Volume 124 Issue 55
kansan.com
Monday, November 7, 2011
COMMENTARY
Breaking up with Missouri
Dear Missouri,
I can
Dear Missouri,
I can understand why you want to move to the Southeastern Conference, I really do.
I would want to move too, if it meant being out of the shadow of Kansas in basketball and Texas and Oklahoma in football. All those years of losing and never winning a conference championship would be frustrating.
All those years of sitting at home watching a team in your conference win national championships is even more frustrating
I get it, but guess what? It's only going to get worse.
The SEC is arguably one of the best football conferences in America. It is home to the last five national champions: Auburn, Alabama, Florida (twice) and LSU. How do you plan on winning games against these teams when you can't defeat Oklahoma or Oklahoma State?
You also have to play Arkansas, South Carolina and Georgia. Tennessee won't be bad forever. Your only real chances to win are against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
You depend on Texas for recruiting, but what makes recruits want to come to Missouri now that you can't guarantee two games in their home state each year? Your only game will be in College Station, Texas, and that's not every season. Besides, what recruits even come from that part of Texas? Most are from Dallas, Houston or Austin. If you recruit in Florida, you have to recruit against Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and LSU.
The SEC may not be as strong as the Big 12 in basketball, but it does have Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. I don't see you winning any conference titles there, either.
Heck, even your gymnastics team will struggle against Georgia, Alabama, Florida and LSU. The SEC has six of the last seven gymnastics national champions.
Why would you burn your bridge with Kansas City? The Big 12 Basketball Championship will most likely leave Kansas City, Mo., thanks to you, costing the city revenue during that weekend.
You have the second-oldest football rivalry in the country behind Minnesota and Wisconsin. Why would you put that in jeopardy? The athletic rivalry dates back to 1891, and the rivalry between the states dates back to the Civil War.
The reason for the move is merely because of money — about $2 million more per year. Does a few million sound like a reason to move conferences just to lose games? I don't think so.
These are all problems for you, not for the rest of the Big 12. Nobody actually cares about you leaving because all you do is cause drama. You started all this conference realignment hoopla when you wanted to go to the Big Ten, but when Nebraska went and you didn't, you cried foul.
You can take your money. But you won't realize how good you had it until you're gone.
Just remember, you "have won no championships of any kind," as one Jayhawk fan at the Occupy Denver protest said.
Don't call Kansas. Kansas will call you.
Edited by Rachel Schultz
BIG EAST FIRES BACK
Conference takes legal action after West Virginia sues to avoid penalties PAGE 8
DESPITE ROUGH FIRST HALF, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS PITTSBURG STATE PAGE 8
SAME OLD STORY
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TRAVIS YOUNG/KANSAN
Freshman running back Darrian Miller looks at the end zone while being tackled by Iowa State defense during the fourth quarter of the game in Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State. Kansas lost to Iowa State 10-13
MIKE VERNON
mvernon@kansan.com
AMES, Iowa — After being firmly put away in their previous four Big 12 games, the Jayhawks finally had an opportunity to put a notch in the win column for conference play. Instead of jumping on the multiple chances to take control of the game, the Jayhawks let their opening pass by, once again finishing on the losing end of a Big 12 game.
Coach Turner Gill made the decision on fourth and goal at the Cyclones' two-yard line to kick a field goal and tie the game at 10-10 with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter. While it was the safe choice for Gill, it was also one that ultimately led to the Jayhawks' 13-10 defeat, as they gained
only 20 yards of offense following the field goal.
Freshman running back Darrian
"I felt like we should've run it up the middle," junior receiver D.J. Beshears said of the play.
Miller said a surge from the Iowa State defensive line pushed Webb off his normal path on the play. Miller said that he thought Webb was going to score on the play, so he went ahead to go block instead of staying back as a choice for the pitch. He said the blown play was his fault.
While it's not unusual for an offensive player to be upset with such a call, the Jayhawk's set of plays leading up to the field goal explains why Gill would be hesitant to trust his offense.
After having first and goal on the four-yard line, Kansas found itself on the one-yard line on third down. The Jayhawks ran an option that went awry, as sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb had to run backwards before salvaging the play to a one-yard loss. The blown play set Kansas up to take the field goal and tie, rather than go for the lead.
"Back when I was on offense, if there was ever a situation like fourth and one, I'm going to tell our coach to go for it," Opurum said. "A lot of times, guys on offense don't know what's best for the
Junior defensive end and former running back Toben Opurum has been on both sides of a short yardage situation. He said the offensive guys were most likely wanting to go for it, but that doesn't mean it was the right play call for Gill and the staff.
team. Sometimes, it's just smart to take the points when you can get them."
Kicking the 19-yard field goal was sophomore punter Ron Doherty, who came in following two missed field goals from the starting freshman kicker Alex Mueller.
Mueller's first miss came on the heels of another controversial play calling choice from Gill. The Jayhawks were on the Cyclones 32-yard line and only needed five yards for the first down. Instead, Gill sent a kicker who had not made a field goal longer than 32-yards this season to attempt a 49-yard kick.
"We thought he was definitely in his range to make it," Gill said.
Yet Mueller has only kicked two field goals longer than 40-yards this season and he missed them both. Mueller had the kick blocked, and
the Jayhawks kept their lead at 10-3 early in the second quarter. Mueller then missed a 36-yard field goal on the following possession.
In a game that was decided by only three points, the missed field goals and the goal line mishap kept needed points for Kansas off the scoreboard. The loss knocked Kansas out of bowl eligibility, dropping its record to 2-7 on the year and 0-6 in Big 12 play.
"Obviously that was our big goal for the year," Webb said of making a bowl game. "But we've got a chance to ultimately win November. We're going to come out every game and just take it one game at a time, that's all you can do at this point in the season. Not all is lost."
— Edited by Mike Lavieri
VOLLEYBALL
Jayhawks nearly upset conference leader
MATT GALLOWAY
Even residing at the bottom of the Big 12 this season, the Kansas volleyball team came close to upsetting the first place Texas Lornhorns on Saturday.
mgalloway@kansan.com
But in a game swung by moment tum, the Longhorns seized it in the decisive fifth set to leave Lawrence with a victory.
The No. 9 Longhorns (16-4, 9-1) overcame what appeared to be a serious leg injury to their star freshman Khat Bell to defeat the jayhawks (13-12, 1-11) in five sets: 25-20, 18-25, 25-19, 16-25 and 15-8.
"We had it. I felt it the whole game," Kansas sophomore setter Erin McNorton said. "We were all so excited. In the intermission in the locker room there was a great feeling. But we just couldn't pull it out in the end."
From left, freshman outside hitter Chelsea Albers, senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield and junior middle blocker Tayler Tolefree huddle to go over the strategy of the next play during the game against Texas Saturday.
Two service errors in the shortened fifth set undid the Jayhawks, who looked much different from the team that dominated the Longhorns by a nine-point margin in the fourth. One of those serves from sophomore defensive specialist Jaime Mathieu was just inches away from being an ace.
"To Jaime's credit, that was a very aggressive miss," coach Ray Bechard said. "We weren't stopping their attacks, and we felt we
had to create something with our serve. But yeah, two missed serves in a 15 point game is unacceptable."
The Longhorns seized the first set by taking the last four points, capitalizing on an attack error by senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield for the victory. Bell, a middle blocker for Texas, had five kills and no errors in the first.
NICK SMITH/KANSAN
Bell would add another kill early in the second before suffering a left leg injury that would stop play. Bell was carried off the court and when play resumed, the Jayhawks took advantage of the flustered Longhorns, going on a 5-0 run late with McNorton serving. McNorton capped the run with an ace and Kansas took the second set, 25-18, on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Caroline jarmoc.
McNorton, playing in a pinch-server role this season, has been key to many Kansas runs like the one in the second on Saturday.
"It seems like she's a serving specialist," Mayfield said. "She was cold and she did a great job of coming in and putting some serves in."
The layhawks were all smiles in the huddle after the third set, which they lost by six points. With its back against the wall, Kansas railed off six consecutive points with Mathieu serving.
"When that last point dropped and we were switching sides, we all were in the huddle and we knew we had the momentum," Mayfield said. "They were on their heels."
Texas reboubled to take the game, but Mayfield said some players for Kansas made big strides
in the loss, Freshman outside hitter Sara McClinton finished with a career-high 15 kills. Bechard said he was proud of her performance. As the season winds down, the Jayhawks are focusing on the development of their younger players and maintaining the effort level they
displayed on Saturday night.
"You keep chopping wood, you keep sawing, you keep getting the same effort and you'll get a result sooner or later," Bechard said.
Edited by Rachel Schultz