Page 16 University Daily Kansan, September 10, 1982 bowl Kansas prepared for season to start By GINO STRIPPOLI Sports Editor A fired-up Kansas football team will finally face some outside competition when they open the 1982 season against the Wichita State Shockers at Memorial Stadium tomorrow. Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. "There is no doubt we need to have an outside opponent," Coach Donn Fambrough said. "Right now I feel we're ready to play, but we won't know what to do, going to miss our graduated seniors until we play." "We've gone over everything that could possibly happen, but there will be some minor changes." "There are a lot of unknowns at the beginning of a season and you can practice forever against yourself and never know how you'll perform in a game. Wichita State has that advantage over us. They made their first-game mistakes already. THE JAYHAWKS hope to keep their mistakes to a minimum because they want to keep the ball away from WSU quartermack Prince McJunkins. McJunkins passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more in the Shockers' victory over Missouri-Rolla last week. "We know McJunkin is a great back so we won't be surprised by what he does," Fambrough said. "You're not going to stop him, but we will try to slow him down." The Jayhawks hope to get off a quick start offensively, something the team has lacked in past years. Kansas has won only six of their last 10 home openings in Memorial Stadium. "You just never know what will happen," Fambraugh said. "One year it rained every day and we had to practice on a concrete slab and do our conditioning underneath the stadium. "I would have bolt everything I owned that we would have lost that game, but we went down and beat Texas Christian for the first time ever." FRANK SEURER and the offensive line hold the key for an improved offensive team. Seurer, over the second half of the 1981 season, was the best quarterback in the Big Eight, leading the Jayhawks to three straight victories. Seurer's resurgence happened when the offensive line, which was decimated by injuries early on, was healthy and started to play together. The offensive line returns three starters and one part-time starter. Renwick Atkins and Reggie Smith start at tackle and Paul Fairchild and K.C. Brown start at guard. Bennie Simecke beat out John Lonarc and Grant Thierolf for the starting center position. "The offensive line has been the most pleasing thing about fall practice," Fambrough said. "It didn't exactly come as a surprise, but the way they've performed has been encouraging." Seurer will be joined in the backfield by Dino Bell at tailback and E.J. Jones at fullback, while Johnson takes position, white Bobby Johnson and Russ Batin will shuttle in plays from the split end spot. Although Bell and Jones are starting at the back positions, Farnham said that he would need to have a large leg. "Two years ago, our backs played too much." Fambrough said. "We have more backs now that can play without a drop off in talent and this will help our team. "This year we also plan on throwing to our backs more. The game will dictate exactly how much we use them, but we will be prepared to utilize our backs." the tight end position will be shared by Sylvester Blond and Ernie Wright with Byrd getting the starting nod. This starting position was the last one decided by the Kansas coaches. ON DEFENSE, the Jayhawks hope to stop McJenkins with a veteran defensive front, two young linebackers, and a defensive secondary receiver. Through thought at the beginning of spring drills. The line will consist of defensive ends Markk Alexander and Tim Friess, tackles Broderick Thompson and Mark Wilbers and nose guard Walter Parrish. Parrish beat out senior Dave Mehner and freshman Steve Nave for the starting spot. "Our nose guard is still an unknown position," Fambroug said. "The people we have there have played very little, but we'll find out tomorrow." At linebacker, Eddie Simmons and Mike Arbanas get the starting berths with Bill Malavasi and Andy Fenon backing them up. "We have two capable people starting at linebacker," Fambrough said. "But they never had to take a leading role and that's entirely different." The defensive secondary will be manned by Gary Coleman and Roger Foote at safeties and Rod Demeritte and Jeffrey Brown at the corners. "THE DEFENSIVE secondary is not as strong a position as we once thought," Fambrough said. "We lost two players that we thought we had and that hurt." One part of the Kansas team that Fambrough has nothing but praise for is the kicking game, featuring Bucky Scribler and Bruce Kallmeyer. "I wouldn't use our kicking game for any in the nation," Fambridge said. "That's not only our kickers, but everyone involved in it. Grant was kicked out of the snapper and the entire package is a good one." "The most important thing for uv against Wichita State is to keep our poise. We can't expect to stop them every series. If our players get shook up, it could be a long afternoon." "It is important to win your first game because of how much you prepare for it. I think our team needs to do that." JAYHAWK NOTES — The Jayhawk ticket office is expecting a crowd of between 35,000 and 40,000 people for the home opener. Tickets are still available for the game. Wichita State has purchased close to 5,000 tickets for the game. Veteran KU sportscaster Max Falkensten is playing in the Kansas wolf sports. He will be joined by Jerry Waugh, past KU assistant athletic director, and Jim Fender, a former Kansas wide receiver. Falkenstein can be heard on 96-X Radio in Lawrence. Tom Hendrick will be entering his 16th year as "Voice of the Jayhawks" on the KU Sports Network, of which Hendric is director. Hendrick will be joined by David Lawrence, a guard on the 1981 Jayhawk football team. Hendrick can be heard locally on KLW-KLZR. Senior Broderick Thompson, shown here against Colorado during last year's 27-0 victory over Colorado, will start at defensive tackle tomorrow when the Jayhawks open the 1982 season against the FLEE PHOTO Wichita State Shockers. Thompson, 6-foot-6, 287 pounds, is one of the leaders on the defensive squad and one of the top linemen in the Big Eight. Neugent breaks record By RUSTY FABER Snorts Writer Senior Ron Neugent may be finding it difficult to hit the books these days, but his lack of concentration doesn't seem to bother anyone. Neugent broke the American record in the 1,500-meter freestyle last Sunday with a time of 15.01.77 at the First Annual Post-Summer Jayhawk Swimming Classic at Robinson Gymnasium. Bob Hackett of Boston, Mass, set the previous mark of 15.01.86 in 1978. "I just wanted to make the NCAA cuts," said Neugent, who missed last year's finals because of a bout with pneumonia. "I never expected anything like this. I'm in a dare right now." Neugent's mark is pending U.S.S. National Swim certification, which should take about two weeks, said Coach Gary Kempf. A 400-meter freestyle time of 3:52.09 qualified him for the championships, but the event that really set his sights on a record swim was his 400-meter Individual Medley qualifying time of 4:19.16. His effort in the I.M. fell just 1.33 seconds short of the American record held by Jesse Vassallo. "It's just a formality you have to go through whenever a record of this caliber is broken," Kempf says. "We should hear in a couple of weeks, but I don't foresee any problem." In the meantime, the agile All-American also qualified in two other events for the NCAA championships, which will be held in Indiana in March. Neugent was a member of the 1980 Olympic team and the 1981 U.S. National team, which traveled to Moscow and defeated the Russians. Kempf said he thought that Neugent was finally realizing some of his potential. "I now feel, without a doubt, that Ron is well-conditioned an athlete as anybody could be," Kemp said. "Ron is becoming one of the premier distance swimers in America." Scott Haliburton of Missouri also qualified for NCAA action in last week's meet with a time of 10:45 a.m. Haliburton and Neugent are the first Big Eight entries into the NCAA championships, and Kemp said he thought their success would attract more swimmers for next year's meet. "We anticipate a much larger meet next year because of the success we had with this one." Kempt said. "We didn't expect a record or such amount, but I can say it was a pleasant surprise." Pitt wins opener on Thomas' TD The Fittsburgh Panthers, ranked No.1 in the nation, came back from a 3-8 deficit to edge past the North Carolina Tar Heels, 7-6. The Panthers fell to Detroit, night in the season opener for both squads: The game, which was supposed to showcase two of the top offensive teams in the nation, was dominated by the defenses of the two teams. Pittsburgh's defense held All-American Kelvin Bryant to fewer than 100 yards rushing and consistently harassed quarterback Rod Elkins, who completed only five passes in the second half. Before the game, Elkins had a shot as a starting quarterback for the Tar Heels. The North Carolina defense was almost as tough, intercepting Pitt quarterback Dan Marino, who is considered to be one of the top choices for the Heisman Trophy. four times Pitt, however, did manage to score on a four-yard pass from Marino to halback Bryan Thomas. The Tar Heels narrowed the lead to two in a goalless (loyal), but time ran on their last ditch effort. The victory gave Pitt Coach Serafino "Foge" Fazio his first triumph as head coach of the Panthers. Fazio took over for Jackie Herrill, who is now at Texas A&M. Herrill and the Aggies lost their season opener to Boston College. Predictions
| Strippoli | Cook | George | Cooksey | Sugg | Hamilton | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita State at Kansas | Kansas 41-14 | Kansas 28-7 | Kansas 10-3 | Kansas 24-13 | Kansas 27-17 | Kansas 28-3 |
| Kentucky at Kansas State | Kentucky 20-14 | Kansas State 21-14 | Kentucky 36-14 | Kentucky 13-6 | Kansas State 28-7 | Kansas State 14-6 |
| Slippery Rock at Towson State | Towson State 21-14 | Slippery Rock 14-13 | Slippery Rock 10-7 | Slippery Rock 17-3 | Towson State 42-3 | Towson State 21-20 |
| Iowa at Nebraska | Nebraska 42-7 | Nebraska 42-7 | Nebraska 24-0 | Nebraska 35-6 | Nebraska 31-6 | Nebraska 35-6 |
| Tulaa at Arkansas | Arkansas 35-7 | Arkansas 28-14 | Arkansas 28-14 | Arkansas 24-14 | Arkansas 17-3 | Arkansas 14-13 |
| Maryland at Penn State | Penn State 49-7 | Penn State 28-7 | Penn State 7-3 | Penn State 28-7 | Penn State 45-7 | Penn State 31-10 |
| California at Colorado | California 21-20 | California 17-14 | California 35-0 | California 21-7 | Colorado 10-7 | Colorado 20-13 |
| Texas Tech at New Mexico | Texas Tech 24-14 | Texas Tech 28-21 | Texas Tech 28-21 | Texas Tech 21-14 | Texas Tech 30-6 | New Mexico 14-3 |
| West Virginia at Oklahoma | Oklahoma 28-14 | Oklahoma 35-10 | Oklahoma 20-10 | Oklahoma 28-10 | Oklahoma 35-3 | Oklahoma 27-7 |
| Army at Missouri | Missouri 24-14 | Missouri 24-7 | Missouri 21-14 | Missouri 28-7 | Army 7-6 | Missouri 24-0 |
| Season Totals | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 | 0-0-0 |