2008 KANSAS JAYHAWKS FOOTBALL
Kansas' focus shifts to sustaining success
Mark Mangino's Kansas Jayhawks would be wise to study the rise of Wisconsin football during the 1990s
Mark Mangino answers questions at Big 12 media day July 22, in Kansas City, Mo. After leading Kansas to an Orange Bowl title in 2007, Mangino and Kansas face a tougher schedule in 2008. But a winning season this year means Kansas will get invited to a bowl game for the second consecutive year.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"We're just getting started." This is the motto the Athletic Department adopted for the 2008 Kansas football season. A bold statement considering the Jayhawks had their best season in school history a year ago.
As we all know by now, Kansas has had a problem with consistent success in football. Evidence lies in the fact that the school has never appeared in back-to-back bowl games.
National exposure, expectations and doubters are already looming over Lawrence and things won't get easier once the season begins.
A dangerous non-conference match-up at South Florida in week three, and an improved Big 12 south schedule feature three teams ranked in the AP preseason top 15, guarantees a more difficult road to greatness this season for the Hawks.
But fear not, if Kansas can hurdle over a few of these obstacles the promised land may not be far away.
Having two University of Wisconsin- Madison alums for parents, I have heard many similarities drawn between the current state of Kansas football and the state of Wisconsin Badger football in the early 1990s, when its program was "just getting started."
Likewise, following a 2006 season where the Hawks finished 6-6 with no bowl berth, Kansas surprised many in 2007 as they finished 12-1 and captured the Orange Bowl title that eluded the program in 1969.
In 1993 the Badgers burst onto the Big 10 scene as well as the national landscape in an almost identical fashion to how Kansas did one year ago. After finishing 5-6 in 1992, Wisconsin made the leap to 10-1-1, snaring a Rose Bowl title they had been denied three times before.
However, things weren't always great in "America's Dairy Land." During the 30 seasons leading up to 1993, the Wisconsin program averaged a lowly 4.2 wins per season. Things were equally sub-par in the "Sunflower State."
In the 30 seasons before last year's campaign, Kansas averaged an almost identical 4.4 victories per season.
The Badgers followed their Rose Bowl success by going 8-3-1in 1994, capping the season with a Hall of Fame Bowl victory, only the second back-to-back bowl trip in Wisconsin's history at the time.
Since then the Badgers' program has blossomed into one of the most consistent in college football.
Over last 14 seasons the Badgers have averaged 8.4 wins per season, played in 12 bowl games, suffered only two losing seasons and groomed a Heisman trophy winner in Ron Dayne.
Although the majority of Wisconsin's success is only 15 years in the making, the tradition in Madison is strong. The fans are dedicated and enthusiastic, the band is famous for its "5th Quarter" and the break between the third and fourth quarter is easily the most exciting in the nation as fans always go wild when they hear House of Pain's "Jump Around."
This is an example of turning a program around in its purest form.
In fact, their home venue, Camp Randall, is so respected that the videogame "NCAA
Football 2009" ranked Wisconsin's home turf as the eighth toughest stadium in college football. Not too bad considering they were placed ahead of traditional powers USC, Michigan and Nebraska.
Now how can Kansas model Wisconsin's success?
The Kansas Athletics Department has done its job by building the new football facilities and extending head coach Mark Mangino's contract. The fans have chipped in by setting season attendance records each of the past three years. And the coaches have recruited talent, developed it and established a winning atmosphere in Lawrence.
However, Kansas has come all too close to changing the national perception of the program in the past. The 1996 season carried a lot of optimism as Kansas entered the year ranked 25th in the AP poll after a successful 1995 campaign in which the Jayhawks capped off a 10-2 season by blowing out UCLA in the Aloha Bowl.
All started well in 1996 as the Jayhawks jumped out to a 3-1 record, but things turned sour fast following the Jayhawks 52-24 shellacking of Oklahoma in week four. The Hawks went on to drop six of their last seven and
finished the year a disappointing 4-7. Kansas coach Glen Mason ventured north to the University of Minnesota and the program didn't find itself back in a bowl until 2003.
A 2008 season without a bowl berth, regardless of the schedule or the newfound national attention, would be another huge setback. With all the momentum in the world pushing Kansas forward this year, players, coaches and fans need to keep the gears in motion.
That means the team must overlook no opponent and at the same time not be intimidated to walk into Norman, Oklahoma, or Lincoln, Nebraska, and beat the traditional powers in their houses. It also means fans must stay at games through their entirety regardless of the score, if they ever wish to have an environment that rivals the great venues across the country.
The foundation has been laid down by Mangino, Lew Perkins and Co., and if it's not supported now, the program they've done a terrific job building will most likely crumble.
However, if Kansas can push through this year and win seven-plus games, earning a bowl berth, maybe students at Memorial Stadium will also find the urge to celebrate, mimic Wisconsin and "Jump Around."
Thursday, August 28, 2008 | www.kansan.com
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