ANSAN
2008
VOLLEYBALL TEAM TAKES SECOND PLACE
SPORTS
The Jayhawks beat out Central Florida in the final round to take the tournament's runner-up slot VOLLEYBALL | 8B
ALL FIVE FORMER JAYHAWKS SIGN
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Former basketball players officially sign to NBA, two issue apologies BASKETBALL NOTES | 8B
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2008
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PAGE1B
COMMENTARY
Pirates are this year's Cinderella
BY STEPHEN MONTEMAYOR
montemayor.kansan.com
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Kansas can continue to have a dismal rushing attack and still be bailed out by Todd Reesing and his stellar receiving corps.
Either way, Kansas put on an electrifying performance on both sides of the ball Saturday en route to proving capable of notching 10 wins and perhaps another BCS bowl berth.
Eastern Carolina knocked off its second BCS and Top 25 team in as many weeks after its 24-3 out over No.8 West Virginia.
Kansas 29. Louisiana Tech 0.
This year's version of last year's Jayhawks if you will.
Should Kansas reach an unprecedented second consecutive BCS bowl, the team they will meet is 2008's college football Cinderella; the Eastern Carolina Pirates
Now no team stands in the way of Eastern Carolina that is the caliber of a Virginia Tech or West Virginia. There is no reason to suspect the Pirates won't win out this year and finish as one of or the only undefeated teams in the country.
MARCHING TO VICTORY
And a la the 2006 Boise State squad that went unbeaten and crashed the BCS party with their epic Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, an undefeated Pirate squad will be relegated to one of the four other BCS bowls rather than the championship tilt
Conference USA Champs aren't the credentials necessary for an Eastern Carolina BCS title run.
But it was a Big 12 team that met Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl two seasons past and should the Jayhawks collide with Eastern Carolina in a BCS bowl, prepare to be short of breath for it will steal the show and prove to be the top bowl of the 2008-2009 season.
The Pirates are the 2007 Jayhawks but not the Kansas of 2008. No, this year's Kansas is better than the team that shocked the world one season ago.
And with a legit running game there would be few mirrors for this squad. No matter, Reeing played better than he ever has, completing 32-of-38 passes for 412 yards and another trio of scores to usual suspects, Dezmion Briscoe had a stellar 48-yard score after breaking six tackles, and Daymond Patterson continued his bid to be our state's diminutive answer to Mizzou's Jeremy Maclin. I'm not breaking any news here when I reiterate that in his first start at receiver, Patterson had eight grabs for 130 yards and two impressive scores. Odds are you've become well acquainted with his highlights.
Tack those on to last week's 75-yard punt return score and Kansas has a legit breakaway threat.
Jake Sharp and Joquues Crawford once again were thoroughly disappointing with just 14 carries and 41 yards combined. My 'One-Three Punch' theory should be shelved for the time being as Angus Quigley continued to pick up the two's slack on the ground — although paydirt still eludes him.
You couldn't ask for more from Kansas' defensive unit. A shutout is as good as it gets. There is nothing to complain about here. Maybe save for that nearly nine minute drive they surrendered to the Bulldogs
But that drive ended in a Chris Harris interception and was succeeded by a scoring drive less than half as long as the Bulldogs' attempt.
Before kickoff in Lawrence, Pirates run ring back Jonathan Williams and signal caller Patrick Pinkney were on their way to securing a second straight shocker
Pinkney, darting around the field and compiling near-perfect passing stats, looked like Eli Manning during the New York Giants' Super Bowl run last winter.
Big play turnovers will be needed in the games ahead, as will quick scoring drives.
Williams tore through any and all tacklers, throwing video-game moves that should leave the Jayhawks ground game green with envy.
CEE MONTEMAYOR ON PAGE 4B
This week Eastern Carolina is ranked No.14 in the Associated Press Poll and No.20 in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll.
This is no ordinary year for the Pirates and Kansas could tell them all about
Jon Gnering/KANSAN
Junior quarterback Todd Reesing throws a pass during the game against Louisiana Tech Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Reesing passed for a career-high 412 yards on 32-of-38 passing. The Jayhawks defeated the Builders 29-0
Suprise star leads offense
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
If someone had told Angus Quigley before the season that he would lead the team in rushing in each of its first two games, the 6-foot-2 junior running back wouldn't have believed it.
With Jake Sharp and junior college transfer Jocques Crawford primed to split the carries, Quigley seemed destined for special-teams duty.
But after his 47-yard performance against Florida International last week, and his career-high 84 yards during the
Jayhawk's 29-0 victory against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, it's Quigley — notSharp or Crawford — who has led the team in rushing in each of the first two games.
"I probably would have chuckled at that one," Quigley said of the preseason prediction. "I would have laughed or smiled and said, 'Yeah, I'm going to lead the team in rushing from the special teams — sure, ok.' It's just a privilege to even get in the game these first two games. I just went in and kept my feet moving and played the way I know how to play."
While Quigley provided the spark on the ground, it was quarterback Todd
Reesing who contributed through the air. The 5-foot-11 gunslinger passed for a career-high of 412 yards, the third-best single-game total in school history.
After completing 37 of 52 passes against FIU in week one, Reesing completed 32 of 38 passes against Louisiana Tech and again had three touchdowns.
A large portion of Reesing's yards came after the catch, including all but five of Dezmon Briscoe's 48-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Briscoe, who had seven catches for 146 yards, caught a short pass from Reesing and broke six different tackles before falling into the
end zone.
When the replay was shown on the video board, the students that had braved the cold, rainy conditions counted out each of the six missed Louisiana Tech tackles.
SOCCER
"That's the ideal pass; when all you have to do is throw it about 10 yards and get a 50-yard completion out of it," Reesing said. "It doesn't get much easier than that. When you have guys that can take a short pass and get a lot of yards after it, it makes my job a lot easier."
SEE GAMER ON PAGE 4B
Hawks remain unblemished after two-win weekend
awiebe@kansan.com
BY ANDREW WIEBE
Trailing for the first time this season after four minutes against UAB, No. 20 Kansas could have panicked. The Jayhawks could have reverted to the offensive form that saw them shut out eight times one year ago.
Instead, Mark Francis' squad regrouped and fashioned the perfect response, scoring twice in the span of 30 seconds then pulling away in the second half for an electrifying 5-2 victory at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex Friday afternoon.
Freshmen sensations Emily Cressy and Kortney Clifton each scored twice, junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky tallied from the penalty spot and senior midfielder Jessica Bush added two assists to ensure Kansas maintained its unbeaten start to the 2008 season.
"It doesn't surprise me when we score goals," Francis said about his team's emphatic response to going down early. "You don't usually score two in 30 seconds. But what that tells me is that when they score a goal, we get mad about it. We've got to have that mentality when its 0-0."
The UAB Blazers looked to have grabbed the momentum when freshman midfielder/forward Laura McCalla beat senior goalkeeper Julie Hanley in the fourth minute, but Kansas wasn't on the back foot for long.
Dolinsky answered back from the spot three minutes later when the referee blew the whistle for a UAB handball during the scrum to clear a Kansas corner kick. Clifton followed that with her first goal as a Jayhawk, glancing a pinpoint header inside the back post from a Bush corner kick.
Clifton said Kansas had been working on organizing and timing runs in the box during the past week in practice.
"I knew my run, and I was able to get on the end of it," Clifton said.
Junior forward Shannon McCabe battles for a header against a University of Alabama at Birmingham defender. McCabe had two shots with one assist in Kansas' 5-2 victory Friday evening.
UAB forced its way back into the game
Weston White/KANSAN
in the 12th minute when sophomore defender Lauren Jackson was called for a penalty kick after over-committing to a tackle just inside the penalty area.
But Cressy was there to respond seven minutes later, giving Kansas a lead it wouldn't relinquish. Bush split the Blazers defense, her pass leading the streaking freshman through on goal, and Cressy sent a left-footed blast into the side netting.
She got her second six minutes after halftime when Dolinsky sent a ball over the top of the defense. Cressy fought her way onto the end of it, and recorded her team-leading fourth goal.
Not to be outdone, Clifton secured her brace in the 66th minute when junior forward Shannon McCabe spotted her diagonal run. McCabe chipped the ball into space where Clifton deftly finished, leaving the goalkeeper and defender in a heap.
"Its nice to be able to finally contribute to the team, and get my first goals on the board," Clifton said.
"As a forward the longer the season goes on without scoring, the more pressure you feel," Francis said.
Francis said he was happy to see Clifton break through and begin building confidence after failing to take advantage of her previous chances.
KANSAS PICKS UP FOURTH VICTORY IN DALLAS
Forty-eight hours after disposing of UAB, Kansas overcame SMU 1-0 in Dallas behind freshman forward Kortney Clifton's third goal of the weekend.
The Jayhawks lost to coach Mark Francis' alma mater 2-0 in Lawrence last season, but a moment of brilliance from junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky and Clifton sent them to their fourth win in as many games.
Kansas scored the game's lone goal in the 26th minute when Dolinsky weaved through the Mustang defense along the byline, eventually finding Clifton at the
Apart from the goal, Francis said he was disappointed with his team's sloppiness with the ball and defensive focus for most of the first half. Still, he said Kansas is starting to show it can win ugly when things aren't flowing on either side of the ball.
near post
The Jayhawks are 4-0 for the first time since 2004 when they started the season with six consecutive victories.
Both sides combatted temperatures in the high 80s, and Francis said the bench was key to nabbing a second victory this weekend. Twenty players saw action against SMU, none less than 13 minutes.
"I think our bench did a great job coming in and giving us some energy," Francis said.
Edited by Rachel Burchfield