The 1993 Season
The challenge to improve
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Coming off an 8-4 season and their first bowl victory since 1961,the Kansas Jayhawks are looking to reach new heights,including the top of the Big Eight Conference.
Dan Eichloff, the Jayhawks' all-time leading scorer, is one of the team's offensive threats this season.
KANSAN
By Matt Doyle
ansas coach Glen Mason, who came to Kansas from Kent State in 1988, has brought many changes during his tenure as the Jayhawks football coach. Each year the Jayhawks
have become a stronger team, culminating in last season's breakthrough-8-4 record with a 23-20 victory in the Aloha Bowl against Brigham Young.
Mason's program will be tested this season to see if it can maintain the success it has attained. The last time Kansas put together three consecutive winning seasons was 1950-52, but Mason has higher expectations for the Jayhawk football program.
"I firmly believe that either as a player, coach or program you either get better or worse," he said. "You never stay the same."
There is a new look to the jayhawks on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football this season. The most notable change on offense is at quarterback where junior Fred Thomas replaces All-Big Eight performer and three-year starter Chip Hilleary.
"Chip played with a lot of confidence, and he was a winner," Thomas said. "It was helpful playing behind him and learning a lot of stuff that he knew."
Thomas will have the benefit of an experienced offensive line, with potential big play-makers in tight end Dwayne Chandler, wide receiver Rodney Harris and running backs George White and LT Levine.
Mason said the Jayhawk defense played the type of defense in 1992 that was needed to be successful in the Big Eight Conference.
"That's not to say our previous teams had poor attitudes, but this team's collective attitude is better as a whole, which probably comes from winning," Mason said.
Mason said that he enjoyed the pressure of living up to the changing expectations that the Kansas program had experienced with winning records each of the last two seasons.
Kansas lost defensive linemen Dana Stubblefield, Gilbert Brown and Kyle Moore this year, but Mason is not worried because Chris Maumalanga, Sylvester Wright and Guy Howard are returning to anchor the defensive line. Each of those three players saw extensive playing time last year in both starting and reserve roles.
The Kickoff Classic
The attitude of the Kansas players is better than any of the previous Mason-coached Kansas teams.
"Pressure forces a team to reach different level of expectations," he said. "The pressure will be helpful in our situation."
**When:** 11 a.m. Saturday, August 28
**Where:** Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
**Who:** Kansas Jayhawks (last year 8-4, Aloa Bowl champion)
vs. Preseason No. 1 Florida State Seminoles (last year
11-1, Orange Bowl champion)
**Television:** ABC Channels 9, 49
**Radio:** KLZR 105.9 FM, KLWN 1320 AM
Kick off Classic
AUGUST 27,1993 PAGE5
Seminoles want to prove they're No.1
Florida State taking Kansas seriously in season opener
By Matt Doyle
Kansan sportswriter
For Kansas, the Kickoff Classic is a chance of a lifetime.
"There is no apprehension on our part about playing these guys," said senior linebacker Larry Thiel. "No one believes in us, but it doesn't matter. No one will be intimidated by the setting or situation."
The speed and quickness that the Seminole players possess is Mason's major concern entering this game. He said that Florida State was the fastest team he had ever prepared for as a coach.
For Florida State, the Kickoff Classic adds another difficult non-conference game in their attempt to win the national championship.
"If we were still here in Lawrence on Aug. 28, watching two other teams playing, knowing we had the opportunity, we would be embarrassed that we shied away from competition." Mason said. "I might not have the best players or coaches, but we're not afraid of losing."
Kansas coach Glen Mason steadily maintains that the chance to play in this contest was just too good for him and his team to pass up.
Senior quarterback Charlie Ward returns to lead the Seminole offense. After a slow start last season, Ward emerged at midseason to direct the team to seven consecutive victories to close the season and finish as Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. He was a third team All-America selection.
Florida State players recognize that a loss could hurt the team's chances of winning a national championship. The Seminoles hope the final piece to their national championship puzzle is freshman kicker Scott Bentley. He made 11 of 13 field goals from inside of 50 yards last season for Overland High School in Aurora, Colo.
Florida State's non-conference schedule was one of the toughest in the nation before they accepted the bid for the Kickoff Classic. The Seminoles play host to preseason No. 5 Miami and travel to No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 9 Florida. But Seminole coach Bobby Bowden said the $625,000 payout for the game was too good to turn down.
Preventing big plays might be a tall order against the Seminoles.
"This game was too good financially for us to pass up because we have to pay the bills around here," Bowden said. "Football is the biggest revenue producing sport, and we can afford to turn down opportunities like this."
"We have 13 steps to go to a No. 1 finish and we'll treat each step equally." Brooks said. "Don't think we won't take Kansas seriously. We need to show that we deserve that No. 1 spot."
Despite the fact that his team is ranked No. 1 in the nation and is a 28 point favorite, Bowden said he had
Florida State junior linebacker Derrick Brooks said he realized the national championship would not be won in this game.
"Early in the game is when the difference in speed is most noticeable," he said. "It's impossible to prepare for. That's why field position will be very important because you want to try to prevent big plays."
"This is a great opportunity for us," said senior center Dan Schmidt. "Florida State is a huge challenge, but playing them can only do good things for us."
"The first game of the year is always the most unpredictable because both teams have had a lot of time since the last game to put in some things you might not have seen on film," he said.
Jayhawk players have been excited for the last six months since the match-up was announced.
But what about the fear of losing by a big margin?
concerns about the game against the Jayhawks.
"It is the biggest area that we have to shore up," he said. "We lost five players on our defensive front seven that were drafted in the first four rounds of the NFL Draft. Players, such as Marvin Jones, who can't be replaced easily."
Bowden's main concern is his defense, which must replace five starters.
"The biggest test for us will be our defensive line against their big, experienced offensive line," he said. "We'll have to depend on our speed and quickness."
Junior linebacker Derrick Brooks is touted as Jones' replacement. Senior defensive end Toddrick McIntosh is expected to be a leader on the offensive line.
Jones, last year's Dick Butkus Award winner as the top linebacker in college football, was a first-round pick of the New York Jets.
Bowden said his team's defensive line play would be a key against Kansas.
The Classic's History Opening game is in its 11th year
FOOTBALL Preview
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
By Mark Button Kansan sportswriter
The Kickoff Classic, the traditional first game of the college season, first kicked off on August 29.1983 when Nebraska defeated Penn State 44-6.
The idea for the game was born in January 1983 at the NCAA's annual convention. An overwhelming majority of the delegates approved the proposal. The intent of the first, and all following games, was to raise money to help retire the mortgages of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame building in Kings Island, Ohio.
Robert E. Mulcahy III, the president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, made the announcement in February that Kansas and Florida State would play in the 11th Kickoff Classic. The authority and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics are the managing bodies of the game and its preparations.
"Florida State and Kansas epitomize the best in collegiate athletics," Mulcahy said. "Their appearance in the Kickoff Classic will add to the game's prestigious history."
According to the rules laid out by the NCAA, not just any team can play in the classic.
Some of the regulations include: that both teams must not be on NCAA probation or suspension; that the two teams did not meet in a bowl game in the previous year and will not play each other during the ensuing regular season; seven conferences and two independent teams must be offered a spot in the game during any seven year period; and the conferences included in the regulations are the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Pac Ten, Southeastern, Southwest Athletic, Western Athletic and Big Eight conferences.
Kickoff Classic officials hope that this year's game between the Jayhawks and Seminoles will continue the classic's tradition of exciting finishes. The second Kickoff Classic in 1984 might have been the most exciting. This match up featured the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes, led by quarterback Berrie Kosar, and the SEC's Auburn Tigers, with Bo Jackson in the backfield.