"It's night and day from where it was when I got here. The emotion on this team is awesome.I love this team Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore after the Jayhawks victory against Iowa State Saturday
what we heard
monday,november 24,2003
off the bench
the university daily kansan 9A
Fans should show more support
The Kansas football team almost certainly locked up bid for a bowl game with a 36-7 victory over Iowa State Saturday. The Jayhawk players and coaches deserve the reward of a holiday trip to a warmer climate. Too bad you can't say the same about Kansas fans.
commentary
Well, let's clarify that. The 34,518 people who showed up at Memorial Stadium Saturday were a great group. They cheered loudly when the Kansas defense put Iowa State in tough situations, gave senior quarterback Bill Whittemore a tremendous send off and made the Rock Chalk tch echo throughout the old stadium. The fact that only 34,518 people showed up, that is what's pathetic.
Shane Mettlen
smettlen@kansan.com
Think back to Sept. 27 when Kansas hosted Missouri. The game was a sellout and the crowd was incredibly enthusiastic. It's bewildering why there wasn't the same kind of atmosphere Saturday. The Jayhawks
needed the game to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1995. Former Kansas coach Terry Allen, the man most responsible for Kansas football plunging to the depths of the Big 12 Conference standings, was back at Memorial Stadium for the first time since senior day in 2001 as a Cyclone assistant.
There was no excuse for this game not being sold out. Kansas has a large fan base that has proved they are capable of supporting the Jayhawks by following the men's basketball team all
over the country. There are more than 2 million people living with in an hour of the stadium. The weather was perfect for football and honestly there isn't anything better to do in Northeast Kansas on a Saturday afternoon. Filling a 50,000 seat stadium should be a given, especially with a successful team to go watch.
Going to a bowl game would be a major step for the Jayhawk program. The game, whether it's the Tangerine or Fort Worth Bowl, will be on national television. That will give the program exposure on the coasts, which will help coach Mark Mangino and his staff in recruiting. But, college football should take a cue from the NFL and black the game out in the Lawrence-Kansas City area. If Kansas fans are going to give up on the team after a four-game losing streak, then they should be excluded from the fun of a bowl game.
That's not to say that the fans who showed up Saturday should be punished. They all deserve a free trip to balmy Orlando, Fla., or the historic Dallas-Fort Worth area, depending on where the Jayhawks play. That's not going to happen, though. Bandwagon fans will get to watch the 'Hawks from the comfort of their own home. The diehards will have to pony up if the want to see Mangino's boys play in person.
The fans do have an opportunity to redeem themselves, though. They can do it by not forgetting about this team during their month off. If you see a player on campus or around town, congratulate him. When the team leaves for its bowl destination, go to the airport and wish them luck. When the calendar is flipped to December, that may mean basketball season is in full swing, but for the first time in a long time it'll be football season in Lawrence too.
Mettlen is a Lucas senior in journalism and a Kansans sports editor
Kansas City defeats Oakland, maintains one-game lead for home-field advantage
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As usual, the Oakland-Kansas City game came down to a last-second field goal. Only this time it was the Chiefs who made the winning kick.
Trent Green hit Marc Boeriger for 16 yards on fourth-and-14, then Morten Andersen booted a 35-yard field goal with four seconds left, lifting Kansas City to a 27-24 victory yesterday.
In three of the four previous games here between the two old rivals, the Raiders won on field goals by Sebastian Ianikowski.
The Chiefs (10-1), who took their first loss last week at Cincinnati, maintained their one-game lead for home-field advantage in the AFC and swept the
And it was Janikowski's 41-yarder that knotted it at 24 with 2:18 left after Phillip Buchanan made a boneheaded mistake following his 27-yard return of Jason Baker's short punt. Buchanan drew a 15-yard penalty when he took off his helmet in an apparent celebration, pushing the Raiders back to the Kansas City 41.
Raiders (3-8) for the first time since 1998
raiders (5-8) for the first time since 1936.
After Andersen's 42-yard field goal gave the Chiefs a 24-14 lead, Jerry Rice caught a milestone touchdown pass from Rick Mirer.
Mirer, under pressure from a blitzing linebacker, snapped off a pass down the middle and Rice caught it about the 20, beating Eric Warfield. The 41-year-old Rice then stepped away from Warfield and sped into the end zone with reception No. 1,500 and touchdown catch No. 195, both NFL records.
The Raiders, who have lost eight players to season-ending injuries, got their second touchdown of the day on Tyrone Wheatley's tackle-busting 15-yard run in the third quarter. That made it 21-14.
Mirr ran 13 yards through the vacated middle of the defense for Oakland's first touchdown with 1:50 left in the first half, cutting Kansas City's lead to 14-7. But Green answered by completing five straight passes in a six-play, 69-yard drive, flipping a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jason
Dunn with 22 seconds left in the half.
On the Chiefs' second possession of the game, Priest Holmes took a pass in the right flat and went 36 yards to the 25. Then Derrick Blaylock took a wide pitch on the next play and sped into the end zone.
A few minutes later, the Chiefs stopped the Raiders on fourth down. Then they marched 68 yards to take a 14-0 lead on Holmes' 2-yard run. Holmes, whose 15 TDs rushing lead the NFL, had 91 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving. He went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the third straight year.
Tempers flared when Chris Cooper gave Green a shove as the quarterback was running of bounds, sending him tumbling over a metal bench on the Oakland sideline. Green yelled at Cooper as several teammates came to his aid, but no punches were thrown.
Oakland safety Derrick Gibson was carefully loaded onto a stretcher and removed from the field in the second quarter. The Raiders later said he had movement in his extremities, and was taken to a hospital for observation.
St. Louis escapes Arizona controls NFC West division
TEMPE, Ariz. — The St. Louis Rams pulled off another narrow escape to take sole possession of the NFC West lead.
Jeff Wilkins kicked a 49-yard field goal with 10:22 left in overtime to give the Rams a 30-27 victory over the Arizona Cardinals yesterday. It was Wilkins's second winning kick in
Jeff Blake threw two second-half touchdown passes to rookie sensation Anquan Boldin and the Cardinals rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to take a 27-24 lead.
But Marc Bulger, who threw four interceptions, led the Rams on a 16-play, 82-yard drive to the Arizona 7, and Wilkins' '24-yard field goal tied it at 27 as regulation ended.
St. Louis took the ball in overtime, moving from its 14 to the Arizona 31. Bulger ran 18 yards on the drive, and threw 9 yards to Dane Looker on third down to move the team into field-goal range.
Boldin had six catches for 123 yards. He has 999 receiving yards this season, near the NFL mark for the quickest to 1,000 by a rookie.
The Associated Press
KANSAS FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Kicked Again Kansas football fans are hoping that the Jayhawks do not get into a situation in a bowl game where the kicking game is relied upon late. Junior Jerod Brooks, who took over a few weeks back for junior Johnny Beck on short kicking duties, missed an extra point on the Jayhawks' first touchdown. Beck then missed a 32-yard field goal to end the first half. Brooks was able to hit a 28-yard later in the game, but something's not to pive
Whittemore Keeps Breaking the Books Kansas senior quarterback Bill Whitte more missed the team's last four contests, but picked up where he left off on his
"We will not go through this next year with kicking the ball," Mangino said. "I can assure all of our fans of that."
record-breaking season. Whittemore's lone touchdown pass against Kansas State gave him 10 on the season, which surpassed the previous record of 15 held by Mike Norseeth (1985) and David Jaynes (1972). He had three total touchdowns responsible for on the afternoon, giving him 47 for his two-year career. He is one behind the record of 48 held by Chip Hilley (1989-92).
A Well-Deserved Rest — The Jayhawks will get their first extended break since their bye week following the Sept. 27 Missouri game. Following classes on Tuesday, the team will be off for Thanksgiving Break and will report back for an evening practice on Sunday.
Final Argument — Another sensational game just put more fuel behind freshman Charles Gordon's case for Big 12. Freshman of the Year. The three-way
threat has played wide receiver, defensive back and punt returner this season.
His final statistics read like this:
Offense - 53 receptions (school freshman record)
696 receiving yards
4 touchdown catches
Defense - 13 tackles (3 games played), |
quarterback sack
4 touchdown catches
defense - 13 tackles (3 games)
Special Teams-13.1 yards per point return
Somebody's Watching — Representatives
from both the Fort Worth and Tangerine Bowl games were in attendance in the press box for Saturday's game.
Tangerine Bowl official Alex Tandy has been scouting teams for the past few weeks for the Dec. 22 game in Orlando, Fla., that pits the Big 12 against the ACC. He said the Big 12 teams representatives are interested in are Kansas, Colorado and Texas Tech. In the ACC, possible schools include North
Carolina State and Virginia
Along with an offensive showdown, the Tangering Bowl likes the prospects of a team with a marquee player like Whittemore to rival NC State's Phillip Rivers or Virginia's Matt Schaub.
Tandy said the team had been told by the Big 12 Conference, that it could not issue an invitation until after next Saturday's Missouri - Iowa State game, which will conclude the Big 12 regular season.
Watkins Out Again — Junior defensive tackle Travis Watkins was in street clothes again on Saturday, Watkins made his 2003 debut last week at Oklahoma State, and said after the game he could have played better and was a bit sluggish. Coach Mark Mangino said on Sunday that he was unsure whether Watkins would be available in late December when Kansas could play in its first bowl game since 1995.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
Clark Green rocks my world and I want to meet him so bad.
Call 864-0500
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Ryan Greene better be lucky that his position is not an elected one because he wouldn't win a re-election campaign after this year being so pathetic.
Free for All
your graduation needs are available NOW!
You should not be allowed in the student section if you are not wearing red, white or blue.
Paul Pierce is on Wheel of Fortune and he just won $39,800 for his charity. He was great.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
I love Keith Langford.
Roywho?
This message goes out to Bill Self. Word to the wise. You have the ponies. Just let them run. Just let them run.
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your graduation needs are available NOW!
Giddens: Way to represent with the head band.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
Tiger, Tiger, Tiger Woods v'all
Tall people should not stand in front of short people at basketball games. It is rude. You know who you are. Thanks for the view of the back of your head. F.Y.I.: you have the worst b.o. in the entire world.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
your graduation needs are available NOW!
Isn't it ironic that Allen Fieldhouse cards harder than the bars?
your graduation needs are available NOW!
Eight o'clock in the morning? Are you crazy? I hope Keith Langford realizes what I do for him.
If you are wearing a pink shirt on the front row at the KU basketball game, you are retarded.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
What a worthless home crowd. Get out there and support your team tools.
your graduation needs are available NOW!
Mangino, I can understand sticking by your players, but Beck has established himself as the worst kicker in college football. Get rid of him.
Kansas athletics calendar
tuesday
Men's basketball vs. Michigan State 7 p.m. in Allen Fieldhouse
wednesday
Volleyball vs. BAYLOR, 7 p.m. Ferrel Center Waco, Texas
friday
Women's Basketball vs. Oregon at Oregon Classic, 10:30 p.m. Eugene, Ore.
saturday
Women's Basketball vs. Sacramento State at Oregon Classic 8 p.m. Eugene, Ore.
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