THE UNIVERSITY BARRY GANSAN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2008
SPORTS
5B
FOOTBALL
Ike poses preparation problems for next opponent
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
The last time Sam Houston State played a game, few people outside Alaska knew the name Sarah Palin.
Since then, Kansas won two games easily, lost one heartbreaker and coach Mark Mangino learned a lot more about his team than he knew on Aug. 28.
Sam Houston State opened its 2008 season on Aug. 28 by trouncing D-II East Central Oklahoma, 58-14. Senior quarterback Rhett Bomar, who started his career as an Alabama Sooner, completed 14-of-22 passes for 198 yards and four touchdowns in the victory.
"It feels like it's been forever since we've played a football game," Whitten said. "We just don't have a lot of experience right now."
Bearkat coach Todd Whitten still doesn't have a clue about his team.
Bomar and the rest of the first- string players were pulled at halftime of the contest.
With only one 2008 game to study, Mangino said he wasn't sure what to expect on the field.
The Bearkats didn't return to the practice field until yesterday afternoon. The Saturday before the hurricane hit was a scheduled bye week for Sam Houston State, which meant this Saturday would be the first time the Bearkats line up against another team in more than three weeks.
"We've watched it over and, over, and we've watched some of
“it's kind of a difficult situation for them,” Mangino said. “They've been hit hard by Hurricane like.”
Last Wednesday, white the jayhawks were busy preparing for the Bulls. Whiten's squad was trying to protect itself from a hurricane. The Bearkats' home game against Prairie View A&M on Saturday was canceled due to Hurricane Ike. The players left campus on Wednesday to be with their families.
EXTRA CREDIT
football notes
HARPER STILL OUT
"Kendrick will get on the practice field a little bit later in the week and run around, but he's not ready yet," coach Mark Mangino said. "He's having some follow up work done and we will know a little bit more then."
Comerback Kendrick Harper, who was taken off the field on a stretcher against Louisiana Tech last week, appears closer to returning to the practiced field but will undergo a follow-up procedure on Friday afternoon.
Sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Wilson has been credited with an additional eight yards receiving from Friday night's South Florida game. USF officials incorrectly marked a 19-yard catch by Wilson as an 11-yard gain, but the problem was discovered and the stats have been changed.
FIRED UP PRACTICE
Sunday's practice, the first since losing 37-34 to South Florida on Friday, was not a typical practice. Instead of the usual correction work and walk-through, the team had a very spirited practice during which a few small skimishes broke out.
"They are mad," Mangino said of the player's reaction to the loss. "That's the kind of reaction you're looking for. They were very upset and angry. It ended up as a real battle on the practice field. Guys were knocking the crap out of each other."
B. J. Rains
Wilson officially had 10 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns against the Bulls.
Mangino said wide receiver Dexton Fields was "day-to-day" with an injured foot that had sidelined him since the opening game.
BELEAGUERED BEARKATS Saturday's game will be the first in over three weeks for Sam Houston State
last year's games, but there's not a lot to know," he said.
better up front than we will in the secondary" he said.
Sam Houston State starts four inexperienced seniors in the secondary. Whitten said he was curious to see how they performed against Todd Reesing and the Jayhawk passing attack. However, Whitten said he felt more confident with the defensive line, which would take on Kansas' less than stellar rushing game.
"If we match up at all, which is certainly yet to be determined, we possibly would do that a little
Oklahoma to a 19-3 victory.
"He's a legitimate quarterback who'll probably get a shot at an NFL camp somewhere," Bowen said. "He's that type of guy."
Offensively, Bomar leads a balanced attack. Against East Central Oklahoma, Bomar completed passes to eight different receivers and ran for 30 yards.
"He's a big guy that runs the ball very well," defensive coordinator Clint Bowen said.
Bomar could play the best game of his career and it still might not result in a Bearkat victory. Everything from Mother Nature to a sizable size disadvantage is working against Sam Houston State this week.
Still, Whitten said his players were just happy to get back on the field.
Bowen coached the Jayhawks' secondary in 2005 when they played the Bomar-led Sooners in Arrowhead Stadium. In that game, Bomar threw for 206 yards and a touchdown to lead
be some rust that we're going to have to knock off," he said. "Couple that with playing one of the best teams in all the country and it's certainly not going to
"I'm sure there's going to
be easy.
"We're going to learn a lot about ourselves on Saturday."
Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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