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There was plenty of action around the Big 12 Conference this weekend. Read recaps of each conference game. PAGE 8A
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12A
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, September 8, 2003
Shane Mettlen smettlen@kansan.com
'Hawks rebound from loss
Early in the second quarter of Kansas 46-24 victory over the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Kansas freshman receiver Charles Gordon took the kind of shot a lot of football players don't recover from.
After signaling for a fair catch while waiting to receive a Rebel punt, Gordon played sitting duck and was drilled on an illegal hit by UNLV's Dereck Olson.
It looked strikingly similar to a play two years ago when a Southern California player nailed former Kansas State return man Aaron Lockett rendering him shaken and gun-shy for the remainder of the season.
It looked similar except that Gordon, the redshirt freshman wide receiver and punt returner, wasn't shaken a bit. In fact, he was back on the field, grabbing a 19-vard reception, on the very next play.
That sequence was a perfect example of the attitude coach Mark Mangino's Jayhawks bring to the field: if you get knocked down, get right back up.
"We're always worried about the next play." Gordon said. "If we have a bad one we always just try to forget about it and move on to the next play."
It would have been easy for the Jayhawks to have folded after dropping the opener. It seemed to be a Kansas tradition: come into the season with high hopes, suffer a disappointing loss to start the season and pack it in for the rest of the year. On Saturday though, Kansas looked poised to buck that trend.
That's precisely why Kansas was able to rebound from a tough loss to Northwestern and blow out a UNLV team that had its way with the Jayhawks last year.
Clark Green eluded a Rebel defender as he took off down the middle. Green ran 19 times for 117 total yards.
"In the past people would kind of put their head down after a big play, but that's not the case any more," sophomore line-backer Banks Floodman said. "We move on to the next play because the next play is always the most important play."
It's that kind of outlook on the game that separates Mangino's Jayhawks from former coach Terry Allen's Kansas teams. No one can attest to that more than Floodman, one of the few Allen recruits left in the Kansas starting lineup.
But Mangino and his team picked themselves up, dusted off and played the most dominant quarter of football a Kansas team has played in recent memory, capped off by Toomey, returning an interception for a touchdown.
It would have been easy for Kansas to revert to its old ways. The first half of Saturday's game wasn't the blowout the final score indicated. In the first half, Kansas committed silly penalties and killed two drives with turnovers. Sophomore linebacker Gabe Toomey left the game clutching his right shoulder and the Rebels had 299 yards of total offence
Quarterback Bill Whittemore struggled against Northwestern, but was responsible for four touchdowns Saturday. Kicker Johnny Beck was in a slump his entire sophomore season, but made every kick he attempted Saturday.
This team will get knocked down again this season. It still faces a long and brutal Big 12 Conference schedule where it's sure to hit some bumps along the way. The defensive line still has trouble stopping the run and the offensive line will face tougher challenges.
But now when the 'Hawks do get knocked down we can all expect to see them get back up.
Jayhawks rout Rebels
Mettlen is a Lucas senior in journalism.
John Nowak/Kansan
By Ryan Greene
rgreene@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
The drought in Kansas football has lasted for nearly eight years, but the Jayhawks finally got a taste of paydirt Saturday night with a 46-24 victory over the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
After trailing 17-16 going into the half, a 23-point blitzkrieg attack in the third quarter paced the Jayhawks to their first victory since Sept. 28, 2002 at Tulsa.
Quarterback Bill Whittimore put to rest any doubts as to whether he could regain his form of a year ago by completing 22-of-31 attempts for 270 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for another score.
Despite Whittemore's return to his top form of a year ago, he believed the team's most important accomplishment was getting used to a winning feel. Helping the cause was a raucous crowd of 33,980 at Memorial Stadium, giving the Jay-hawks a boost.
"Just tasting victory is going to put us on the right track," Whittemore said. "I've never seen Memorial Stadium like I saw it tonight. People say they've seen more people in the stands, but I don't know if it's been louder than it was."
After allowing the Rebels to gain 297 total yards of offense in the first half, the Kansas defense buckled down, allowing only 44 yards and intercepting two passes in the third quarter.
The Jayhawks started the game with a one-yard touchdown toss from Whittemore to senior tight end Denver Latimore on their first possession. The touchdown followed an 82-yard punt return by freshman receiver Charles Gordon.
The Rebels then answered with a 21-yard Dillon Pieffer field goal and a 60-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Larry Croom. With three of Johnny Beck's four field goals coming in the first half, the Jayhawks were able to hang tight going into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Kansas dropped a bomb on UNLV that nobody expected.
After another Beck field goal gave the Jayhawks the lead, Kansas junior cornerback Remuise Johnson intercepted his first pass of the year, halting UNLV at the Kansas three-yard line. The Jayhawks then orchestrated a 10-play, 97-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Whittemore to junior receiver Brandon Rideau.
Rideau ended the night with a careerhigh in receptions, netting six catches for 61 vards.
Just over two minutes later, Whittemore hit junior receiver Mark Simmons on a 39-yard strike for his third touchdown toss of the night. Then, on the third play of UNLV's ensuing drive, sophomore linebacker Gabe Toomey intercepted UNLV quarterback Kurt Nantkes and hauled 29 yards to the end zone, capping off a third quarter that all but put the game out of reach.
"We needed this and the kids really needed this."
Mark Mangino
Kansas Head Football Coach
"We needed this and the kids really needed this," coach Mark Mangino said. "We did make some mistakes that we will fix on Monday, but we are going to enjoy this one tonight."
Along with Whittimore spreading the defense out with precision passing, sophomore Clark Green and freshman John Randle took care of the groundwork. Green hit the century mark in rushing for the first time this season, with 117 yards on 19 carries, while RANDLE, in only his second game as a Jayhawk, chipped in with 77 yards on nine carries.
The defense's brightest spot continued to be the sophomore linebacking corps of Nick Reid, Banks Floodman and Toomey. Along with Toomey's touchdown, the three combined for 33 tackles. Putting numbers aside, Floodman attributes the linebackers' success to the blue-collar attitude that has continually won
John Nowak/Kansan
Middle linebacker Gabe Toomey made a pancake out of UNLV quarterback Kurt Nantkes during the closing minutes of the game. Toomey was injured early in the game but still managed two solo tackles and four assisted tackles.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 7A
Kansas' speed surprises Rebels' coach
By Kevin Flaherty kflaherty@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
John Robinson had few answers for University of Nevada-Las Vegas' effort Saturday night.
The UNLV coach spoke softly through his postgame press conference, often answering reporter's questions with "I don't know."
He was a bit more frank at the start of the press conference.
"We just got our butts kicked." Robinson said.
thought UNLV's team speed could be a major difference in the game. After the game, he said that he was surprised by the speed of the Jayha
A year removed from a 31-20 victory over the Jayhawks in Las Vegas, the Rebels allowed 546 yards of total offense in the 46-24 Kansas victory in Lawrence.
"In the third quarter, they got faster and we got slower," Robinson said. "They played with passion, and they played aggressively."
The third quarter saw UNLV's 17-16 halftime lead turn into a 39-17 Kansas advantage.
Robinson said earlier this week that he
Kansas junior place-kicker Johnny Beck started off the quarter with his fourth field goal of the game. Then on a UNLV first and 10 from the Kansas 39 yard line, Kansas senior cornerback Remuise Johnson intercepted a pass from UNLV junior quarterback Kurt
Nantkes, Kansas senior quarterback Bill Whittmore then led the team on a 10-play, 97-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Brandon Rideau.
On Kansas's next possession, Whittimore hit Mark Simmons with a 39-yard touchdown pass to increase the score to 32-17.
Just 22 seconds later, Kansas linebacker Gabe Toomey celebrated in the end zone after returning a 29-yard interception for a touchdown. The lead was 21.
Nantkes told reporters he didn't feel like he was throwing the ball badly after the first interception.
"The ball felt good coming out of my hand," Nantles said. "I didn't feel like I was in a funk."
The UNLV offense did rack up 421
UNLV senior running back Larry Croom had 128 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the first half but injured hisigh early in the third quarter and didn't return to the game.
yards, including 244 rushing yards, but 297 of those yards came in the first half. The Rebels only managed 44 total yards in the third quarter.
meanwhile, the Jayhawks gained 202 yards in the quarter.
Croom said the Rebels' failed to play with attitude.
"We didn't come in with the eye of the tiger like we did last week." Croom said of the Rebels' 28-18 victory against Toledo. "Our defense is solid. We have a solid game plan. We just didn't perform."
—Edited by Doyle Murphy
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