ANSAN 0,2007 SPORTS ery, on BEST KU BASKETBALL GAMES OF THE DECADE BASILIC BALL CLUB ATED PRESS Monday.reatening, THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 100 apulted at after a derided a considerer charishe the newaron to dections remains needed in a WWW.KANSAN.COM PAGE 4B andling guerril olmert oalition dismal TUESDAY,OCTOBER 30.2007 as been is in an on erion lis con- or pros- Erekat Israeli recovery, working a two- e Israeli 1967," Mayor politi-agnosed to re-text year's 'Law & con was his lyn's n. John nuts withgressive PAGE1B of presid- dwards, ceer had spokes- had sur- d to his politi battles includ-idential COMMENTARY 'Mangenius' reverses KU football fortunes Three minutes and 27 seconds after Kansas beat Texas A&M to reach 8-0 for the first time since 1909, a song came on the radio — a song by a band called Talking Heads. I know what you're thinking. What does a 1980s new-wave rock band that's popular with hipsters in skinny jeans have to do with football? Well, everything. At least, it did at that precise time and place. You see, the song that came on the radio minutes after the game was a song called "Once in a Lifetime." It was one of those perfect music-meets-life moments that only seem to happen in Cameron Crowe movies. But the song "Once in a Lifetime" asks an appropriate question: "How did we get here?" How did we get to a point where Kansas football is 8-0? How did Kansas ever get to the point where it's a double-digit favorite against Nebraska? How did we get here, indeed? different paths Kansas Nebraska AP Ranking — Nov. 3, 2001 NR 2 AP Ranking — Nov. 3, 2007 8 NR Record (1997 to Nov. 3, 2001) 23-33 54-7 Record (Nov. 3, 2001 to present) 34-37 44-32 2007 Record (Big 12) 8-0 (4-0) 4-5 (1-4) Nov. 3, 2001. Seems like a while ago, right? Well, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007, Kansas plays host to Nebraska on the sixth anniversary of what might go down as the best day in the history of Kansas football. On Nov. 3, 2001, Nebraska came to Lawrence led by future Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch. Crouch punished Kansas all night long, and Nebraska's blackshirts held Kansas to 1-14 on third down conversions as the Cornhuskers rolled over the lavwhacks 51-7 Pretty good day for a Jayhawk fan, eh? Actually, it was. The loss dropped Kansas to 2-6 for the season, and within 24 hours Kansas coach Terry Allen was asked to clean out his office. A month later, Kansas hired Mark Mangino. Slowly, the real "Mangenius" began to rebuild the program that Allen left in shambles. The project started with defense. Nick Reid, Banks Floodman, Kevin Kane and Charles Gordon helped Kansas back to respectability with bowl appearances in 2003 and 2005. SEE DODD ON PAGE 3B BASKETBALL New ruling to clean up bench etiquette Kansas coach Bill Self has a heated discussion with a referee during the home game against Missouri last year. The NCAA recently memo to a memo and coaches says they would emphasize bench decorum this season. Cursing ban will change flavor, intensity of game KANSAN FILE PHOTO Dean Smiths record of 879 NCAA victories was broken last season. But he still has another record — a behavior record. Smith, a former North Carolina coach, never cursed, and according to John Feinstein's "A March to Madness," he had a good reason. Smith smoked. He drank. He was afraid if he started cursing his mother would stop speaking to him. Well, if all mothers feel that way, this could be the Year of the Mom in college basketball. The NCAA is emphasizing bench decorum for the 2007-2008 season. Referees are supposed to give technical fouls for using inappropriate language, disrespecting an official or attempting to influence a call, taunting opponents and leaving the coaching box. That means coaches can't curse at referees or their players. The NCAA has come up with strange rulings in the past. It once punished the Utah basketball program for violations that included former coach Rick Majerus buying a player breakfast at a diner the morning after he found out the player's father died. Heinous, huh? But "bench decorum" doesn't even make sense. These are college basketball games, not delitate balls. Four-letter words are as much a part of the game as shoes and sports drinks. Smith is unique. Duke coach Mike Kryzewski's sailor mouth is renowned throughout the sport. North Carolina coach "Sometimes it's easier to get through to a player by yelling." ing gets a player's attention and creates a sense of urgency. Senior guard Rodrick Stewart can relate. Roy Williams can only say so many "aw shuckens" and "dadgummits" before he starts sounding like the sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket." Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun wrote about the need to use foul language in his book "Dare to Dream." He写了 that curs- RODRICK STEWART Senior guard "The only time you really see coaches yell at players is when they do something wrong," he said. "They correct them on a mistake. Sometimes it's easier to get through to a player by velling." And really, what's wrong with a little bit of colorful language? The players are adults. So are the coaches and the referees. Kids watching the game from the stands are too far away, and they wouldn't be able to hear it through the television screen. SEE DENT ON PAGE 3B FOOTBALL Although most of the media attention for Kansas' 8-0 record has been focused on sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing, senior running back Brandon McAnderson's performance this year has made him stand out in the team's No. 14 rushing offense. McAnderson rushed for 183 yards and scored two touchdowns in Saturday's name against Texas & A.M. KANSAN FILE PHOTO! McAnderson shines in running back performance BY ASHER FUSCO afusco@kansan.com Brandon McAnderson spent his first three years at Kansas perfectly filling the role of backfield: He willingly and adeptly blocked for his quicker and more famous teammates and plodded down the field three yards at a time on the rare occasion he got the ball. Brandon McAnderson the fullback was nowhere to be found Saturday night at Texas A&M. Instead, the senior running back shot through gaps rather than filling them and dodged defenders instead of pummeling them as he cut and galloped his way to 183 rushing yards and two touchdowns. McAnderson certainly looked different, but he had not altered his attitude. "I really don't want people to think nothing about me," he said. "I just want to be a part of this offense and make some plays here and there." The Lawrence native made plays almost everywhere in last Saturday's 19-11 Kansas victory. He broke three runs of 20 or more yards in the first half and placed an exclamation point on his stellar night with a career-long 40-yard sprint down the left sideline in the fourth quarter. He rushed 21 times and averaged nearly nine yards per carry, providing the Kansas offense with consistency when the Aggies bottled up sophomore running back Jake Sharp and pressured sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing. "They gave us some creases and gave us a Brandon McAnderson's 2007 stats
AttemptsYardsAverageLongTouchdowns
So far:1026886.7409
Projected:15310326.74014
chance for an extra gap, and our offensive line did a good job of moving them," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "And Brandon McAnderson has good vision so he's going to find the lanes." McAnderson started his career at football notes SEE MCANDERSON ON PAGE 3B AWARD WATCH Todd Reeing can add another feather to his hat. The sophomore quarterback earned mention as a semifinalist for the Davey OBrien National Quarterback Award on Monday. Fifteen players were chosen as semifinalists for the award, given after the season to the nation's best quarterback based on criteria such as academics, character, skills and accomplishment. Reeing, in his first season as a starter, is Reesing 150-of-253 for 1,985 yards and 19 touchdowns and has not thrown an interception in his last three games. Fans can vote to help NO ROAD PROBLEMS determine the winner at www.daveyobrien com. The winner will be named Dec. 6. Kansas coach Mark Mangino attributed his team's recent success on the road to a raised confidence level. The players grew comfortable in their roles during the non conference season and built on strong performances against Kansas State and Colorado early in Big 12 Conference play. "When we played well out on the road in our first game in Manhattan, our door that Mangino they had a chance to be a good football team." Mangino said. "They knew that they were a confident team and a good team and could perhaps win a bunch of games." HOW TO HANDLE SUCCESS Despite the Jayhawks' confidence, Mangino credited his team's ability to put success to the side and handle a new opponent each week. As one of only five undefeated teams remaining in the nation, Kansas is certainly bowl-bound and could be headed for a BCS berth. The importance of staying grounded and focusing on the task at hand is something coaches have stressed, Mangino said. "They've really been a smart bunch of kids to work with," Mangino said, "and I think they understand that if they take the task at hand and just stay focused on that, the other things tend to take care of themselves." KELLER OUT FOR SEASON them. Keller is sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury he suffered last weekend against Texas. Joe Ganz will take over as the signal-caller, but Kansas has not seen much of the inexperienced junior. "We don't know a whole The Kansas coaches and players will have plenty of things to prepare for before Nebraska visits Memorial Stadium on Saturday, but quarterback Sam Keller isn't one of Ganz lot about him because he hasn't played too much," Mangino said. "I don't know how different they'll be, but I'm sure they'll run schemes that feature his strengths." Ganz, a junior, has completed nine of 16 passes for 139 yards in his career. NATIONALLY TELEVISED Another victory means another national television appearance for the Jayhawks. The team's Nov. 10 game at Oklahoma State will start at 7 p.m. and appear on ABC, Sunflower Broadband channel nine. This weekend's game against Nebraska will be shown on Fox Sports Net, Sunflower Broadband channel 36, at 11:30 a.m. — Asher Fusco 1