Volume 126 Issue 13
kansan.com
low
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
COMMENTARY
Football aims to end road losing streak
By Daniel Harmsen dharmsen@kansan.com
Nobody is going to tell you that Harry S. Truman was the smartest president in U.S. history, Harry Truman included. Even today, his presidency remains controversial — particularly because of his decision to use atomic weapons against Japan to bring a speedy end to World War II
In his address to the National War College on Dec. 19, 1952, President Truman famously said, "It's easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say what the coach should have done, after the game is over. But when the decision is up before you — and on my desk I have a motto which says 'The Buck Stops Here'
— the decision has been made...
— the decision has been made.
you can't pass the buck to anybody."
Truman often credited his farm-
boy roots for his hard-working,
proactive habits. He was early to
rise and work. Simply, he got things
done when they needed to be done.
This Saturday, the Kansas Jay-
hawks football team will have a "buck" of sorts sitting before them. A buck that has been passed on to
them from teams past; a nine-
teen-game road losing streak dating
back to 2009.
But one thing a lot of people will tell you about Harry Truman is that he was a great leader of people and an even better decision-maker. In times of tribulation, he acted — fast. This is the man who oversaw the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and the creation of NATO in 1949.
ROAD BLOCK
Let's go. I can't wait for Saturday. The buck needs to stop here, boys.
Three days from now, Kansas will be matched up against a potent Owl offense, but an even more exploitable Owl defense... on the road.
The 31-14 win on Saturday was a little on the sloppy side, littered with dropped passes and penalties, but a win all the same. It should have helped quell the first-game jitters of the new athletes.
If the players board the plane due south not as individuals, but as one unified force with one thing on its itinerary — stop the streak — they'll be greeted by Kansas fans when they get back at 2-0, with a bowl game realistically in sight.
Edited by Emma McElhaney
Facts are facts: The Jayhawk's last road win was on Sept. 12, 2009, against the UTEP Miners, 34-7. In that game, Kansas held the Miners to 208 total yards, dominating the contest in all facets, from the opening kick to the final whistle. It was an enthralling victory for the program, and the future looked as bright as ever.
I'm not saying that this is going to be easy. It never was for Truman. But if there was ever a time for Kansas to turn the corner and change the entire attitude surrounding the program, that time is this Saturday in Houston, Texas, against the Rice Owls.
I would have never guessed (even as a high-schooler still relatively new to watching Kansas football) that four years later, as a junior in college, the win in El Paso would still be the last time I saw a Kansas road win.
Fast-forward to today. The 27-point victory still stands as the lavhawk's last road win.
Since that fateful day in '09, Kansas has allowed an average of 42.6 points per road game and scored only 15.6 points per road game. It's one thing to lose 19 straight road games. It's another to lose 19 straight road games by an average of almost 30 points per game.
MOMENT OF TRUTH
Saturday's game could be a turning point for Kansas football
MICHAEL STRICKLAND/KANSAN
Junior receiver Justin McCay celebrates with junior tight end Jimmay Mundine during the win over South Dakota on Sept. 7. McCay scored the first receiving touchdown since Oct. 22, 2011.
mgoodwin@kansan.com
MAX GOODWIN
When the Jayhawks take the field against Rice University on Saturday, it will have been four years since the program's last road win. That game was on Sept. 12, 2009, and ended with a dominant 34-7 victory against the University of Texas at El Paso. The Jayhawks will return to the Lone Star state this weekend in hopes of ending their 19-game road losing streak. The Owls return 18 of 22 starters from a team that came into Lawrence a season ago and won on
Kansas faces an experienced team on Saturday that could be further motivated in its home opener. This is a game that will emphasize the role of team captains Jake Heaps, Keon Stowers,
will be easy, but it's something that needs to be accomplished if Weis and his team want to prove they are moving in the right direction. "For the program, winning last week got the losing streak out of the way," Weis said. "Winning this week could get the losing on the road out of the way. Winning three weeks from now could get the conference streak out of the way."
The Jayhawks took a small step when they ended the 11-game losing streak that followed them into the season, and another one when Justin McCay caught a 9-yard pass from Jake Heaps in the end zone. That catch ended a season-long streak of failures to catch touchdown passes by wide receivers.
It will require a bigger step to end the streak of losing road games, which has lasted lon-
"Part of the burden falls on them to make sure they're really ready to go at kick-off."
Ben Heeney and James Sims. Part of their role is to set the tone for the team come game time. "We've had that conversation," Charlie Weis said in his press conference on Tuesday. "Part of the burden falls on them to make sure they're really ready to go at kick-off. It's different at home, you got the home crowd to get you juiced, you got the band, you got all that stuff." Saturday's crowd likely won't be large or loud. Rice Stadium holds 47,000, but last season the highest number of fans who showed up to a game was 23,105, for the season opener against University of California, Los Angeles. The Owls lost that game, and went 3-3 at home, but all three wins came in a stretch at the end of the season when Rice went 6-1 and scored more than 33 points in each of the six wins.
There's no reason to believe that the task of winning in Houston
CHARLIE WEIS
Coach
ger and involves more difficulty. South Dakota was not on the same level as Kansas. The Coyotes also won one game a season ago and they play in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Jayhawks didn't need to worry about defending the pass, which could be seen as an advantage, as South Dakota threw the ball just 18 times and only a few times downfield. Against Rice, Kansas will face quarterback Taylor McHargue, who makes plays with his legs and throws accurate passes downfield. Saturday's road game will be the first true test of the season for the Jayhawks; it's one they will treat as a business trip with the captains in the lead. "There's stepping stones you have to take to move up here," Weis said, "and this gives us an opportunity to get one of those out of the way."
Edited by Kayla Overbey
CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM ON KANSAN.COM
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Captains bring strong leadership to Kansas
MIRANDA DAVIS
mdavis@kansan.com
The motto set by coach Clark Campbell and the returning swimmers last season, "The Jayhawk Way," means being doers while being supportive, positive and hard-working. It has transcended in to this season and the leadership style the three senior captains — Alison Moffit, Alison Lusk and Morgan Sharp — hope to bring to this year's team.
All three seniors have had very different swimming journeys and bring their respective experiences to leading the team. Lusk, from Chattanooga, Tenn., who started swimming at age six, is a breaststroke swimmer. She swims the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke as well as the 100-yard individual medley. Her main motivation is simply to enjoy swimming. "Yes, I want to get better and that's always something every athlete wants to do, but half the time you're not going to get better if you're not enjoying yourself," Lusk said.
out her four years at Kansas.
"Ali came in from a very good prep school in Chattanooga and accomplished a lot as a young swimmer, and hadn't improved for a little while and she came in and really enjoyed the program. She's now our school record-holder in the 200 breast," Campbell said.
Lusk takes her leadership role seriously and is excited to work with the new freshman class and make them feel comfortable on the team. She said it's important to lead by example.
Coach Campbell has noticed how much Lusk has improved throughout her four years at Kansas.
Chelsie Miller, a freshman on the Kansas Women's Swim Team, prepares to swim in the 500-yard freestyle at a feb. 2 meet against Arkansas inside Robinson Natatorium. Teammates Rebecca Swank and Alison Moffit also swam in this heat
"It's up to (Alison) Moffit, Morgan and I to set the standard," Lusk said. "We are trying to make them feel more comfortable right away — [this is] going to be the biggest part to immediately integrating them into the team." Moffit, from Flower Mound, Texas, also believes in finding the fun in swimming. "The most important part about leading our team is to keep us focused on the journey," Moffit said. "The swim season is long
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
and can so easily become overwhelming if you do not keep the journey in perspective. You just have to take swimming day by day, and have fun with it." Moffit has been swimming since age six and joined a club team at age eight. She is a distance and freestyle swimmer and swims the 500 free, 400 IM and the mile or 1650. Campbell has seen her grow and has noticed her improvement especially in the classroom.
men, especially in the classroom.
"She was an honor roll student last year and worked her tail off," Campbell said. "She has improved so much, both in the water and, more importantly, in the classroom."
Sharp, who is from Houston, Texas, is a freestyle swimmer.
"Morgan [Sharp] is our school record-holder in the 500 free. She's done a good job adjusting to the intensity of college swimming," Campbell said. Overall, the captains and coach are excited to bring changes to the team culture. By working through "The Jayhawk Way" and using the
/
strong leadership of the captains and seniors, they hope to have a permanent impact on the program.
"This year is about the cumm.
Campbell said. "The culture gets
you to believe in what you're doing. The bottom line is that you've got to believe to achieve."
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- Edited by Emma McElhaney
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