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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY OCTOBER 25, 2002
Mizzou QB biggest obstacle
Nationally ranked newcomer could halt Kansas victory
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
It's not for a bowl game. It's not for a Big 12 Conference title. Heck, it's not even for a winning record. But when Kansas plays Missouri at 1 p.m. tomorrow, the Big 12's
only teams without a conference win will show just how much second-to-last place bragging rights mean.
If matching conference records and proximity of the campuses aren't enough to get Tigers and Jayhawks at each other's throats, Missouri has a chance to even the all-time series at 51-51-9 at its homecoming.
Kansas senior center Greg Nicks made no pretenues about the rivalry being just another game. The Maize native said the game was always one he looked forward to, regardless of either team's record.
"No doubt we'd like to have more wins than we have right now," Nicks told reporters. "But a win at Missouri would be huge. I'd love to get their place and stick it to them."
One of Kansas' biggest obstacles in that endeavor is a newcomer to the rivalry. Freshman quarterback Brad Smith is seventh in the nation in total offense at 301.9 yards per game. His 2,113 yards this season is already the fifth best total in Missouri history with five games left.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino told
reporters Smith's strength was almost unheard of at the quarterback position.
"I've seen him do some things on tape that you don't see a lot of quarterbacks do," Mangino said. "He's running down the field and straight-arms a 290-pound defensive tackle that came up to put a hit on him."
Kansas' ability to defend Smith will depend in part on how the Jayhawks handle his favorite receiver, Justin Gage.
An All-Big 12 selection last season, the 6-foot-4. 210-pound senior is only three catches away from Texas receiver Kwame
Cavil's conference record of 174 career receptions. Last week against Texas Tech, Gage caught five passes, two for touchdowns, on his way to 114 receiving yards.
Gage stays in shape during the off season playing for Missouri's basketball team, a fact not lost on Mangino.
"The guy can play the ball in transition. He can take it to the hole, and he's a pretty doggone good football player, too." Mangino said.
Sports Commentary
Missouri superior all over
- Edited by Jessica Hood
By Ian Rennie
sports@kansan.com
The Maneater
University of Missouri
Who would have thought it? Just over a year removed from my hometown of Lawrence and I am appearing in the Kansas newspaper. That is, if by "my hometown." you mean an unthinkable hell, and by "newspaper," you mean someone let a monkey draw on some newsprint with a piece of charcoal.
You know you go to Kansas when an October issue of the student paper has a piece on ex-Jayhawks playing in the NBA and a column on "Roy's boys" going to the Final Four. March is six months away guys, but I guess that is plenty of time to start making excuses about the team's impending second-round choke. I'm just playing with you, Kansas. You know I love ya.
Anyway, as a guest columnist this week, I plan to give both the Kansas and MU student bodies a fair and unbiased prediction for Saturday's game. I have devised a series of six traits to determine the greater team.
History of the Rivalry — Regardless of the overall record in this series, MU owns this game. The Tigers invented the Homecoming game in 1911. Kansas should be happy we even allow them to participate in this glorious event. Advantage:MU
Famous Alumni (non-athletes) When a school has an academic tradition as fine as Kansas', one can only assume a host of celebrities have graced Lawrence with their presence. This list includes famous alums such as Bob Dole and Scott Bakula. Nice try, Jayhawks, but there is no contest here. Bob Dole simply cannot compete with the likes of Brad Pitt, Sheryl Crow and a man you might have seen in a little movie known as Major League. Yeah, that's right: Tom Berenger. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Bakula. Advantage: MU
Football History — The numbers for the Tigers don't lie: 21 bowl games, eight conference championships and one National Championship in 1960 that was stolen by a cheating team from Lawrence. I can't even imagine how current Kansas students can sleep at night knowing what their beloved team did 40 years ago. Advantage: MU
Signature Cheer — Teddy Roosevelt once proclaimed "Rock Chalk" as the greatest college cheer he had ever heard. First of all, Teddy, you were nothing compared to FDR, and secondly, that cheer doesn't even make sense. It's named after some limestone formation near Lawrence. We have limestone in Missouri too, but we don't make our cheers about it. This one goes to M-I-Z, F-K-U in a close call. Advantage: MU
SEE MISSOURI ON PG 6A
Current NBA Players — Keyon Dooling, Kareem Rush and Anthony Peeler against Drew Gooden, Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz in a game of three-onthree? Kansas gets the nod here but only because this further shows the talent with which they have failed. Advantage: KU
Sooners not overlooked
Kansas aims to avenge loss from last year's road match, snap losing streak
By Jason Hwang
jhwang@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Traditionally, it's not wise to corner a wounded, angry animal. The same could apply to the Kansas volleyball team, which is looking for vengeance.
The Jayhawks (14-5 overall, 5-5 Big 12 Conference) want to snap a three-match losing streak when they travel to Norman, Okla., to face the Oklahoma Sooners (4-14, 2-8) at 7 p.m. tomorrow.
Although the Jayhawks have won eight of their last nine meetings against Oklahoma, that one loss came at OU Fieldhouse last year when the Sooners snapped a six-match losing streak to Kansas by winning the match three games to one. Coach Ray Bechard said that loss was difficult and the team remembers that.
Bechard said 12 of the 14 players from last year were returning to play tomorrow.
**Ray Bechard**
coach
"Some of the teams have some physical tools that maybe we don't have,which means we have to compensate and do things that we do well."
"I really do believe that
I really do believe that will make us a little bit more aware of respecting them; where they're at and their program's growth," Bechard said. "I do think that will raise our awareness that it can happen if you don't take care of business."
The Jayhawks have a two-match winning streak against the Sooners. In their last meeting Sept. 21, Kansas swept Oklahoma in three games in Lawrence.
X-rays were performed yesterday on freshman middle blocker Josiane Lima, who left Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Nebraska with an injured right hand. Bechard said there were no broken bones, but that Lima sustained a bad sprain where the right pinkie finger meets the palm at the joint. Bechard said Lima is doubtful for the Oklahoma match.
Bechard said the team had been competing well, but that for his team to move into the top 25 and stay in that elite group, it would take a concentrated effort during each game.
If Lima can not start against Oklahoma, the Jayhawks will use senior middle blocker Kylie Thomas and junior middle blocker Jordan Garrison. Thomas has played in 10 matches, started in one, and averages 1.25 kills per game with a .342 hitting percentage. Garrison has started in six
"Some of the teams have some physical tools that maybe we don't have, which means we have to compensate and do things that we do well," Bechard said.
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Andi Rozum. Loveland, Cole, freshman, sets during Kansas' Wednesday game against No. 4 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers defeated the Jayhawks in three straight games.
matches with a 1.35 kills per game average and a .370 hitting percentage.
"Lima is one of our greatest offensive threats, but we have two really great middles that can come in and fill in her spot," said senior defensive specialist Jennifer Kraft. "I don't think we're really worried about it. We are very deep with people off the bench."
-Edited by Andrew Vaupel
Soccer heads to Texas for crucial games
By Daniel Berk
dberk@kanans.com
Kanans sportswriter
Just two weeks away from the Big 12 Conference Tournament, the Kansas women's soccer team heads to Texas this weekend for a tough pair of games.
Friday, the Jayhawks, ranked No. 8 will tangle with the No. 3 team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns, in Austin, Texas. It will not get
Texas. It will not get much easier for them, as they take on the No. 6 ranked Texas A&M Aggies Sunday in College Station, Texas.
"The kids are excited about the opportunity," coach Mark Francis said. "If we play well then we can compete with them."
Kansas will enter this weekend with a record of 11-3-2 and a conference record
"The kids are excited about the opportunity. If we play well then we can compete with them."
Mark Francis coach
of 4-2-1, which puts the team in a threeway tie for third place in the conference. Kansas is coming off a weekend in which they defeated Central Missouri State and Iowa State.
"It was nice to win both games over the weekend," Francis said. "It gives us some confidence going into our big weekend in Texas."
The Longhorns are led offensively by sophomore Kelly McDonald and junior Kati McBain, who have each tallied 24 points. In goal for the Longhorns is junior Darci Carruthers, who has started seven games for Texas allowing only one goal in 549 minutes of play. She splits time with sophomore Alex Gagarin, who has started eight games and has a goals against average of .83. Texas enters the weekend with a 12-2-1 record and a conference mark of 7-0-0.
The Aggies come into this weekend
SEE SOCCER AN PAGE 6A
A look inside the mind of a Tiger fan
I am a Missouri fan.
I am totally stoked about my football team this year. What's not to be excited about? We're 3-4, winning epic battles with Troy State, Ball State and Illinois (three powerhouses). What's even more exciting is our losses. After all, moral victories are just as good, if you ask me.
SPORTS COMMENTARY
I am a Missouri fan.
I temporarily lost control of my bowels when my football team beat Illinois, called my quarterback a prophet, and made plans for the Fiesa Bowl in Tempe, Ariz. Illinois is now 2-5, but I still believe we're the cause.
Ryan Wood
rwood@kansan.com
A good time for me is inner tubing at the Lake of the Ozarks, pointing out to Kansas fans that a Jayhawk isn't a real bird and taking 20 tours of the Anheuser-Busch plant in one day to get drunk off the free samples.
I am a Missouri fan.
I also enjoy playing slots on a dirty river, going to the top of the arch, and making homosexual references to KU's
stupid mascot (Gayhawk! How clever!)
Jam a Missouri fan.
We flock to Faurot Field by the thousands, and after getting teased by the likes of Oklahoma and Nebraska, I claim that my school is just a few breaks away from competing with Miami.
I am saddened that half of my basketball team is missing in action this season, leaving for the likes of San Diego State, New Mexico State and Europe. I now realize that all that's left is the heir to Wal-Mart, a guy with nightmares of Allen Fieldhouse's rim, and some dude named Najeeb.
I am a Missouri fan.
I am proud that such prominent athletes as Justin Gage, "Bad" Brad Smith and Ricky Paulding suit up in the black and gold. I still wonder, if they're really this good and why the hell they ever chose Missouri in the first place. I'll take it and pretend we're a tradition-rich program or something.
I am a Missouri fan.
I am a Missouri fan.
The most loyal of fans dress like drag queens. We harass athletes who could drop us with a backhand. We call ourselves the Antlers, and we'll be asking Santa Claus for a life this upcoming Christmas.
I am a Missouri fan.
I am a Missouri fan.
My favorite pastime includes telling stories of Corby Jones, Doug Smith and other Missouri greats, while bypassing stories of Kirk Farmer, Simeon Haley and the Bob Stull era.
Of all the athletes to attend Missouri over the years, perhaps the best is, sadly,
Tom Berenger, who showed exceptional bunting skills despite bad knees in the Major League flicks of the late '80s.
I am a Missouri fan.
I thought Norm Stewart's signing of prize recruit Matt Rowan in 1998 was huge.
I can count on one fist just how many national championships our school has won in the last quarter century. I can also count on one fist how many national championships our school will win in the next quarter century.
I am a Missouri fan.
I am a Missouri fan.
I hate what hurts — Tony Sands, fifth downs, KU basketball and life. I find chucking bottles a temporary solution to relieve the pain, though it never does go away.
I am a Missouri fan.
Someone, anyone, please kill me.
Wood is a Lee's Summit, Mo., senior in journalism.
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