SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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Check Kansan.com throughout the champs' tour of the north for updates and the latest scores from the exhibition games.
FRIDAY GRIDLOCK
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Take a look at some of the University's athletes' lives with this new Kansan feature.
FRIDAY,AUGUST 29,2008
COMMENTARY
SPORTS | 3B
PAGE 1B
The good and bad of Kansas football
With Kansas football kicking off its season this Saturday, there are several things to expect. If you plan on attending the game, there will be some good things and some bad things about the spectacle of college football at Kansas. To brace you for this event, I present to you the good, the bad and the ugly of the Jayhawks football home opener.
THE GOOD:
Great Expectations
When the band, The Zombies, sang "Time of the Season" in 1968, they were certainly not referring to Kansas football, but the words apply. Coincidentally, the Jayhawks had their best season in 2007 since the year the hit song was released. Given that the preseason AP No.14 ranked Jayhawks had such success, this year may be the most anticipated in Kansas football history. With this in mind, it is definitely the time of the season for college football in Lawrence.
Edited by Brieun Scott
From the student body singing the alma mater to Big Jay and Little Jay, to the warm weather, everyone in attendance is excited for the season to start. From the overzealous fan that has been antsy for football ever since the Orange Bowl in January, to the casual fan who is along to enjoy the game with their friends, it will definitely be a joyous occasion for Jayhawk fans.
The atmosphere
If you don't believe me, just wait until November 29, when Kansas plays Mizzou at Arrowhead Stadium when it is no longer t-shirt and shorts weather. Imagine yourself freezing to the core standing next to a tall burly, tobacco chewing Mizzou fan in camouflage overalls named Bubba. It will be at this point that you'll long for games like the one this Saturday.
THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER
THE BAD:
Drunk fans
In the 1966 film "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," Clint Eastwood's character, Blondie, said, "I've never seen so many men wasted so badly." He was referring to the carnage of war. You, on the other hand may be referring to the group of guys standing next to you that are obliterated on Natural Light freaking out over a rare incomplete pass by junior quarterback Todd Reesing.
“Put in Tyler Lawrence, that pass was Garbage!” says the guy next to you wearing a “Muck Fizzou” t-shirt.
"You suck Reesing!!!" says his smelly buddy who's BAC at the moment is probably higher than his GPA.
If you do happen to get stuck next to this group of fans, simply ignore them. If it gets too out of hand, it maybe best to move to another section.
"Rip his f - - - ing head off!"
For whatever reason, it has become tradition at Kansas' home games for students to scream this phrase at kickoff. This Saturday, you may be tempted to join the majority and belt out the words yourself, but think about this. Would you want to be the unknown guy for Florida International with the Jersey No. 6 returning kicks in a stadium where everyone wants to rip your head off?
THE UGLY:
Odds makers in Las Vegas favor Kansas to beat Florida International by 36 points. If Saturday's game is anything like the 55-3 blow-out the Jayhawks put on the Golden Panthers last year, things will get ugly.
The score
With this in mind, the theme to "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," which sets the mood for a prolific showdown between to guns, will not apply until Kansas plays AP No. 19 ranked South Florida in week three. Instead, the game should be more reminiscent of the bloody ending to the 2007 film "There Will Be Blood."
Team ready to impress
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
As he prepares to put on his No. 3 jersey for the first time tomorrow evening
at Memorial Stadium. Jocques Crawford knows that all eyes will be on him.
The National Junior College Player of the Year has brought with him high expectations and a lot of hope that has everyone
counting down the seconds to kickoff.
KANSAN.COM
"I do feel the buzz a lot, especially when I'm out," Crawford said. "I see people who recognize me. They say they can't wait to see me play. I can't wait to see myself play."
See additional coverage, including photos, on Kansan.com this weekend
Never a man shy of saying what's on his mind, Crawford brings with him a personal goal of 2,000 yards rushing. He also has been labeled as a key piece of the Jayhawks offense this year, one that is expected to be one of the best in the country.
In 2007, Kansas finished second in the nation in scoring offense with an average of just under 43 points per game. Only Hawaii scored more points per game than Kansas last season.
On defense, the Jayhawks were just as impressive by allowing only 16 points per game, the fourth lowest total in the nation.
have to talk about last year a lot because it was so out of the norm but everyone's focus is on this year. We know that last year's not going to do anything for us this year and we've turned our focus and our attention towards this season and if
Together, the two units formed a juggernaut that was only stopped by one team, Missouri, which defeated the Jayhawks by only eight points.
But players know that last year's success is in the rearview mirror and that the slate is wiped clean starting tomorrow.
"Everyone understands what's going on," said quarterback Todd Reesing. "We
we can keep the same approach, we should be just fine."
In addition to Crawford, the Jayhawks will debut true freshman Daymond Patterson at punt returner and
transfer Alonso Rojas at punter. Both have a lot of weight on their shoulders but more so on Rojas, who might end up doing some field goal kicking as well.
FIU lost their first 11 games last season, including a 55-3 trouncing by Kansas, but won their last game of the season over North Texas to finish 1-11 on the year.
The Golden Panthers offense was dead last in scoring offense.
Wayne Younger and Paul McCall have both been battling for the starting quarterback job and Kansas coach Mark Mangino said the team had been preparing for both. Younger played the first 11 games before missing the last game with an injury. McCall led the team to their lone win over North Texas.
"We've prepared for both so we're not going to get all worried about who the quarterbacks going to be," Mangino said. "We've spent plenty of time working on the strengths of both quarterbacks. That shouldn't be a big issue." Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
—Edited by Arthur Hur
The Kansas football team will get its season started against Florida International on Saturday evening. The game will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
SOCCER
Defender stages comeback — mask and all
awiebe@kansan.com
BY ANDREW WIEBE
It's a muggy August afternoon, and soccer practice is winding down outside Anschutz Sports Pavilion. Kansas has the day off tomorrow, and players talk and laugh as they make their way toward the coaches and trainers.
Junior defender Jenny Murtaugh, "Tots" as everyone there calls her, walks towards her gear, slowly unstrapping the clear, plastic mask that has covered her face since a Drake player's foot missed its mark during Kansas' opening exhibition game.
Murtaugh barely knows who Richard "Rip" Hamilton is, but her teammates seem to have a pretty good idea. Ever since the junior defender started wearing the custom-fitted, protective mask, she keeps getting compared to the Detroit Pistons sharpshooter.
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
Junior defender Jenny Murtaugh wears her protective face mask in an Aug. 22 match against Purdue. Murtaugh needed months of rehabilitation after tearing ligaments in her left knee.
"I hate the mask," Murtaugh said, holding back a smile.
Months of grueling rehabilitation and a medical redshirt followed as she watched her teammates struggle to recover from a terrible nonconference record. Without
Despite her teammates' ribbing, it's a welcome alternative to the situation Murtaugh found herself in this time last season. When the Jayhawks take on Auburn on Sunday at the Jayhawks Soccer Complex, it will be almost a year to the day after Murtaugh's junior season screeched to a halt when she tore ligaments in her left knee while playing BYU in the third game of 2007.
"Tots," the Jayhawks became perilously short on defensive experience, forcing freshman Katie Williams to adapt to the college game on the fly.
Williams eventually caught on, and Kansas turned things around enough to claw to a third-place Big 12 finish. But the hard work was just beginning for
Murtaugh.
After starting 39 games in her first two
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 4B
VOLLEYBALL
Women a solid team, to be favored at VCU Invitational
BY JOSH BOWE
jbowe@kansan.com
For teams looking for a NCAA tournament birth and an excellent season, first thing's first: take care of weaker opponents.
That's exactly what the Jayhawk Volleyball team is looking to do this weekend, as they enter the VCU Invitational for the third season in a row, opening with Virginia Commonwealth tonight and finishing up with North Carolina State Saturday morning.
The fayhaws should be favored in both games, with their opponents com-
blined record from last season an abysmal 15-50. NC State had just 3 victories last season, and a 28 game losing streak.
Even with their disastrous season a year ago, coach Ray Beachard isn't going
Noyes
to let his jayhawk team be complacent for the tournament.
"It's very important that if we set a tone on how we want to play, we can be very successful this weekend," Bechard said. "But we have to pay attention to the things we've been concentrating on the past couple of weeks."
Bechard also noted how both VCU and NC State were looking to make a "jump" this year. Like the Jayhawks, VCU returns 5 starters and NC State hopes to improve its young core, which gained a lot of experience last season.
The jayhawks, however, fall into the middle ground, with a solid core of
both young and talented freshmen and sophomores, and experienced and battle-tested seniors such as Natalie Uhart and Savannah Noyes. It's how the newer players handle the college game that will swing the favor of the jayhawks season,—something Bechard will look for in this tournament.
"We'll have a couple of freshmen playing quite a bit," Bechard said. "We got a few of those jitters out against the alumni,
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SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 4B