SPORTS
OPPORTUNITY'S A-BREWIN'IN PHILLY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
21
WWW.KANSAN.COM
The Brewers have put themselves in a position to win their first National League title in 15 years. MLB | 5B
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2008
FOOTBALL
Buffaloes stymied by inconsistent offense
PAGE1B
Colorado coach struggles to locate team's strengths
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
Coach Dan Hawkins stopped short of saying that his team is suffering an identity crisis. But the third-year Buffalooes coach did say he wasn't too worried about the Jayhawks' defensive weaknesses because he doesn't know his own team's strengths.
"I don't know that we've done anything well particularly consistently on offense," Hawkins said. "For us, we're trying to get lined up and block the right guys and run the right route."
Colorado started the year with promise, winning its first three games. Since then, the Buffaloes have allowed a combined 77 points against Florida State and Texas and lost both contests.
Five games into the season, the situation in Boulder is murky.
Colorado's wins don't look too strong, either. One was a seven-point victory over I-AA Eastern Washington, and the Buffs' marquee victory, a 17-14 overtime triumph against No. 21 West Virginia, loses luster every week as the Mountaineers circle the drain.
On Saturday, Colorado opened Big 12 play with a home contest against No. 5 Texas.
Less than two minutes into the game, Tex
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SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 6B
Colorado fullback Jake Behrens flies through the air on his way to scoring a touchdown.
Behrens was upended by Texas cornerback Ryan Palmer, back, as safety Earl Thomas, right, looked on in the fourth quarter of a 38-14 victory by Texas in Boulder, Colo., on Saturday. Kansas will play host to Colorado this Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
FOOTBALL
Could Jake Sharp be the solution?
Kansas' running game has been a problem, but Sharp might be the one to fix it
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
Coach Mark Mangino isn't exactly sure when it happened, but he's glad it did.
After struggling through watching Jocques Crawford and Angus Quigley fail to grab control of the running back position, Mangino realized during practice last week that Jake Sharp had to be the guy.
Junior running back Jake Sharp sprints toward the end zone during Saturday's game against Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The Jayhawks recovered from a 20-0 deficit at halftime to beat the Cyclones 35-33.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
"I kind of felt that way for the past week or so, that he is the guy that is best suited right now to be our main running back," Mangino said. "I never told him, and we didn't start him because we didn't want to put any extra pressure on him. That is something that's been in the back of my mind. I went with my instincts and I am glad that I did."
Sharp started the first three games of the season but played sparingly and rushed for only 62 yards on 21 carries in those three games. His only appearance in the Jayhawks' fourth game against Sam Houston State came on the last possession of the game when the backups were in to run out the clock.
"We never, ever intended him to be a guy to carry the load here," Mangino said. "He is a guy that is supossed to get 10 carries a game, throw him a couple passes, be a changeup guy. But he has been forced to be the guy."
Sharp had only 9 yards rushing in the first half, but almost single-handedly jumpstarted the Kansas comeback in the second half. Sharp rushed for a season-high 79 yards and had 107 receiving yards, the most ever by a Kansas running back.
Looking for any kind of spark they could find, offensive coordinator Ed Warinner noticed a hole in the Iowa State defense and took a chance. On the Jayhawks' first offensive play of the second half, Sharp took off down the left sideline and remained uncovered. Todd Reesing found him and Sharp took the pass 67 yards into the end zone for a touchdown that gave the Jayhawks some much needed momentum.
"It was great just getting out there and getting tired," Sharp said. "I actually got tired for once. It seems like when I get tired, the game slows down and I just feel comfortable. Things just seem smoother."
"We've run that play at least 100 times in practice," Sharp said. "We noticed that they weren't really paying a lot of attention to our running backs out there in the flat and coach Warner made a great call and Todd made a great throw and it came together. I was just saying, 'Don't drop it, don't drop it.'"
Sharp then took a shovel pass from Reesing for 43 yards to set a one yard Quigley run that made it 20-14. Kansas steamrolled from there, completing the third greatest comeback in school history.
"It boosts my confidence," Sharp said. "I definitely think I'm a-guy who can make big plays for our team, and I was called on to do it today. I think when I'm called on to do it, I'll do it."
"He's a tenacious guy," Mangino said. "He's not a big guy but he has a lot of fight in him. He played his tail off. He is a prideful guy. He wants to prove that he can do the job and everything he did today leads me to believe that he can and he will."
After hoping that Sharp wouldn't be forced into this role, Mangino now believes he's the perfect man to turn around the struggling Kansas running game.
— Edited by Rachel Burchfield
COMMENTARY
Ryan McGeenev/KANSAN
Why ESPN should vote Reesing for 2008 Heisman
Nissan will sponsor this year's ESPN Heisman Watch. Its commercial describes the 2009 Nissan Maxima as "a sophisticated sedan and a sports car ... together"
I'm not a car salesman; I'm just trying to get you to buy into an idea
As a quarterback, Todd Reesing is an identical match to the description used in the commercial. He's intelligent, poised and athletic. Nissan couldn't find a better real-life advertisement in college football than Reesing.
Despite Reesing's similarities to Nissan's car and his eye-popping numbers, ESPN's panel of experts hasn't yet deemed Reesing worthy of one vote for their Heisman Watch. I'm not about to place myself on any panel of experts, but I think it's clear that Reesing is one of the top 10 players in college football and he shouldn't be off anyone's radar — especially ESPN's.
The network lists 13 players on its watch. The Big 12 is well represented, as six of the top nine players on the list play in the conference. Missouri's Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree are all receiving Heisman hype, but there is no love shown for Reesing.
It's fairly absurd considering there is not a large difference between the four Big 12 quarterbacks listed and Reeing. The only major difference is in the loss column. Reeing and the Jayhawks have one loss in comparison to the zero losses recorded by Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
However, without Reesing, Kansas wouldn't have escaped Ames, Iowa, last weekend or kept it close in Tampa against South Florida. To be honest, with a rushing attack that ranks 96th in the nation and an offensive line that ranks 54th in sacks allowed — largely due to Reesing's escape tactics in the pocket — it's scary to think about where Kansas football would be without "Sparky."
I'm not throwing the rest of the team under the bus. Kansas has talent and heart, although it's been lacking at times this year. However, most team attributes come from your leader.
The Heisman Trophy goes to the most outstanding player in college football. One could argue that Reesing easily fits the bill. He has thrown for 1,724 yards, 14 touchdowns, three interceptions and has a 70.2 completion percentage. He also has another 68 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Keep in mind, Reesing would have 127 yards rushing if it weren't for the 59 negative yards from eight sacks.
Anyone who watches Kansas knows any quarterback other than Reesing would have spent a lot more time with his face down in the turf this year. Reesing has relied on his feet to create magical plays out of virtually nothing numerous times already this season.
In the last eight years, the only nonquarterback player to win the Heisman was USC's Reggie Bush in 2005. With seven quarterbacks currently on ESPN's watch list, a quarter back is likely to win again this year.
SEE COMMENTARY ON PAGE 6B