THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011
PAGE 7
COMMENTARY
A rivalry worth keeping
or rainfall in October 2009. I was a rainy, windy day, but I was looking forward to getting a taste of what being a lavash really meant.
can still remember my first official visit to the University of Kansas in October 2009. It
What I got instead was a series of backwards-walking, fast-talking student ambassadors, trying to impress parents with their carefully rehearsed lines about Kansas myths and traditions. Interestingly enough, as we walked past Memorial Stadium, the ambassadors failed to mention the most interesting and compelling Jayhawk tradition of all: the Border War games against Missouri.
Truth be told, watching some of the captivating Border War games (now politically correct-titled to the "Border Showdown") is what sold me on Kansas in the first place. I could feel the legitimate hatred and passion emitted from the 70,000 people of questionable sobriety as they congregated at Arrowhead Stadium.
Now, conference realignment, television contracts and Longhorn envy all threaten to bring an end to one of college football's most storied rivalries.
The first football game between the two schools was played in 1891, back when the forgettable Benjamin Harrison was president, Carnegie Hall in New York held its first public performance and James Naismith invented basketball at the age of 30. The Jayhawks would defeat the Tigers 22-10 in Kansas City, Mo., but the series would remain tight through its next 118 contests. Missouri holds the overall lead in the series, 56-54-9, although fans still dispute the forfeited Kansas win in 1960 to this day.
The 2007 shootout took the series to another level when No.4 Missouri defeated previously-undefeated No.2 Kansas,36-28. It was an unforgettable experience for the 80,537 in attendance at Arrowhead Stadium that evening, although most Kansas fans have probably spent the last few years trying to forget it. The 2008 contest helped to heal wounds from the previous year, when quarterback Todd Reesing engineered a spectacular, last-second upset of the No.13 Tigers, 40-37.
But with the Tigers now openly exploring other conference options like the SEC, one of sports' greatest and most competitive rivalries is in jeopardy. Make no mistake, this is not akin to Texas A&M's departure earlier this year. Texas A&M is, has been and always will be the University of Texas' redheaded stepchild. No, this is more like Pittsburgh's recent move to the ACC, which put in question the future of their Backyard Brawl series with West Virginia. That series has been played since 1895, but even it cannot boast the competitiveness of the Border War.
Yes, Kansas and Missouri could still manually schedule each other in non-conference games each season if the Tigers make the jump. If Bill Self isn't willing to schedule Missouri, how can one expect a football team, which plays much fewer games, to make it work? Missouri already plays out-of-conference rival Illinois in St. Louis each season, so unless they jump to the Big Ten, the Tigers will need to make room for Kansas each year.
It's hard to blame Missouri for wanting to ditch the Big 12, even though they were one of the instigators of much of last year's conference realignment madness. The Big 12 is unstable, and other conferences will offer more money in the short-term. But it would be a damn shame if one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports has to be sacrificed because important people in suits can't get along.
Edited by Jennifer DiDonato
CONFERENCE
FOOTBALL BIG 12 PRESENTED BY PREVIEW WAVE
11 A.M. SATURDAY.OCT.8
The Texas Longhorns get the chance to prove they have put their struggles of their 2010 season behind them as they take on the Oklahoma Sooners for the 105th time in the Red River Rivalry. Texas has moved up to the 11 spot in the AP poll following four wins against unranked teams, while Oklahoma fell from the top spot to number three despite winning all four of its contests this season. The winner of this game will have the momentum in the race to win the Big 12.
Brown
PLAYER TO WATCH
Texas running back Malcolm Brown: The key to the Longhorn offense is their rushing attack, and their leader is Brown, who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. If the Longhorns want to compete, Brown will have to have success on the ground to take the pressure off the Longhorn quarterback combination of Case McCoy and David Ash.
PREDICTION 35-20. OKLAHOMA
Although Texas has made strides of improvement, the Sooners have experience after defeating then fifth ranked Florida State on the road. Sooner quarterback Landry Jones and the Sooner's fifth ranked pass game will be too much for the Longhorn defense to handle.
2:30 P.M. SATURDAY. OCT. 8
Despite being unbeaten and defeating 15th ranked Baylor at home last week, the Wildcats still find themselves the underdog to a 500 Missouri team that has struggled in three of its four games. The Wildcat defense is riding high after stopping Miami's game winning drive at the goal line, then stopping Heisman Trophy candidate Robert Griffin III's game winning drive before he could get anything rolling the next week.
Brown
PLAYER TO WATCH
Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown. Brown was the first player to intercept Baylor quarterback all season, and his pick set up Kansas State's game winning field goal. Brown has recorded 33 tackles and two sacks on the season to date, and if he keeps his production up, he and the Wildcats 17th ranked scoring defense will shut down the Tiger offense.
The Wildcat defense will be able to handle the Missouri offense fairly easily and the Wildcat rushing attack will slice through Missouri's defense with ease as they run their way to victory.
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
PREDICTION 27-17. KANSAS STATE
6 P.M. SATURDAY, OCT. 8
The Cyclones and the Bears are both looking to bounce back from their first losses of the season. The winner will find itself back in contention to be the upstart team of the Big 12, while the loser will once again be relegated to the Big 12 basement.
Griffin III
PLAYER TO WATCH
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III: Griffin still has the Heisman hype surrounding him, despite failing to lead Baylor's last minute comeback bid against Kansas State last week. Griffin's numbers are still impressive, as he has 18 touchdown passes compared to just 20 incompletions.
PREDICTION 42-31. BAYLOR
The Baylor offense will continue its roll, while Iowa State will continue to sputter along. A gritty performance by Cyclone quarterback Steele Jantz won't be enough to overtake the Bears. In a game that will lack defense, Iowa State will not be able to keep up.
6 P.M. SATURDAY, OCT. 8
The Aggies have suffered consecutive losses where they have not been able to hold onto a sizeable lead at haftime, while the Red Raiders undefeated despite not facing a team with a win over a team from a BCS conference. This game represents the opportunity for Texas Tech to show the nation it deserves to be in the Top 25, and for the Aggies to rediscover their winning ways that once had them ranked as high as eighth in the AP poll.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Texas Tech receiver Darin Moore: Moore put up gaudy numbers in the Red Raiders' first two games, totaling 339 yards and four touchdowns. He has been sidelined since, leaving the Red Raiders' third game of the season. His status for Saturday is highly questionable, but if he can come back and play at a high level, he could provide the boost needed for a Red Raider upset.
Moore
PREDICTION 35-24. TEXAS A&M
The Aggies will be able to build an early lead against a suspect Red Raider defense, and this time they will be able to hold on it. Tech's offense can be dynamic, but the Aggie defense will be harder to come back against for the Red Raiders than the Jayhawk defense they faced a week before. This time, the Aggies will be able to avoid a second half collapse when quarterback Ryan Tannehill shows the improvements he's made in protecting the football.
SOCCER
Baylor Bears in the Jayhawks'sights
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
The collegiate soccer season is coming down the home stretch as the Kansas soccer team competes in their second-to-last home game today.
"We're looking at the Big 12 standings, but I think the bigger picture for us is we want to make the NCAA Tournament," coach Mark Francis said.
The Jayhawks (8-5) square-off against the Baylor Bears (9-2-2) to try and climb their way up the Big 12 standings.
However, Kansas is not too concerned with its conference positioning, but is focused on larger implications.
The Jayhawks sit with a comfortable ranking in the field of 65 for the NCAA tournament with an RPI of 37. Still, the Jayhawks feel like they need to keep winning and beat a few teams with higher RPI rankings.
Enter Baylor, whose RPI of 35 could be a useful opportunity to build the Jayhawk's resume.
"It's a huge game for us in terms of postseason ramifications," Francis said.
In order for the jayhawks to come out victorious, they will need to be ready for a competitive match against the Bears that will test their physicality and grit.
Junior midfielder Whitney Berry has seen Baylor's style of play before and knows the kind of team the Jayhawks could be going up against today.
According to several players and coaches, Baylor is a team that is aggressive and attacks the middle of the field. The Jayhawks' assignment for today's contest is to widen the field of play by getting the ball to the sidelines.
The Big 12 named Berry the Offensive Player of the Week on Thursday. She is leading the NCAA with 11 assists.
"They are very athletic. I think soccer-wise we're probably a better team, but I would say they will easily match us athletic wise," Berry said.
"They're, going to close you down really quickly". Francis said.
"They're going to put pressure on the ball. They like to get the ball forward pretty quick and so defensively for us it's going to be making sure they don't get in behind our back line."
That responsibility falls on Kansas' defenders. Two who have been productive recently are sophomore Brittany King and freshman Jami Vaughn.
King is an established starter whose presence on the field is important to the team's overall defensive identity.
Vaughn did not get a starting spot until the coaching staff thought some necessary adjustments were needed going into last weekend's games against Texas and Texas A&M. Since then, Vaughn has proven to be a consistent defensive stopper.
ARRY DAVIS/ KANSAN
Freshman forward Ingrid Vidal weaves through opponents during Sunday's game. The Jawhareys wore pjers during the game to support breast cancer awareness.
"She is one of those smart players," King said. "She always knows what to do before the ball comes to her."
With only six games remaining on the regular season schedule, the players understand their expectations from the team. They know
reinvent the wheel," Francis said. "At this point in the season it's fine tuning some small things."
it's necessary to tighten up all areas of the game. Especially since Kansas will play four of their next five matches on the road.
"At this point we're not going to
SPORTS
- Edited by Lindsey Deiter
Cross country to compete in local Haskell meet
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The Haskell Invitational may not be the biggest meet on the schedule for Kansas cross country, but it presents an opportunity for some of the runners to prove themselves. Of the six runners that will compete — four boys and two girls — most of them will not travel with the team for the rest of the season. This local meet will be their chance to end the season on a good note while competing against smaller area schools.
"We just want to go out there and
show that we are Kansas," said Devin Wiegers, a senior from Leawood.
Wiegers will be running in the Haskell Invitational on Saturday. Kansas will look to perform well and show that it deserves recognition as one of the top teams in the region. The smaller schools that will run against Kansas will most likely be looking to build confidence by beating a nationally respected team. After this competition, the team will transition back to bigger races, with the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Oct. 14.
A phrase that is continually repeated by every Kansas cross country runner is "pack running." The runners try to stay close together throughout the race. If the runners in the back can stay with the top runners that will make their time better. With a much smaller pack running this Saturday, the coaches will look to see strong performances by certain runners to show that they can hold the back of the pack as close as possible to the front-runners. This race could determine whether Wiegers will be with the team in Wisconsin next Saturday for the Adidas Invitational.
The Haskell course is familiar terrain for Kansas runners.
"We practice on Haskell a lot, at least once a week," said Ben Wilson, a junior from Lawrence. "For the guys, we're probably going to run the course on Friday and we'll develop some type of game plan then."
Having knowledge of the course before the competition can be a valuable advantage, as the Kansas men have already proven by finishing first in the Bob Timmons Classic at the University's home course, Rim Rock Farm. Not everyone would prefer to have a detailed gameplan of the race before hand, though. Wiegers said that she will likely just go run and try to think about strategy as little as possible.
1
For Wiegers, cross country is about putting herself in the best possible state of mind.
"In practice we focus on pack running and just mental stability and confidence," Wiegers said. "Good mental attitude is really important for this race."
Edited by Jason Bennett