SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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RAIDERS DEFEAT CHIEFS 20-17 IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE
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NEBRASKA,K-STATEEND SEASONSWITHLOSSES
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2007
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SO CLOSE
Tigers pounce out of Hawks'reach
Freshman defensive back Chris Harris gets stiff armed by Missouri senior runner back Tony Temple during Saturday's game at Arrowhead Statdium in Kansas City, Mo. Missouri gained 519 yards against Kansas' defense. Missouri defeated Kansas 36-28.
Ion Goering/YANSCAN
BY ASHER FUSCO
afusco@kansan.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jeff Wheeler came close. The sophomore defensive end's outstretched fingers came within inches of the football as it left Chase Daniel's hand. But the ball spiraled past Wheeler and into the grasp of a Missouri receiver during the middle of the third quarter.
The completion was just one of 40 by the Missouri quarterback, the resulting first down just one of 29. But it underlined the recurring theme in Kansas' 36-28 loss to Missouri; the Jayhawks falling just short of making crucial plays.
"We had chances to execute, but thats the way the game went," sophomore wide receiver Kerry Meier said. "Hats off to Missouri because they played very well — well enough to beat us."
Missouri was the first team all season to play well enough to beat Kansas, which dropped to No. 7 in The Associated Press poll, No. 5 in the coaches' poll and No. 5 in the BCS standings. The Jayhawks arrived at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon undefeated and very close to the top of the BCS standings. Kansas left the staidum that night a one-loss team out of contention for the Big 12 Championship, out of the national championship picture and possibly out of a BCS bowl bid.
Early on, it was the 'Tigers who came up just short, as a trick play backfired in the Jayhawks' favor. After freshman wide receiver Jeremy Maclin returned a punt 43 yards to the Kansas 32-yard line, the Tiger offense stalled and advanced only 10 yards on their next four plays. But Missouri opted for something more adventurous than a field goal. After holder Tommy Saunders received
the long snap, he stood up and fired a pass to wide receiver Will Franklin on the left sideline. Franklin burst downfield but came up several yards short of the first down marker, giving Kansas the ball and the momentum midway through the first quarter.
But Kansas could not take advantage of its good fortune and punted the ball away six plays later. When Missouri took control of the ball with 4:28 left in the first quarter, it unleashed its offensive weapons. Running back Tony Temple broke free for runs of 12
and 23 yards, and Daniel completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Danario Alexander for a second-and-long conversion. Saunders fumbled the ball inside the Kansas 5-yard
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 6B
BCS RANKING
BCS RANKING Kansas slips to No. 5 after Saturday's loss to Missouri, now No. 1
>> COMMENTARY
Kansas slipped three spots to No. 5 in the BCS Standings after Saturday's 36-28 loss to Missouri. The Jayhawks earned fifth place in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, sixth in the Harris Poll and seventh in the AP Top 25 Poll. After dropping behind West Virginia, Ohio State and Georgia in the BCS Standings, Kansas is no longer in the running for a spot in the BCS National Championship game. Even if No. 1 Missouri loses to Oklahoma and No. 2 West Virginia loses to Pittsburgh next weekend, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Georgia, which are both idle next week, would fill the top positions.
If Kansas were to make a BCS Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl would be its most likely destination. For the Jayhawks to earn a trip to the Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 2 in Phoenix, Ariz.), Missouri would have to defeat Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship. A Missouri victory would send the Tigers to the BCS National Championship and probably push the one-loss Jayhawks into the Fiesta Bowl.
If Oklahoma wins this weekend, no Big 12 Conference team will appear in the national title game and the Sooners would qualify for the Fiesta Bowl as the Big 12 Champions. Missouri could still earn an altar-based in a BCS Bowl but Kansas would probably fall out of the BCS to the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 1 in Dallas), which selects the best Big 12 team to not make a BCS bowl. If Oklahoma defeats Missouri by a large enough margin to drop the Tigers below No. 5 in the BCS Rankings, Kansas could sneak into a BCS Bowl as an alt-team.
BCS STANDINGS
1. Missouri (11-1) .9781
2. West Virginia (10-1) .9713
3. Ohio State (11-1) .9192
4. Georgia (10-2) .8274
5. Kansas (11-1) .7918
Neutral-site rivalry game affects Kansas tradition
-Asher Fusco
shrover@kansan.com
I wonder how Lew Perkins slept Saturday night
On his drive home, I wonder if he took a detour past Memorial Stadium and noticed how its old bones never looked so hollow.
Had Perkins not agreed to move this year's Kansas-Missouri football game to Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas fans may have never left Memorial Stadium Saturday night in celebration of their No. 1-ranked team. We'll never know.
Now, let me just say, I like Lew Perkins. He realized that for Kansas to be more than a basketball school it needed to bring in more revenue, and that's exactly what he's done. But his one flaw is that he has about as much respect for tradition as Missouri fans have respect for sportsmanship. Perkins didn't think twice about giving Allen Fieldhouse a facelift. He's forever altered the Hill. And he allowed college football's second longest rivalry to be displaced to a neutral site. This time, it cost him.
Well, it didn't cost Perkins. He'll cash in his check for $1 million and change on Monday, just the same. But his disregard for tradition may have cost Kansas football players a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for a Big 12 Championship and National Championship.
Kansas is young, so logic says it will be in contention again next season. But the truth is that Kansas football is known for consistent disappointment more than sustained success. 'We don't know what will happen next season.
Of the tradition-rich programs in the conference — Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State. Texas and Texas A&M
The next two seasons, Kansas will play the big boys from the South (Oklahoma,
all but Oklahoma had disappointing seasons. In the North, Missouri isn't going anywhere for a while, Colorado and Iowa State are on the rise, and Tom Osborne is going to land Nebraska a fully competent head coach for the long haul. By the time Missouri comes back down to earth, Kansas State and Nebraska will be contenders again.
Texas and Texas Tech), an improving North, and it can't possibly play an easier nonconference slate than it did this season. In all likelihood, Saturday's game was the biggest football game Kansas will ever be a part of and, if Perkins had left it alone, the Jayhawks might have come out on top.
In Lawrence, maybe Kansas didn't start out so shaky on offense. Maybe offensive coordinator Ed Warinner was more creative with his play calling. Maybe Dexton Fields got under Todd Reesing's pass in the first quarter and waited into the endzone. Maybe Dezmon Briscoe didn't let Reesing's pass bounce off his chest. Maybe Scott Webb didn't do his best Lin Elliot impersonation. Maybe Kansas got a better pass rush on Chase Daniel. Maybe Kansas forced a turnover. Maybe Kansas capitalized on Missouri's 141 penalty yards. We'll never know.
But, there's a story about when former Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley saw a Brooklyn fan in the stands urinating in a beer bottle that he knew the Dodgers no longer belonged in Ebbets Field. When I noticed a fan in front of me peeing in a cup during the game Saturday, it convinced me the Border Showdown didn't belong in Arrowhead Stadium.
If Saturday's game benefited Kansas at all, it gave the Jayhawks the opportunity to show the country it could hang with a better team in the most hostile of environments. How Kansas was able to narrow a 21-point deficit to six in one quarter is beyond me. The atmosphere in Arrowhead Stadium was unlike anything I've ever experienced and probably unlike anything I ever will. There wasn't just pure hatred in the air; there was genuine bloodlust. It's the closest I can imagine to being part of the mob in the Roman Colosseum, watching gladiators battle for their lives.
Without the home-field advantage, Kansas fell in a hole against a better team with a more experienced, Heisman-caliber quarterback and couldn't climb out.
Fortunately for Perkins, Kansas still has a chance to earn its own BCS money. But if Kansas should only receive BCS money earned by Missouri — if the Tigers defeat Oklahoma, Kansas is all but assured of playing in a BCS bowl — he will only have himself to blame, Perkins made his bed, now he has to sleep in it — if his conscience allows him.
Edited by Meghan Murphv
BASKETBALL
Kansas wins nailbiter against Arizona
BY MARK DENT
Senior guard Rodrick Stewart tries to bring in a rebound over Arizona defenders during Sunday's game in Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas defeated Arizona 76-23 in overtime. Stewart had 13 points and six rebounds. The Jayhawks improved their record to 5-0 while the Wildcats dropped to 3-2.
mdent@kansan.com
All week long, the Border War had been hyped as the showdown of the century between two bitter rivals. It was as if basketball, and Kansas' game against Arizona, didn't exist.
A day after the Kansas and Missouri football madness, the Jayhawks and Wildcats, who have their own little rivalry, put on a show that should help remind fans that basketball season is here and that it might be pretty exciting. Kansas won 76-72 in overtime.
The thriller included a 27-point performance from Arizona's Chase Budinger, a half-court buzzer beater that almost fell and plenty of highlights from junior guard Brandon Rush and senior guard Rodrick Stewart. The Jayhawks (5-0) earned their first major victory of the season, after defeating lower-level Division-1 opponents in their first four games.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
"It felt good," Rush said about the victory. "The energy was there."
It was Rush who gave the Jayhawks a boost when they badly needed it. Doctors told Kansas coach Bill before the game that Rush could play 20 minutes. Whoops. Rush played 36 minutes because of foul trouble for Stewart and for senior guard Russell Robinson and because of an injury to freshman guard Tyrel Reed. Rush scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Rush said that he didn't feel tired or sore during the game or after it but that he wished he had played better defense. The game's outcome easily could have been different if he had played fewer minutes.
After baskets by Stewart and sophomore forward Darrell Arthur broke a 62-62 tie in overtime, Rush swiped a pass at mid-court and dribbed in for an easy dunk that gave Kansas a 71-65 lead. He received an alley-oop pass from senior guard Russell Robinson on the next play to all but seal the victory.
"We needed Brandon tonight," junior guard Mario Chalmers said. "He was big for us. He came in and gave us some great minutes, great points and great production. We really needed that from him, and I think he needed that for himself."
Rushb's heroes in the extra period were almost not necessary. He came within inches of winning the game at the end of regulation when his half-court shot just missed.
Rush thought it was going in. So did Chalmers, who led the Jayhawks with eight straight points down the stretch in regulation. Self didn't think it was going in, and he was glad when it rimmed out. He wanted his team to play an additional, more competitive five minutes.
The game was fun to watch, but it wasn't fun to coach. Self was frustrated at the Jayhawks "stubbornness." He said that the team didn't rebound, shoot, defend or play its offense particularly well and that the players knew how to play better in each category.
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Self said Kansas didn't shoot well from the outside (it only scored 16 points that weren't free throws or scored in the paint), but the rebounding problem really bothered him. Arizona outrebounded Kansas 38-29.
"It is a great lesson for us to learn," Self said. "When you let good players get comfortable, like we did, anything can happen. There are a lot of things we can tighten up, and I think we will. We've got to get our big
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 6B ADDITIONAL COVERAGE ON PAGE 3B
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