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FOOTBALL
Junior running back Jake Sharp finds a little room to run during Saturday's game against Louisiana Tech. Sharp and junior running back Jacques Crawford combined for just 39 vards rushing on 14 carries for the name. Sharo's longest run of the day was for six vards
Jon Goering/KANSAN
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
Go ahead, keep stacking the box. Keep blitzing. Keep doing whatever it takes to stop Kansas from running the ball.
That has been the attitude of coach Mark Mangino and the Jayhawks so far in 2008 — stop the run all you want, but be prepared to get burned by the pass.
Both FIU and Louisiana Tech put extra defenders near the line of scrimmage to stop the Jayhawks from running the ball and were, for the most part, fairly successful.
But while defenses stacked the middle and slowed down the Jayhawk running game to only 127 yards per game, junior quarterback Todd Reesing provided all the offense the Jayhawks needed. Throwing to several receivers that had single coverage, Reesing passed for 256 yards and three touchdowns against FIU and threw for a
career-high 412. yards and another three touchdowns against Louisiana Tech.
"You're taking some chances with our pass game when you do that." Mangino said of opposing teams focusing on stopping the Jayhawks' running game. "You might do a good job against our run game and that's fine, but if I was playing us, I would be trying to defend the pass because it's proven that it can hurt you."
As defenses have focused on taking away the run, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Crawford has struggled to say the least —
When junior running back Joques Crawford signed with Kansas after rushing for more than 1,900 yards at Cisco Junior College, speculation began immediately that the Junior College Player of the Year was going to step in and be the Jayhawks' top back from day one. He fueled those lofty expectations only when he said his goal was to rush for more than 2,000 yards this season.
rushing for only 49 yards on 18 carries. Junior tailback Jake Sharp, who ran for 821 yards in 2007, has rushed for only 51 yards on 16 carries.
Angus Quigley, a junior tailback who has battled injuries throughout his three years at Kansas, seemed destined to see the field only on special teams duty. But with the struggles of Sharp and Crawford, Quigley got a chance at tailback and made the most of it — leading the team in rushing in each of the first two games. He has rushed for 131 yards on 21 carries, an average of 6.2 yards per carry and had all but one of the team's rushing attempts in the second half on Saturday.
Some of the Jayhawks' trouble on the ground could be attributed to the offensive line, which lost first-team All-American offensive tackle Anthony Collins to the
"I just want to continue to show the coaches that I can play at this level," Quigley said.
NFL and tackle Cesar Rodriguez to graduation. Their replacements, Jeff Spikes and Jeremiah Hatch, are both redshirt freshmen.
Regardless of the Jayhawks' inability to run the ball through the first two games, Mangino said they will continue to take what the defense gives them — meaning they will gladly pass the ball if need be.
"We like to throw the football and we have a very good trigger guy to do it," Mangino said. "So when people come in with that philosophy, we can be successful on offense throwing the ball."
But will teams such as South Florida take Mangino's advice and decide to try to stop the Javihawks' pass attack?
"They may," Mangino said, "and that's good because I think we can run the ball."
Edited by Mary Sorrick
UP CLOSE: RUSHING YARDS Where have all the ground yards gone? Kansas rushing totals (through
Kansas rushing totals (through two games)
2007 2008
Rushes 65 69
Total rushing yards 451 254
Yards per game 225.5 127
Yards per attempt 6.9 3.7
COMMENTARY
Junior running back fights his way to front of the pack Quigley could lead Jayhawk running game
Angus Quigley has learned the importance of having patience. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound
Junior running back out of Cleburne,
Texas, has had his fair share of adversity to overcome.
However, the lack of success didn't keep Quigley down as he worked hard and earned all-county honors after his senior season.
In high school, Quigley's team was less than remarkable. The teams record during his junior and senior seasons was a miserable 1-19.
Quigley joined the Kansas football program as the only committed running back in the recruiting class of 2005 and took a redshirt his first year at Kansas.
What was set up to be a sweet season quickly turned sour when Quigley suffered a severe tear to his thigh and decided to go through with a surgery that ended his season, put him in a wheel chair for three weeks and put him on crutches for four more. Cornish was more fortunate as he would on to break Kansas' all-time, single season rushing record in 2006.
In 2006, he was ready and the future looked bright. He had paid his dues and was now listed as the second string running back behind senior Jon Cornish.
In 2007, Quigley was a mop-up man
He only saw action in the backfield for three games last season but still managed to gain 131 yards, score two touchdowns and average 5.8 yards-per-carry.
behind the successful tandem of Brandon McAnderson and Jake Sharp. While McAnderson and Sharp went on to gain a combined 1,947 rushing yards and chip in another 376 yards receiving, Quigley did what he could to help the team.
Even with the success, the earliest chance Quigley had to run the ball in any game was with 7 minutes, 55 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter with Kansas leading Baylor 44-10.
Now here we are in 2008 and Quigley is keeping true to the Mangino philosophy you hear time and time again: keep working hard, earn your stripes and good things will come your way — emphasizing the idea of having patience.
In week one against FIU, Quigley entered on cue with 6:25 remaining in the fourth quarter and Kansas leading the Panthers 40-10. The Hawks marched from their own 20 yard-line to the opposite end of the field where Quigley was stopped one yard short of scoring as time expired. With nine touches, six rushes and three receptions, Quigley would account for 71 all-purpose yards and average 7.8 yards-per-carry on the ground, by far the most of any KU running back in the game.
Now you might think that Quigley would see some first-half playing time against Louisiana Tech after putting up the most yards of any back in week one during the six-and-a-half minutes he had to work with. Think again. Mangino stuck with Sharp and junior running back
FOOTBALL
SEE COLUMN ON PAGE 3B
USF coach reflects on Hawks
BY TAYLOR BERN tbern@kansan.com
Since that game, each squad has reached unprecedented heights, notching a combined record of 34-13.
It was Kansas' third victory of the year and South Florida's first loss.
On a windy September evening in 2006, Kansas squared off against South Florida in each team's fourth game of the season. Few people in the press box, in the stands or on the field had any idea what kind of transformation was blossoming in Lawrence that night. In a highly competitive contest, the Jayhawks rallied with 10 points in the fourth quarter to edge the Bulls. 13-7.
"You don't have any idea," USF coach Jim Leavitt said. "You're just sitting there trying to get a first down or stop somebody."
The tandem turnaround of a school with minimal football success and one that has
only played since 1997 took the nation by storm. Less than two years later, Leavitt and coach Mark Mangino will battle again, only this time it is a nationally televised contest between two top-25 teams.
Back then, this was a difficult future to predict for these two squads.
"We weren't all that good when we played them that time, and they've certainly gotten awfully good," Leavitt said. "It was a very close game. We had a shot there at the end."
Starting the drive with 1:06 left in the game, Grothe moved the ball to Kansas' 27-yard line before safety Justin Thornton, then a freshman, intercepted his Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game.
Then-freshman quarterback Matt Grothe ran for a seven-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put USF up 7-0. The Jayhawks countered with 13 unanswered points, and Grothe tried to engineer a last-second touchdown drive.
Grothe has since become one of the
Leavitt has kept an eye on the Jayhawks since their last meeting. He said it's hard not to be impressed.
best dual-threat quarterbacks in the country; Thornton is a starting safety on a strong defensive unit.
"They're one of the top teams in the country, so it's going to be a great challenge," Leavitt said. "I'm not blowing smoke anywhere. Everybody knows what they do and they do it well."
The Bulls' rushing defense is ranked 18th in the country and has allowed only 67.5 yards per game. Kansas' rushing
Leavitt has a very capable quarterback running his offense, but he struggled to come up with enough ways to praise junior quarterback Todd Reesing.
"He's a leader. He's got a quick release, great feet. He knows the offense, delivers the ball, hits the open receiver," Leavitt said. "I mean what doesn't he do, honestly?"
SEE COACH ON PAGE 3B
TWO YEARS LATER: SOUTH FLORIDA IN PICTURES
**South Florida University coach Jim Leavitt**
argues a call during the second half of the NCAA
SFU Central Florida game in Orlando, FL, on Saturday.SFU won the game in overtime. 31-24.
**South Florida wide receiver Cedric Hill catches a touchdown pass during the second half of the game. The Jayhawks heat the SFU Bulls, 13-7, in 2006 and will face them again Friday.**