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MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008
COMMENTARY
PAGE 1B
Wild weekend muddies forecast
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And so all eyes Saturday — in the press box at least — were focused on the Kansas student section rather than the field during kickoffs. A local paper's front page story read "After coachs plea, focus is on fate of obscene chant."
It was warm and sunny — very sunny in Lawrence on Saturday. A beautiful day for a football game in a country where beautiful days have been scarce as of late.
Sen. John McCain — in an effort to regain momentum — kicked up attacks on Sen. Barack Obama, inadvertently whipping up some supporters into a brutal frenzy. Some shouted at recent campaign stops that they want this "terrorist" dead.
Saturday offered a brief hiatus from a volatile presidential campaign trail and a wild and wooly Wall Street, described by many as "riots every day."
They did—as loud and clear as ever —and those that cared to follow the game saw No.16 Kansas rally from another punchless start to eventually crush Colorado.
That's right. Above all else right now, you should care most about whether a few thousand students drop the f-bomb on kickoffs.
Oops, Last Friday, McCain urged at a Lakeville, Minn., town hall meeting to show respect for his opponent. It was too late, as his own supporters responded by booing him.
There was something different about this contest — the Jayhawks' second conference game and last game of the season's first half. Several key flaws that plagued the season's first half were addressed while a glaring one was put under Mangino's microscope.
Kansas 30, Colorado 14.
For the third consecutive game, the Jayhawks were shut out during the first quarter. Yet while that led to a 20-0 half-time deficit at Iowa State, Kansas avoided a similar disaster with stellar defensive play and an offense that again bloomed in the second half.
As emphatic as the Kansas student section was in being heard in all its obscene glory on ESPN2, the subject of their mantra — special teams — frequently failed to live up to the chant.
At times students would have been better served shouting "Make a f*cking trouble" or "Return the f*cking pun!"
Comical at times, Kansas' return units played a huge role in giving its offense poor field position for much of the game.
But everything else was in place Saturday. Todd Reeing simply didn't miss — completing 27 of 34 passes with no interceptions. Old Faithful Kerry Meier sprung to life in the second half, nearly notching a fourth consecutive 100-yard game.
Now comes the second half of the
Six games through and six crucial games left, Kansas forcefully answered its once woeful rushing attack. Junior Jake Sharp returned to shifty form while adding some new highlights to his resume. Once dismissed as mere change of pace back, Sharp carried the workload for the Jayhawks with 31 rushes for 122 yards and three touchdowns — all career highs.
KANSAS 30,COLORADO 14
Defensively, the Jayhawks were as good as ever. It speaks volumes about this unit when a coach has to pull his own sorry son. Colorado coach Dan Hawkins had no choice but to put quarterback Cody out of his misery after sophomore defensive end Jake Laptad chased him 16 yards backwards into his own end zone, bringing the poor fellow to the turf for a game-changing safety.
Buffed and waxed
Jake Sharp leads charge as Kansas uses ground game to dispatch Colorado
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
Junior running back Jake Sharp pauses for a key block from freshman tight-end Tim Biere on his way to the endzone for a touchdown in the second quarter. The touchdown was the first of Sharp's three in the game. Sharp carried the ball 31 times for 118 yards, leading the Jayhawks to a 5-1 record with the 30-14 victory against Colorado at Memorial Stadium. Go to Kansan.com for complete coverage from Saturday's game.
Noticing their buddy was a little down in the dumps, quarterback Todd Reesing and wide receiver Kerry Meier decided to pull running back Jake Sharp aside from practice a few weeks ago for a chat.
The three are close friends off the field, and the two encouraged Sharp to stay positive. They promised him that his time would soon come.
It came on Saturday. Making his first start in almost a month, Sharp looked more like the player who had 821 yards rushing as a backup last year than the one who had only 62 yards rushing in the first three games of the season before his demotion.
Sharp had a career-high 31 carries, rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 16 Kansas to a 30-14 victory against Colorado on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
"He's really come to life," said coach Mark Mangino. "He's really comfortable, and were really pleased with his performance. He's a guy that plays well based on sheer determination. He's a determined guy. He has a lot of heart."
Kansas battled poor field position for much of the first quarter and fell behind 7-0 for the second straight game. But that's when sharp went to work, rushing five times for 37 yards on the lahayws' next drive, including a 1-yard touchdown run that tied the game 7-7 with 8:56 left in the second quarter.
Jon Goering/XANSAN
"I just told Jake that he has to keep his head up and keep fighting." Reesing said. "We kind of had a round robin thing going at running back and were trying to find someone with that consi-
SEEFOOTBALL ON PAGE 4B
Jayhawks lose in overtime against Cowgirls
SOCCER
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.com
STILIWATER, Okla. — Sixty agonizing seconds separated Kansas (8-5-1) from a marquee road victory over No. 13 Oklahoma State (12-1-1) Friday night at the Cowgirl Soccer Complex.
Leading 2-1 and weathering a desperate late-game barrage by the Cowgirls, coach Mark Francis' team fell 60 ticks short. With just over one minute remaining a wayward shot struck a Kansas defender's arm, Oklahoma State clawed back into the game with the ensuing penalty kick and followed that by scoring a golden goal two minutes into the first overtime for a shocking 3-2 victory.
"I kind of felt like we got robbed," Francis said. "I thought the game was ours then right at the end it ended up not being
ours. I had no issue with our team today."
season, claiming an early lead on junior defender Estelle Johnson's first career goal and breaking a 1-1 tie late in the first half when senior Missy Geha rattled in her second goal of the season off the right post.
For 89 minutes, the lajayhs played what Francis called their best soccer of the
But the positives couldn't console Kansas' emotionally drained players and coaches after suffering their second overtime loss of the season.
"It hurts," Johnson said. "We dominated the whole game, but that is how soccer is. Sometimes you can dominate
Johnson
the whole game and still lose."
Apart from junior forward Kasey Langdon's point-blank equalizer in the 31st minute, junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley kept Oklahoma State in check, tying a career-high with nine saves, until the home team threw bodies forward the final 10 minutes.
Oklahoma State outshot Kansas 8-2 in the last 10 minutes of regulation and the ensuing overtime.
Though Kansas appeared to be in control after Geha's goal in final minute of the first half, Francis said he stressed maintaining pressure in the second half.
"We definitely went in to halftime saying we needed to score another goal." Francis. "There was no doubt. Having the wind with us, we felt like we needed to take some shots when we had the opportunity."
Oklahoma State made the most of their opportunities when it looked as though the game was out of reach and carried that momentum into the overtime period. Kansas came out strong, but a lightning-quick counter attacked the game for the coach Colin Carmichael's team.
Senior midfielder Yolanda Odenyo, neutralized for most of regulation, slide Langdon in behind junior defender Kim Boyer where she applied a flawless finish to send the home crowd into hysteresis.
KANSAS ENDS WEEKEND WITH DRAW AGAINST OKLAHOMA
Two days after Kansas' heartbreaking loss in Stillwater, Okaa., the Sooners held
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 8B
BASKETBALL
Five-star power forward verbally commits
BY CASE KEEFER
ckeefer@kansan.com
Thomas Robinson didn't bond with any single player during his official visit to Kansas last month.
"Anything you do with one of them," Robinson said. "you're with the rest of them."
He didn't feel an untidy with a specific coach, either. And that's what he loved about it.
Robinson, afive-star power forward recruit from Washington.
He didn't feel an undeniable connection
Robinson
D. C., became the first player to orally commit to Kansas from the class of 2009. He said the togetherness of everyone in the program was the main reason he selected Kansas over Memphis, which he had pegged as his other finalist.
He informed Kansas coach Bill Self of his decision late Thursday night. Robinson, whom rivals.com ranks as the 18th best player in the nation, is the first
five-star commit for the layhawks since Darrell Arthur and Sherron Collins chose them in 2006. Robinson knows exactly why he's such a highly touted player.
"Rebounding." Robinson said.
The one-word answer works. Robinson averaged 13 rebounds per game during his junior season in high school at Riverdale Baptist just outside of Washington, D.C.
Robinson has transferred to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., to polish the rest of his game for his senior season. The rebounding, well, it's still going to be his strength.
Just ask the people who have followed him. Shay Wildeboro, a recruiting expert and jayhawkslant.com senior editor, said Robinson was elite at grabbing boards.
"To be honest with you, he's probably the top rebounder in his class." Wildeboor said. "He's got a motor that never stops."
Wildeboor said Robinson was barely a top-100 player when rivals.com first released their recruiting ranking. Robinson, however, impressed scouts and coaches throughout the spring and summer in amateur tournaments.
He jumped all the way to the No.18 ranked player in the country, Kansas, Memphis, Miami and Southern California all offered him scholarships, according to rivals.com.
After narrowing his options down to Kansas and Memphis, Robinson visited both campuses a few weeks ago.
His trip to Lawrence, which included attending the national championship ring ceremony, stuck out.
"I also hopefully will win a championship," Robinson said. "A national championship."
"The ring ceremony was definitely great," Robinson said, "but it didn't have much impact on my decision."
Robinson hasn't given much thought to what he hopes to accomplish as a jayhawk. He says he wants to excel in school and get a degree — and do one other thing.
Nope, the only reason Robinson gave for his commitment was the feeling of family within the Jayhawk basketball program.
WHAT ROBINSON MEANS TO OTHER RECRUITS
With the commitment of Robinson, Self is down to only two available scholarships to spend on the class of 2009. At least seven top 25 recruits will be in Lawrence for this weekend's Late Night in the Phog.
Wall
Headlining the list of targets for Self
Heading up are John Wall, a point guard and No. 1 ranked player in the nation, and Xavier Henry, a shooting guard and No. 3 ranked player. Both Wall and Henry have said they are deciding between Kansas and Memphis — the same situation Robinson was in.
Henry
0.4
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 8B
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