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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, October 31, 1968
KU football
By JACK PAULEY
Kansan Sports Writer
George McGowan's first major college football game—against Illinois six weeks ago—was the toughest game he has ever played in.
"Before I came to KU the biggest crowd I had played before was 10,000 people during a high school game in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena," he said. "The crowd at Illinois scared me a little at first."
McGowan, a 180-pound split end from Glendale, California, is a junior transfer student from Glendale Junior College, where he played safety and split end. He made Junior College All-America on defense, and earned all-conference honors on both offense and defense.
He explained that he likes the Kansas style of football because it is wide open.
"It's great," he said. "We pass just the right amount of time. Bob Douglass is a great passer."
With Douglass passing as hard as he does, some people think his passes are hard to catch, but McGouwan says he just concentrates more and doesn't think about how fast the ball is coming.
So far this season McGowan has caught 17 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns. He doesn't think that is good enough.
"Personally I'm not happy with my performances," he said. "I'm happy that 'the team is winning, but I think that I can do better during the second half of the season."
In the Oklahoma State game McGowan caught a Douglass pass and scampered 50 yards for a score.
"I figured if I got in the open in a short pattern, and could turn around with a little open space in front of me, I could make a run like that," he said.
McGowan is optimistic that the Jayhawks can finish the year undefeated.
"We have the potential to go all the way if we keep playing the way we have been. We have to take the games one at a time." he added.
But McGowan believes Oklahoma and Colorado will be the most crucial games to look forward to now, and after that it will be Missouri.
"Even if we lose before we play Missouri," he said, "the Tigers will be the most important in the end."
ine mud and rain during the 68-7 rout of New Mexico didn't bother McGowan in what he calls his best game.
"I didn't drop one pass," he said. "It's funny because it was raining so hard."
"I think the outside run for the touchdown against OSU was
Large crowds expected for next home games
Nearly 100,000 fans will crowd into KU's Memorial Stadium the next two Saturdays to watch Kansas battle Colorado and Oklahoma, Jay Simon, sports information director, said yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon the ticket office sold the last of the reserved seats for the Nov. 9th game with Oklahoma, Simon said. Approximately two thousand unreserved seats behind the south end zone will now be put on sale for that game.
a high spot for me, but I dropped two passes in that game, too," he added.
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One disadvantage of being 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in the nation is that every team will be up for you, McGowan said. McGowan and his teammates expect something new each week.
If KU went to a bowl game, which one would McGowan prefer?
"However," he said, "every team we play is beatable."
agrees with McGowan
"Well, I'm sure it would be the Orange Bowl," he said. "It's the biggest bowl game in the country outside of California's Rose Bowl."
"I really like to block," he said. "I like to knock people down."
Besides his pass catching duties, McGowan says he also likes to cut down the opposition.
When McGowen came to KU last spring, the coaches asked him what he wanted to play. He decided to try offense - where
"I like to play offense," he said, "but if I played defense, I guess I'd like defense better."
split ends Ben Olison and Gary Ard were graduating.
Answering a question concerning his professional football ambitions he said he hopes he can play pro ball as a split end.
"Since I played defense at junior college, I'd play it in probail if they wanted me to. Anything would do for me."
Workouts two or three times a week were McGowan's summer plans for staying in shape. He didn't have a job so he travelled extensively over the western United States.
Currently he is majoring in physical education. After graduation, if he doesn't play pro ball, he'd like to coach college football.
Kansas coaches expected a lot from McGowan this year. He has produced so far, and if he has his wish, he will do even better in the next five games.
George McGowan
Despite defensive rep Big Eight teams score more
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI) Big Eight football teams are scoring at an astronomical rate, considering the conference had the top three teams in the nation and four in the top 10 in scoring defense a year ago.
An average of 64 points were scored in last Saturday's four Big Eight encounters and four clubs—Kansas, Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas State—have already scored more points this season than all of last.
Kansas, ranked third nation ally and unbeaten in six starts, leads the nation in scoring with 271 points—a 5.2 average—in all games. The Jayhawks scored only 166 last season.
How They Fare
The league's four other clubs— Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State—are all scoring at a better rate than last season.
Missouri, ranked ninth and once-beaten in six games, has scored 156 points, compared with 134 a year ago; Iowa State has 141, compared with only 86 last season, and Kansas State's 112 points are 22 more than the Wildcats mustered in all of 1967.
In addition to leading the nation in scoring, Kansas also has the Big Eight stronghold in rushing offense, averaging 300.5 yards per game, and total offense, with a 440.3-ward average.
Missouri, which ranks second in rushing average (267.0) and third in total offense (374.0) is threatening to sweep all four team defensive categories.
Oklahoma State, averaging slightly more than 200 yards a contest, leads in team passing.
The Tigers this week lead in rushing defense, permitting a mere 96.8 yards per game; passing defense, allowing 115.5 a game; total defense, yielding
Rushing Defense
Players dismissed
WICHITA, Kan. (UPI)—Two Wichita State University football players were dismissed from the squad Tuesday because of repeated curfew violations.
Other Leaders
212. 3 a game, and defense against scoring, allowing only 10.5 points to six foes.
In individual statistics, Colorado quarterback Bobby Anderson continues to set a record pace in total offense—averaging 219.7 yards in six games. The Buff junior ranks third in both rushing and passing.
Bobby Douglass, Kansas quarterback who ranks No. 4 in total offense, passed a couple of Big Eight milestones last week—becoming the 13th player in conference history to reach the 3,000-yard career mark and throwing a record 95th consecutive pass without an interception.
Other individual leaders:
Rushing—Steve Owens, Oklahoma, 745 yards; Passing—Ronnie Johnson, Oklahoma State, 70 for 138 for 898 yards; Tandem Offense (combination of rushing and pass receiving)
—Owens, 751 yards; Pass Receiving—Eddie Hinton, Oklahoma, 29 for 511 yards; Punting—Bill Bell, Kansas, 25 for a 42.9 average; Punt Returns—Roger Wehrli, Missouri, 28 or 313 yards; Kickoff Returns—Jeff Allen, Iowa State, 16 for 478 yards; Scoring—Douglass, Owens and Don Shanklin, 48 points each.