Tuesday, November 11, 1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 7
'Hawks prepare for Texas
Hopes for postseason play hinge on Saturday victory
By Kelly Cannon
By Kelly Cannon
kcannon@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
One game remains for the Kansas football team, and the Lone Star State looms.
Kansas must defeat Texas on Saturday to become bowl-eligible.
This is it. The Jayhawks' postseason hopes are riding on this win. A loss and it's over.
Kansas coach Terry Allen said the team was aware of the importance of the Texas game.
"I feel good about having an 11th game and these players having something to play for." Allen said.
Texas, after losing to Texas Tech on Saturday, has been assured a losing season — it is 3-6, 1-5 in the Big 12 Conference.
"They have an outstanding quarterback and one of the nation's premier running backs," Allen said.
Allen said Texas had good athletes.
But the final game is on the road, and Kansas has been dismal away from home — posting an 0-4 record outside of Memorial Stadium.
The Jayhawks need to be top notch in all aspects of team play. Offense, defense and special teams have had their days to shine in road games — but never all at once.
Kansas' anxieties regarding its offense may be quelled slightly after Saturday's game. The Jayhawk offense finally found a way to be productive on the road, scoring a season-high 16 road points.
But special teams' play was the nail in the coffin for Kansas.
"We played relatively well on offense and defense." Allen said. "We had a pathetic effort on special teams."
K-State scored a touchdown on kickoff and punt returns. Allen said good special teams' plays did not come without practice.
Kansas outside linebacker Ron Warner jumps to tackle Kansas State wide receiver Gavin Peries. In Saturday's game, Peries caught two touchdown passes to help the Wildcats to a 48-16 win. Photo by Pam Dishman/KANSAN
"Good football teams — winning football teams — do those things," Allen said. "And in the future, we'd like to have those things happen for us."
Allen said the team was excited to play Texas.
"They know the importance of this game," he said. "The light is at the end of the tunnel. Obviously they would like to win more football games."
But linebacker Patrick Brown said the Jayhawks needed to play the Texas game for something other than bowl dreams.
"This is a pride check now," Brown said. "We need to play this for pride."
Big 12 Players of the Week: Frost slips by MU
DALLAS — Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost, Kansas State strong safety Jarrod Cooper and Texas Tech free safety Dane Johnson are the Big 12 players of the week.
Frost ran 23 times for 141 yards and four touchdowns and was 11 of 24 passing for 175 yards and a touchdown in the Cowhoppers' 45-38 victory against Missouri. Among the high lights were a 12-yard pass that led to the miraculous game-tying touchdown on the last play of regulation, plus a 12-yard run for the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
Cooper, a freshman, had 14 tackles with two stops for 11 yards in losses and his first sack in the Wildcats' 4-3.
16 victory against Kansas. Kansas State limited the Jayhawks to 75 yards passing.
Johnson played a key role in the Red Raiders' 24-10 win against Texas by returning the kickoff of the second half 95 yards for a touchdown. He added seven tackles and a fourth quarter interception in the end zone.
Texas a mess after losing season
AUSTIN — Texas even has trouble playing the role of spoiler.
The Associated Press
The Longhorns (3-6, 1-5 Big 12 Conference) lost to Texas Tech and sealed their first losing season since 1991 - the year David McWilliams was fired as coach.
Yesterday, current coach John Mackovic, whose future is in question, said he refused to dwell on the past.
"I can't spend my time looking back," Mackovic said.
"That's why jet pilots don't have rearview mirrors. They are just headed forward. We move in a fast, high-performance operation. We try to learn from experiences, but we can't dwell on the past," he said.
Texas has lost four consecutive games for the first time since 1988, when the Longhorns finished 4-7.
When asked to assess his team's demise the season after winning the inaugural Big 12 championship, Mackovic said, "We need some players to make
some plays.
"We haven't been a big-play team, and in college football or pro football, you need some big play-makers, and we haven't had as many this year," he said. "We have been accustomed to that."
Among the players not making plays is quarterback James Brown, who threw for a school-record 397 yards in Texas' 24-10 loss to Tech but had two interceptions, including one in Texas Tech's end zone.
Brown, who opened the season as a long shot Heisman Trophy candidate, has completed just 45 percent of his passes and has 11 interceptions compared to four touchdown passes.
The senior, who last year delivered on a promise to beat Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, has said he doesn't know why his year has gone south.
He refuses to blame young receivers who have consistently run poor routes and dropped balls while star wide out Wane McGarity has been sidelined with a knee injury. Not until the Texas Tech game did a wide out have a 100-yard game.
"I came to coach at Texas, and I expect to be here," Mackovic said yesterday, again disputing reports quoting unidentified sources that his firing was imminent.
"We've had a really tough season, but we've had a terrific program. People who know our program understand it. Recruits know that. Families know that. Players know that, and our administration knows that. And many of our fans know that."
The defense suffered injuries to defensivelinemen Chris Akins and Casey Hampton, but poor tackling has been chronic throughout the season. The Longhorns rank 107th in the nation (of 112) against the run and 89th in total defense.
Texas will play host to Kansas (5-5, 3-4) on Saturday.
Chiefs owner interested in Royals
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt is interested in buying the American League's Kansas City Royals, "The Kansas City Star" reported.
How interested? Hunt doesn't know vet.
"It's very preliminary," Hunt said. "We've approached the Royals so we can see the numbers. That's all. We want to hear about it.
"I'm not at all familiar with the process of the sale or with the Royals, so this is just a first look," he said. "We'll see what happens."
The story appeared vesterday. three
days after the Royals' deadline for potential bidders to submit an application to the club. The applications are the first step in a bidding process that was announced Oct. 8.
That process creates a dual-deadline system. In addition to the deadline Friday, there will be an official deadline to meet terms set by Major League Baseball and the Internal Revenue Service. That deadline is expected to be in the first half of next year.
Hunt has owned the Chiefs, which moved to Kansas City in 1963, since their founding in 1960 as the Dallas Texans of the old American Football League. Hunt Sports also owns a percentage of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and two Major League Soccer teams, the Kansas City Wizards and the Columbus Crew.
He owned part of a minor-league baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the 1960s but has not been involved with professional baseball since then. As recently as four weeks ago, Hunt said he had not considered owning the Royals.
"I don't know much about what has been going on with baseball lately." Hunt said. "I played the game when I was a kid, like everybody else. I grew up with it."
"It has hit hard times laterly, though," he said. "They have not been able to come up with a workable system."
The team has been without an owner since Ewing M. Kauffman died in August 1993. Kauffman, who founded the Royals as an expansion team in 1969, specified that the team was to be held in trust until it could be sold to someone who would promise to keep it in Kansas City. If no such buyer can be found by 2001, the team can be sold to the highest bidder.
"I knew Mr. Kauffman pretty well. I know how much he wanted to keep the team in town," Hunt said. "We all want that. Now, we have to look at the economics. We will get to see the package."
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