42-yard field goal that would tie the game at 17. But Mortensen scrapped his way to the backfield, raised his hands and blocked the Jud Dunlevy kick. In a three-point game, Mortensen's
block proved to be the difference.
"We sent an all-out block, and we had a good push from the d-line," Mortensen said. "I just squeezed through there, and luckily no one saw me."
just less than 11 minutes remaining. Reesing, who single-handedly rewrote the Kansas passing record book this season, finished the game 20-for-37 passing for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Considering Virginia Tech has the nation's fourth-best passing efficiency defense, which often blanketed all the Kansas receivers, the numbers were impressive for Reeing.
"It's a great place to start, a bowl victory. We've got big shoes to fill next year."
Mortensen might have saved the Jayhawks from a tie game, but sophomore strong safety Justin Thornton's fourth-quarter interception sealed the victory. Virginia Tech junior quarterback Sean Glennon looked for a big play to receiver Josh Hyman down the seam, but Thornton had other plans.
Another player who could have been back in crimson and blue next season and made an impact was junior cornerback Aqib Talib. Talib returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown and garnered OrangeBowlMVPhonors. But Talib
He picked off the softly thrown pass and returned it 30 yards to the Kansas 2-yard line. Reesing rushed into the end zone the next play, and Kansas took a 24-14 lead with
TODD REESING Sophomore quarterback
Talib or not,
Kansas coach
Mark Mangino
knows
an Orange
Bowl
announced that he would enter the NFL Draft and forift his remaining year of eligibility days after the Orange bowl.
"It means a lot," Mangino said. "It's another step for our program."
championship sends Kansas into next season with high expectations.
After the victory, Thornton said he thought Kansas had transformed from a pure basketball school to a football school. It's yet another statement that would have sounded outrageous just six months ago but one that can't be mocked after a big night from the returning players.
Jon Goerina/KANSAN
Junior cornerback Ashley Talib was named Orange Bowl MVP. He scored the first Kansas touchdown on a 60-yard interception return.