Section B · Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
College Football
Friday, November 12, 1999
Big 12 championship taking shape
Games tomorrow likely to shed light on postseason
By Michael Rigg sports@kanson.com Kansan sportwriter
For the last 12 weeks, fans of the Big 12 Conference haven't had the slightest clue what would happen this postseason.
After this weekend, they'll be one step closer to an answer.
After this weekend, they'll be one step closer to an answer.
In an attempt to solve the log-jam near the top of the North division, first-place Kansas State travels to Lincoln, Neb., tomorrow to take on the second-place Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Barring a minor miracle by thirdplace Colorado, tomorrow's game will determine the North division's champion.
Down south, Texas can win the division title outright with a victory against Texas Tech. It won't be that easy for the Longhorns, however, who were knocked out of the division race last season after losing to the Red Raiders 42-35.
"Our guys know that last year's game (against Texas Tech) knocked us out of a chance to be in the Big 12 championship game," said Longhorns coach Mack Brown. "Still, this team has been different. I don't think they'll really get into all the hype of last year and this year."
Texas A&M at Missouri
Here's a preview of some of the other action across the conference tomorrow:
Texas A&M at Missouri Missouri coach Larry Smith might have been aiming for a world record for the shortest press conference when he addressed the media for 18 seconds following his team's 37.0 loss to Oklahoma last weekend.
BIG 12 GAMES
Texas A&M at Missouri, 11:30 a.m. Ch 28
Colorado at Baylor, 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State
Kansas at Oklahoma State, 1:30 p.m.
Kansas State at Nebraska, 2:30
m. m., ARC
■ Texas Tech at Texas, 6 p.m., FOX
Sports Net
Smith refused to take questions from the media and only made a brief statement saying how pathetic and embarrassing the defeat was.
During his weekly teleconference Monday, Smith stood by his abbreviated statement.
"It was short because I was very angry and very upset," Smith said. "Often times, I'll make statements I'll regret, so I thought a general statement about the game was more appropriate."
When asked if he thought Tiger fans deserved quotations from Smith after a loss such as Saturday's, Smith said, "Well, sometimes you don't get one."
Colorado at Baylor
In order to keep their championship game dreams alive, the Buffalooes must beat Baylor tomorrow and hope that Nebraska defeats Kansas State. From there, Colorado must beat the Cornhuskers on Thanksgiving weekend and Kansas State would have to lose at home against Missouri.
Missouri, which has been shut in out two of its past three games, looks for more positive results against Texas A&M tomorrow.
Colorado will try to take another step toward reaching the championship tomorrow against Baylor, a team that lost to the Buffaloes 18-16 last season in Boulder, Colo.
— Edited by Darrin Peschka
Texas keeps hopes of title berth under wraps
AUSTIN, Texas — His team rarely screams or yells. In fact, before several games this season, Texas coach Mack Brown worried that his players were flat.
The Associated Press
But after an 8-2 start with a chance to clinch a berth in the Big 12 title game tomorrow, Brown doesn't worry anymore.
"They are just a matter-offact type team," Brown said. "They don't have huge highs, and they don't have awful lows."
It was supposed to be an emotional game. The Longhorns were drilled 42-16 the last time they went to Stillwater, Okla., in 1997.
A week ago, as 10th-ranked Texas calmly warmed up before playing Oklahoma State, Brown didn't know what to make of his team or the quiet.
"I was really mad," Brown said. "I didn't think they had any fire in them, but then on the first play of the game, (halfback) Hodges Mitchell takes it for an 80-yard touchdown. I guess they were ready."
More than ready. Texas rolled 34-21.
Even Texas' first interception return for a touchdown since 1995 drew only sporadic cheers from the bench. Brown said.
"I think this team is just quiet," he said. "Real quiet."
More emotion may be in store this week when Texas hosts Texas Tech (5-4, 4-2 Big 12 Conference). The Big 12 South division title is on the line.
At 5-1 in conference play, the Longhorns clinch at least a share of the title with a victory. The Red
Raiders can win the South by beating Texas and then Oklahoma next week.
A loss would leave Texas needing
Oklahoma to beat Tech so that the Longhorns still could have a chance at the title with a win against Texas A&M Thanksgiving weekend. Brown said his team couldn't think about championships yet. "This thing is far from over." he
poems yet.
"This thing is far from over," he said.
But his players know what's at stake.
"If we lost to Texas Tech, there's a whole lot of things that have to happen for us to win the Big 12 South," Mitchell said. "So we've got to win."
The South division title would be Texas' first since the league's inaugural season in 1996. It also would
be Texas Tech's first and would cap a wild season for the Red Raiders in which their longest winning streak stands at two games.
Tech players have followed Texas' quiet example this week, even though recent history lends itself to some pretty big talk.
The Red Raiders have won two straight against Texas, including a 24-10 win in Austin in 1997. Last year's victory knocked Texas out of contention for the South division title.
"We're not going to talk a lot this week, we're just going to go in there and play our hearts out," said Tech quarterback Rob Peters, who passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns against the Longhorns last year.
"We weren't supposed to win last year either, but guess what? We did it," Peters said.
Plenty on the line for'Huskers,'Cats
by Michael Rigg
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
By Michael Riga
The national championship trophy may be there.
That's all fans need to know about the implications of tomorrow's Kansas State-Nebraska game.
will represent the most important game to date in the Big 12 Conference, and it also
When the Wildcats, 9-0, travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on the Cornhuskers, 8-1, the matchup
carries national championship implications. The game will be televised at 1:30 p.m. on ABC.
K-State is ranked No. 5 in the latest Bowl Championship Series rankings, while Nebraska is ranked No. 8. The two teams are first and second in the Big 12 North division standings.
"Certainly everyone knows this is a big game," said Cornhuskers coach Frank Solich. "There's a lot riding on this game when you look at where they're ranked and where we're ranked, and if you look at it as what team is going to have a chance to win the North division after this weekend."
Tomorrow's game also gives Nebraska defensive back Ralph Brown a chance to back up his guarantee that Nebraska will win tomorrow.
Brown originally made the guarantee following Nebraska's 40-30 loss to the Wildcats in Manhattan, Kan., last season. On Monday, Brown simply backed it up.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said it, but I'm going to stick by it," Brown said. "We're not going to lose. If we lose, you can come to me and say, 'what happened?'
Tomorrow's game wouldn't have the same importance if
both teams hadn't narrowly missed defeat against to two unranked opponents during the past few weeks. On Oct. 30, Nebraska had to come from behind on the road to defeat Kansas, while K-State held off a furious Colorado comeback last weekend, before winning 20-14.
Both teams know that if their respective levels of play are near what they've been the past two weeks, they could leave tomorrow's game losers.
"If we play like that against Nebraska, we will get beat," said Wildcats running back David Allen of K-State's performance against the Buffalooes.
The stakes were the same last season when K-State defeated Nebraska 40-30 in Manhattan. The victory catapulted the Wildcats into the Big 12 championship game for the first time, while the loss sent the Corhuskers reeling into one of
their worst seasons in the last 30 years.
The two teams are different this season, however, with the Wildcats, now
relying on defense to win games and Nebraska back in the national championship hunt.
"Our team overall is much better," said Cornhuskers quarterback Eric Crouch.
And while K-State coach Bill Snyder is impressed with his team's undefeated record, he knows that his team must play more consistently to win tomorrow.
"It all comes down to inconsistency." Snyder said. "We have to be as good as we are capable of being. There has been no point in time where we have played well in all three areas of the game. I don't think anyone wants to be behind at Nebraska."
- Edited by Brad Hallier
By David Kinney
Penn State hungry to defeat Michigan after two consecutive losses
The Associated Press
and 24-10 in 1987-88.
Under Joe Paterno, Penn State is not often humiliated.
Never has a team embarrassed the Nittany Lions in consecutive seasons the way Michigan has in 34-8 and 27-0 victories during the last two years. The closest to the Wolverines' 53-point advantage: 41, by Syracuse in victories of 48-21
So revenge will play a role tomorrow for No. 6 Penn State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten) against No. 16 Michigan (7-2, 4-2) at State College, Pa.
we're thinking about Michigan."
"IIf told you that didn't motivate me, I'd be lying," said Penn State's Brandon Short. "I try not to look at things in that perspective. It's just another team we're trying to stop. But when we're running in the spring and summer and things like that,
The annual meeting against Michigan became one of Penn State's biggest games when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1993.
During the first four years, the games measured up. Penn State won three, but each game was close.
Then in 1997, the game promised to be the best yet. The Lions were No.2, the Wolverines were No.4 and both teams were chasing the
Commentary
national title. Michigan would go on to win the title, and it showed why.
Michigan's defense held Penn State to 169 yards — its lowest total in 10 years — and beat the Lions 34-8, Paterno's worst loss at home.
A year later, another historic worst for the Lions. This time, Penn State was No. 9 but still in
contention, while Michigan was No. 22. The Wolverines again dominated defensively, holding Penn State to 200 yards and no points in a 27-0 victory. The Nittany Lions hadn't been shut out in 11 years.
Penn State's offensive — truly offensive — numbers: A total of eight points and 369 yards in two games.
"It's not hard to understand what happened the last two years."
Kevin Thompson said. "Michigan is a great team. They have a lot of tradition. They won the national championships two years ago, so it's no mystery."
LaVar Arrington has a different take on the losses.
"They come with a certain attitude when they play us, and it seems like they actually it overwhelms us during the game," he said.