Section B·
The University Daily Kansan
Friday October 3,1997
Jayhawks ready to battle Oklahoma Sooners
Kansas will face Oklahoma tomorrow for the 95th consecutive time. The Kansas-Oklahoma series, which will end next year because of the Big 12 Conference's rotating schedule, is the longest uninterrupted series in NCAA Division I-A.
Kansas football coach Terry Allen began his inaugural season at Kansas 3-0 before losing to the University of Cincinnati.
Terry Allen came to Kansas from Iowa where he was head football coach for Northern Iowa.
Allen became the second, first-year coach in Kansas history to start with that record. His companion in the record books, Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, started the 1920 season 3-0 on way to a 5-2-1 record. The only year Phog Allen coached football was 1920.
While there, Allen compiled a 75-26 record and led his team to seven consecutive conference championships.
Allen ended the 1996 season with a .743 winning percentage, qualifying him as the winningest then-active coach in NCAA Division I AA.
Allen graduated from Northern Iowa in 1979, where he was quarterback. He began coaching there that same year as a graduate assistant. He became head coach in 1989.
Allen replaced outgoing coach Glen Mason,
who took the head coaching position at Minnesota.
Kansas has been paced by the play of its senior players this year. Ron Warner, Eric Vann, Matt Johner, Maurice Gaddie and Tony Blevins have all contributed extensively for the Jayhawks.
Outside linebackers Warner and junior Pat Brown have been heading up a strong defensive line. Warner leads the team in sacks with 6.5. Brown follows with two. During the AlabamaBirmingham game Aug.28, Brown intercepted two passes and returned them for touchdowns, becoming the first linebacker in NCAA history to do so.
Vann is Kansas leading rusher, averaging 71.5 yards per game. Vann rushed for 137 yards against Missouri, the first time he had rushed for more than 100 in a game. He also became the first Jayhawk to rush for 100 yards this season.
Johner has completed 23 of 54 passes this season, and has only thrown one interception. He is averaging 68.8 yards passing per game.
Gaddie leads Kansas in tackles with 32. He scored Kansas' only touchdown against the University of Cincinnati on a 10-yard fumble return.
Blevins has 27 tackles this season and handles the Jayhawks punt return duty. His longest return this season was 18 yards.