Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansas
Thursday, November 18, 1999
Big 12 rush leader powers Cyclones
Davis' legacy to end on Jayhawks' field
By Michael Rigg
kigg
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
For the last six seasons, the key to beating the Iowa State Cyclones has been simple: stop the running back named Davis.
Troy Davis, an All-American running back at Iowa State in 1995 and 1996, now plays in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints. His younger brother, Darren, has led the Cyclones in rushing for the last three seasons and was a preseason all-Big 12 Conference selection.
Cyclones coach Dan McCarney's view of the Davis brothers' legacies at Iowa State is simple: there never have been any better running backs.
"There will never be another No. 28 like there was with the two Davis brothers," McCarrney said. "I don't know anybody past or present that has done more for this university than they have."
On Saturday, when the Cyclones play Kansas, the Davis' legacy will end. Darren Davis will be playing his final game in an Iowa State uniform, and McCarney admits it will be hard to see him go.
"It's going to be hard to say goodbye to that kid and to his family." McCarney said.
During his four years in Ames, Darren Davis has accumulated 4,902 yards rushing, second only to Troy Davis. This season, Darren Davis has gone from good to great, as he currently ranks seventh in the nation and first in the Big 12 with 1,313 yards. But he also has been a Kansas Jayhawk killer the past two seasons, racking up 451 yards rushing against the Jayhawks in the last two meetings.
"If you don't stop Darren Davis, then you don't stop their offense." Allen said. "Their offense is focused 100 percent around him."
Kansas coach Terry Allen knows how vital Darren Davis is to the Iowa State offense.
McCarney cites overall athletic ability as the reason behind Darren Davis' success.
"He has phenomenal athletic abilities, and he is a playmaker," McCarney said. "He's got great hands, he can make a lot of people miss him in the open field, and he's one of the toughest football players I've ever been around."
The entire college football community also is starting to notice Darren Davis' outstanding abilities, as he as been named one of 15 finalists for Football News' Offensive Player of the Year and is making a run at the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back. But despite all the attention, Darren
"I just don't like to talk very much about myself," Darren Davis said. "I like to talk about other guys and keep the attention focused on the team."
Davis is quick to remain humble.
And the team has exceeded many expectations this season, as the Cyclones nearly upset Texas and Kansas State, while defeating Missouri on the road. A win on Saturday would give Iowa State its best season since 1989.
But the end of the season also signifies the end of the relationship between McCarney and Darren Davis, a relationship both have said is more like father-son than player-coach.
"It's been outstanding," Darren Davis said. "You always say you can't wait to be a senior, but now it's different. It hurts so bad to think about playing my last game with him. He's like a father."
Edited by Katrina Hull
lowa State running back Darren Davis cuts through a hole in last year's game against Kansas. The Davis brothers have been a thorn in Kansas's side for the last six seasons. KANSAN file photo
Florida State vs. Florida tops weekend intrastate rivalries
By Richard Rosenblatt
AP Football Writer
Unlike some of Saturday's rivalry games, Florida-Florida State needs no gimmick. It's not The Game or the Big Game or the Apple Cup. There are no barrels, baskets or buckets on the line, either.
When the top-ranked Seminoles (10-0) and third-ranked Gators (9-1) meet in The Swamp, they'll play for one prize — a ticket to the national championship game.
In four of the past six seasons, the Florida-Florida State winner has played for the national title. The teams even met for the title in the Sugar Bowl after the Seminoles beat the Gators in the 96 regular season.
If the Seminoles win, they are a virtual lock to finish first in the final Bowl Championship Series standings, which determine the teams in its national title game (the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4). If the Gators win, they would then need to win the SEC title game on Dec. 4 to put themselves in a
strong position to play for another championship.
"Hands down, it's the biggest game of my career," said Weinke, who missed the final few games of last season with a neck injury. The Gators counter with Drew McIntyre.
The Gators counter with Doug Johnson — and Jesse Palmer. A cranky Gator coaches Steve Spurrier indicated this week Johnson will start, but Palmer will play, too. The two may even alternate every play, just like Johnson and Noah Brindise did when the Gators beat the 'Noles 32-29 in 97.
Johnson has thrown for 2,360 yards and 19 touchdowns, but has just three touchdown passes — and five interceptions — in the Gators' last five games. In last week's 20-3 win against South Carolina, Johnson sat and Palmer played the whole game.
Several other rivalry games will decide conference titles and major bowl bids.
Commentary
In the Big Game, Stanford (6-3, 6-1) needs a win against California (4-6, 3-4) to clinch the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth against Wisconsin.
If Cal wins, then Oregon or Washington could earn a trip to Pasadena. Oregon State visits Oregon in the Civil War, and Washington State is at Washington for the Apple Cup.
Also, No. 8 Alabama (8-2, 6-1 SEC) is at Auburn (5-5, 2-5) in the Iron Bowl, needing a win against its rival to earn a trip to the league title game against Florida; and No. 19 Purdue (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) visits Indiana (4-6, 3-4) for the Old OakenBucket.
The picks:
No. 1 Florida State (minus 3 1/2) at No.
3 Florida
Visiting team last won in '83, when 'Noles won at The Swamp. ... FLORIDA STATE, 27-91
No. 2 Virginia Tech (minus 29) at
Temple
Hokies set to gobble up Owls after last year's shocking loss. ... VIRGINIA TECH, 52-14.
Vols have won last 14 meetings. ... TENNESSFE. 31-24.
No. 7 Tennessee (minus 12 1/2) at Kentucky.
Missouri (plus 24) at No. 9 Kansas State K-State takes out frustrations on disspointing Tigers. . KANSAS STATE. 38-10
Ohio State (plus 12 1/2) at No. 10 Michigan
Buckeyes have chance to knock Wolverines out of Bowl Championship Series game. .. MICHIGAN, 3414.
No. 12 Mississippi State (plus 7) at No.
32 Arkansas
Bulldogs need win to keep slim SEC title hopes alive ... ARKANSAS, 27-17.
Michigan State Hey JoePa, let quarterback Rashard Casey
No. 13 Penn State (plus 1 1/2) at No. 15 Michigan State
play! ... PENN STATE, 31-30.
No. 14 Georgia Tech (minus 10) at Wake Forest
Tech put up 63 points against Wake in '86.
GEORGIA TECH, 45-28.
No. 21 Georgia (plus 5 1/2) at No. 16 Mississippi
Rebels looking for eighth win under David Cutcliffe, former Vols assistant ... MISSISSIPPI, 27-24.
No. 17 Minnesota (minus 20) at Iowa
Golden Gophers set to close out sensational
season with a big win . . . MINNESOTA 41:17
No. 18 Southern Mississippi (minus 4
1/2) at Louisville.
Winner clinches Liberty Bowl as c USA's rep. ... LOUISVILLE, 35-28.
Utah (plus 6 1/2) at no. 19 BYU Cougars need win to clinch inaugural Mountain West title and trip to Liberty Bowl... BYU, 34-24.
Season: 154-43 (straight up); 105-92-1 (vs. points)
Above: Matt Minard, Lenexa sophomore, picks up his bike to clear a hurdle.
Right: Minard rides down the cycle-cross course. He won the race Sunday with a time of 55:03. Contributed photos
Cyclo-cross competitors risk bike, limb
By Jim O'Mallev
Special to the Kansan
It's called cyclo-cross, but in normal winter weather it could be called psycho-cross.
About 50 bicycle racers gathered at the river trails north of Lawrence on Sunday for the season's first cyclocross race.
In classic cyclo-cross, racers ride skinny-tired road bikes off-road in the fall and winter on terrain that is better-suited to mountain bikes, although skinny-tired bikes were not required in Sunday's race. The sport began in Europe long before the invention of the mountain bike as a way for bicycle road racers to stay in shape during the winter, said Dan Hughes, manager of the Sunflower Bike Shop, 802 Massachusetts St., and occasional cyclo-cross racer.
Hughes said races lasted about an hour. Races go on no matter how cold, muddy or snowy the weather, and the exertion keeps racers warm, Hughes said. The terrain requires racers to dismount often and run, carrying their bikes over obstacles. Hughes said that
cyclo-cross required an intense level of effort the whole way and that it improved riders' bike-handling skills.
Cyclo-cross racing has taken on recently and become a sport in its own right, Hughes said.
Matt Minard, Lenexa sophomore, said cyclo-cross was part of the extreme sport trend.
Lawrence Bicycle Club Racing is sponsoring three cyclo-cross races this fall and winter.
The unseasonably warm weather made Sunday's race different from the usual cyclo-cross race.
"It's not cross weather," said Curtis Martell, race organizer. "It's not right."
Brent Buenger, Lawrence graduate student, said mud and snow made the races more fun. He said he preferred to race in the cold.
Thom Leonard, a local racer and United States Cycling Federation official, agreed that mud and snow were part of the perverse appeal of the sport. Brakes don't work, the hills are harder to run up and mud jams up the riders' equipment.
"It adds challenge," he said.
Minard won Sunday's race with a time of 55.03. Minard has raced on the U.S. National Road Cycling Team and will turn pro next semester.
Even without snow and mud, the race
"Those sand burrs are evil," Martell said.
was hard on equipment. Riders warming up before the race picked up so many flat tires in grassy area that race organizers re-routed the course.
The course included some short, steep drops, followed immediately by short, steep climbs and two sets of man-made obstacles — low hurdles that required riders to dismount, pick up their bikes, jump the hurdles and then get back on it a run.
Nine racers did not finish, mostly because of equipment problems. Some were more serious than flat tires. Joe Horgan, a lawyer who works in suburban Kansas City, broke his bike frame when he hit a tree stump. He said it was a lack of bike-handling skills that caused the accident. But, he said the $700 bike frame was under warranty.
Racers rode a variety of bikes. Some rode mountain bikes with suspension forks. Most rode cross-bikes, which are modified road bikes with wider, knobbier tires
Two racers rode single-speed bikes.
Eric Schuster, a racer from Kansas City, explained the advantage of single speed bikes.
"Nothing can go wrong but me," he said.
Edited by Kelly Clasen
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