Sports
The University Daily Kansan
1B
The Kansas Jayhawks look to go 3-1 for first time since 1997 against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks. The Gamecocks are 1-1 this season. PAGE 8B
Mangino: No room for error
Friday, September 19, 2003
Clark Green eluded a UNLV defender as he took off down the middle during the game against the Rebels. Green ran 19 times for 117 total yards. Kansas faces Jacksonville State tomorrow.
John Nowak/Kansan
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
The biggest focus for the Kansas football team on the practice field this week has not been anything fundamental. Coach Mark Mangino is making sure his Jayhawks are mentally prepared, and are not overlooking Saturday's Division I-AA opponent.
Ax opponent. The Jacksonville State Gamecocks will be the final non-conference test of the season for the Jayhawks before the start of Big 12 Conference play next Saturday. Even with the prospect of a meaningful matchup with Missouri on the horizon, the Jayhawks' margin for error tomorrow is slim at best.
"We know that this Jacksonville State team will be pumped up coming into a Big 12 stadium, a venue that they normally don't get the opportunity to play in," Mangino said. "We cannot afford to take anybody for granted right now."
Even though the Jayhawks do not want to enter the game too confident, the chips are definitely stacked in their favor. Since 1994, Jacksonville State is 3-5 against Division I A schools. Their last Division I A contest was a 51-13 drubbing at the hands of Mississippi State in 2002.
The Division 1-AA competition has the potential to be a confidence booster for a Kansas defense that ranks last in the Big 12 in total defense. The Gamecocks have only compiled 19 points in their first two games of the season.
"I think the longer you're satisfied with things, the longer someone else is catching up." McMillan said.
first two games of the season.
The defensive line made its presence felt in Wyoming last weekend by recording the Jayhawks' first three sacks of the season, as well as a fumble returned for a touchdown by senior defensive end David McMillan. Even though the defense was finally able to reach the quarterback, the unit realizes its biggest enemy right now can be complacency.
In the secondary, there is an on-going position battle between junior Shelton Simmons and senior Remuise Johnson for the starting cornerback spot. Johnson started all 12 games as a junior in 2002 and recorded six interceptions, but Simmons began this season as the starter. Johnson has shown flashes of brilliance in an effort to regain his starting role, but must prove that he can bring more consistency.
"I think Bill's got a lot more confidence in us," junior receiver Brandon Rideau said. "He's believing that if he puts the ball up in the air, we're going to make the play."
"He knows what it takes," Mangino
Kansas heads into the game with the advantage based on its offense alone. The Jayhawks rank atop the Big 12 in total offense, and quarterback Bill Whittemore is the second highest rated passer in Division I-A. Mangino attributes a lot of Whittemore's success to the improvement his receivers have made on the practice field. Those efforts have produced a 20 percent decrease in dropped balls so far.
said of Johnson. "It is a matter of him pulling it all together and making plays every single down. Not just once in awhile, but every single down."
To Mangino, there is nothing more important right now than keeping the
winning feeling that he said is easily noticeable throughout his squad.
"When you win, life is better. Everything looks better to you," Mangino said. "All of the bumps and bruises heal up by Monday. The Gatorade tastes better to them. I told them now that you have the taste of winning, you should hold on to that taste."
— Edited by Ashley Marriott
By Nikki Nugent
nnnugeut@kansan.com
Kansas sportwriter
Soccer travels to San Diego
The Kansas women's soccer team travels to California this weekend before beginning Big 12 Conference play next week.
play next week.
The Jayhawks, 6-1-0, play the University of San Diego at 7 tonight. The team then travels to Los Angeles to play the Lions of Loyola Marymount University on Sunday.
The Jayhawks look to build upon their best start in school history. Coming off of a winning tournament weekend could lead to a let down, but freshman midfielder Michelle Rasmussen said the coaches were making sure that wouldn't happen.
"The coaches have stressed that we need to be focused," she said. "We know these are big games."
Though the Toreros are winning, the team's major weakness is scoring goals. The team has only six goals this season compared to the Jayhawks' 17. San Diego's schedule thus far has not been as difficult as the Jayhawks' schedule, with the Toreros' toughest game coming in a 1-0 victory against Vanderbilt. San Diego senior defender Alexi Obeji scored the game-winning goal, the first of her career.
San Diego should give the Jayhawks a tough game. The Toreros are 4-0-1 this season under first year coach Ada Greenwood. San Diego goalkeeper Libby Bassett has five shutouts on the season as the Toreres have not allowed a goal thus far.
Nick Mirkovich, San Diego sports information director, said the Toreros were loaded with talent, especially defensively. He said the reason the team had been victorious was because of its strong defensive play.
sports commentary
The Jayhawks look to break the Torero's winning streak, as well as Bassett's shutout streak. Kansas sophomore forward Caroline Smith, who has 11 goals on the season, is sure to be a focus for San Diego.
This should give other Jayhawks an opportunity to score. Rasmussen, has seen a lot of touches on the ball and said she expects to get that elusive first goal.
hair and have a cape. Marysol Cayado, Loyola Marymount sports information director, said the team was strong defensively but still trying to get things going offensively. Freshman Tana Smothermon is the team's biggest offensive threat, she said.
Sunday's game against Loyola Marymount is the first time the two teams have met. The game should be less of a challenge for the Jayhawks. The Lions are 3-1-2 on the season going into tonight's game against Portland State.
"Hopefully, it will come soon," she said. "Our first priority is to get some goals against them."
she said.
The Jayhawks begin conference play at 5 p.m. Sept.
26, at SuperTarget Field against Baylor and 1 p.m.,
Sept. 28, at Texas Tech.
Like San Diego, the Lions have scored six goals thus far and have allowed only three.
— Edited by Michael Owells
Amy Geha, junior midfielder, dribbled down the field Sunday against Central Florida. Geha's effort helped the Jayhawks win 1-0.
Sean Smith/Kansan
Jonah Ballow
jballow@kansan.com
Changes imperative for Kansas
Kansas football fans may not see the extreme importance of the game against jacksonville State tomorrow night.
While the Gamecocks play Division IAA football, Kansas must enter the contest with intentions of a big victory. The game marks the fourth non-conference opponent for the Jayhawks and this year's schedule was designed to give the team confidence conference play.
Kansas was able to defeat two Mountain West Conference teams in consecutive weeks and now have the opportunity to enter the Big 12 Conference season with a 3-1 record for the first time since 1997.
With border rival Missouri next on the schedule, the Jayhawks cannot overlook Jacksonville State. The contest against the Gamecocks is especially important for Kansas to make the necessary adjustments to prevent the problems experienced in the previous games.
"I think this is a game where we can focus on improving certain areas before Big 12 play," senior Adrian Jones said.
Jones is right. For the Jayhawks to compete in the Big 12, many problems must be addressed during tomorrow's game.
The offense is clicking on all cylinders with Bill Whittemore leading the team and surprisingly making noise as one of the most underrated players in the country. The team posted an impressive 88 points in two games, but the defense has allowed 59 points in both those games.
The last game against Wyoming was the most troubling. Kansas had a three-touchdown lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Jayhawks did not tighten up their defense down the stretch and allowed the Cowboys to score 14 points turning a blowout into a nail-biter victory.
The Kansas defense needs sustained solid play throughout games and to become stronger as the offense builds large leads.
With the 4-3 defensive scheme the Jayhawks use, the front four linemen need to put pressure on the quarterback and the cornerbacks must improve the coverage. Two players who will help the defense in the next couple of weeks are Chuck Jones and Travis Watkins. The linemen may return in time for the game against the Colorado Buffaloes.
Coach Mark Mangino addressed some of the reasons why the defense is struggling at certain points in the game.
"I think there is still some newness," Mangino said. "Not so much that we have new players on the field but the communication process on the field is a problem."
The offense has been explosive by making big plays with more than one thousand total yards in two games. The problem with the big play offense is the defense does not get any rest. Over the course of a game the unit will eventually wear down. The success of the big plays was proven in the two victories against Wyoming and UNLV. But for the season, a mix of longer drives with Clark Green getting a majority of the carries would benefit the defense greatly.
Taking away the fluke game against Northwestern, the Jayhawks have played solid football while giving fans a reason to head to Memorial Stadium.
For Kansas to take the next step forward and prepare for a monumental game against Missouri, the necessary adjustments must be made tomorrow night when the Jayhawks face Jacksonville State.
Ballow is a Lone Tree, Colo., senior in journalism.