Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sports
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Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder says that the last 28 defeats to Nebraska will not matter when the Wildcats play the 'Huskers. SEE PAGE 7B
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Friday
October 3,1997
Section:
B
Page 1
SEE PAGE 9A
College Athletics
During the last five years, 76 Texas Tech athletes in eight sports competed while they were inelegible.
SEE PAGE 7B
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Bring on those Oklahoma Sooners
Senior linebacker Jason Thoren watches a practice from the sideline earlier this week. Thoren is still listed as questionable for tomorrow's game against Oklahoma. Photo by Geoff Krieger/KANSAN
By Kelly Cannon kcannon@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Fall is here, and with it comes heated Big 12 Conference competition for Kansas football.
Kansas plays Oklahoma at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Memorial Stadium and Kansas coach Terry Allen said he had both quarterbacks prepped to play.
"Really, going into this game, with the things Oklahoma presents us, we want to have both quarterbacks ready to play," he said.
Allen said Matt Johner would start the game, but backup Zac Wegner could play depending on how the Sooners play.
"It it could be early, it could be late." Allen said. "Where we are offensively, we need to play both those kids."
Oklahoma is 2-2 and has lost to the Jayhawks the last two years. The Sooners lead the series 62-26-6.
Kansas was idle last week and feels better about its chances against Oklahoma having had two weeks to prepare.
"Does it throw fear in the hearts of Oklahoma? Probably not. But, hopefully, they're looking to Texas," he said.
Oklahoma plays Texas next weekend at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Allen highlighted the play of Oklahoma's halfback De'Donald Parker as one of the team's strengths.
"They have a number of backs that are very good, but Parker jumps out at you." Allen said. "He is a guy that physically can run it up inside, but yet he has the speed to get to the corner."
Parker was Oklahoma's leading rusher against Kansas last year with 145 yards rushing, including one touchdown. He is averaging a little more than 147 yards per game this season in leading the Big 12.
basic concepts defensively. They have a guy that can beat you to the corner with his speed alone. Obviously that attracts your attention."
"They have an added dimension—they can run the option and run it pretty well," Allen said. "That brings you back to
In addition to Parker, Allen said that Oklahoma's fullback Jermaine Fazand also was a threat.
"The fullback is a very good player, but on the same hand you are going to have to stop the tailback position first," Allen said. "That is what gave the fullback position as many yards as it did. Keying in on the tailback was what gave the fullback so many opportunities."
Allen said what impressed him the most were the Sooners two defensive tackles. Kansas reorganized the offensive line to offset Oklahoma's defensive line.
"Those are fine athletes that they have on the defensive side of ball," Allen said. "That was one of the reasons, in our mind, that we moved our best defensive tackle, Justin Glasgow, inside to try and neutralize the play of their defensive tackles."
Allen had emphasized the play of special teams. Kick returner David Winbush said the team was looking for special teams to help score some points. "We're looking for a big play to pop open on special teams," Winbush said. "We've gone over some things and worked some problems out."
Injured wide receiver Eric Patterson will play for the Jayhawks for the first time since the Texas Christian game on Sept. 6. Patterson broke a rib and missed the Missouri and University of Cincinnati games.
Inside linebacker Jason Thoren, who tore the posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, is still questionable for tomorrow's game.
"We were genuinely optimistic when we first got reports back from the injury," Allen said. "Jason, as we all know, is a kid that will do whatever he can to get on the football field."
Former coach still tied up in storied rivalry
By Zach Zipfel
sports@kansan.com
Special to the Kansan
For Jack Mitchell, the Arkansas City native who coached at Kansas but played football for Oklahoma, there is no doubt who he will be cheering for tomorrow when the Jayhawks take on the Sooners.
"I was born and raised there and coached there for 10 years, so I'll be cheering for KU," said Mitchell, a former All-America quarterback at Oklahoma.
Mitchell will be a featured guest at this weekend's reunion of Kansas' 1947 Orange Bowl team That Jayhawk team tied with Mitchell's Sooners in the Big Six standings.
Mitchell, 72, is retired and divides his time in Sun City, Ariz., and Mund's Park, Ariz. He said he was looking forward to making
the trip to Lawrence.
"Most of the guys were very good friends and helped in recruiting," he said. "I know many of them better than some of the guys I played with at Oklahoma."
Mitchell will be speaking at the banquet for the Kansas team that knocked his 47 Sooners out of a bowl game. Both teams finished that season tied for the Big Six championship with a 7-21 record. The meeting between the schools ended in a 13-13 tie.
"We had an outstanding team and they had an outstanding team," said Fambrough, who coached the Jayhawks in 1971-74 and in 1979-82. "We were exhausted. It might have been one of the toughest games I've played in my life."
Fambridge said the 1947 game against Oklahoma was a difficult one.
game chose Kansas. According to Mitchell, bowl officials' apparent snub of Oklahoma wasn't a surprise.
“There was no controversy necessarily,” he said. “I think they picked Kansas because it had been a longer time since they’d been (to the Orange Bowl) and they had a couple of All-Americans.” he said.
When it was time to decide which team would go to the Orange Bowl, officials from the bowl
In 1958 Mitchell became the head coach at Kansas. His nine-year tenure is tied with former coach Glen Mason for the longest in school history.
During his term, he compiled a 44-42-5 record and guided the Jayhawks to the school's first bowl victory in 1961. The 1960 and '61 teams finished ranked 11th and 15th nationally.
"They were probably the best team in the history of the university," he said. "We had a lot of depth and a lot of speed. Probably the only team that was better, in terms of skill players, was the (1947) Orange Bowl team."
Mitchell: Has fond memories of his coaching days with the Kansas football team.
Sooners will beat'Hawks in close game tomorrow
Two weeks ago I sat in my friend's apartment staring at the television. My friends and I had just returned from a typical night of trundling from house party to house party to bar and back home.
The night was dwindling, and, as we are prone to do, we were capping it with our weekly 2 a.m. video game and sports talk session.
One of my friends—for the sake of anonymity I'll call him Aaron G. — stood toward the end of the coffee table spewing forth his usual inebriated sports rants. His barrage almost always centers on Chiefs football and Jayhawk basketball, but this time his datribe targeted Oklahoma football.
"KU is going to crush Oklahoma," he raved. The room, filled with life-long Jayhawks erupted in frizzed cheers.
crippled in缓慢的哭声:
I, possibly the most rabid Oklahoma Sooner fan to walk Mount Oread, remained quiet, intently listening to Aaron, whom I sometimes
Harley Rattilf
bratliff@kannan.com
call Nostradamus with a twist of Bacardi Limon.
"I saw it in a vision," he said. "I know the Jayhawks are going to win big."
The Jayhawks aren't to go in big. In fact, they're not going to win at all.
Why? Because my sanity depends on it. I've waited two years for this. Two long years.
Two years of watching
I don't mind the Jayhawks beating Oklahoma in basketball--that's the order of things.
Kansas pound my beloved Sooners into the gridiron. Two years of listening to my friends gloat. Two years of humiliation. Two years of embarrassment. Two years of disappointment.
But to lose to Kansas in football? Unacceptable.
Well, it all comes to an end tomorrow.
In the 9th and final game of the longest, uninterrupted series in NCAA Division IA, the AOs are going to set things right—and save me from another year of torment.
The key for both teams will be defense.
For the Jayhawks to win, Terry Allen's squad will have to stop Sooner tailback De'Mond Parker. Parker has been explosive, averaging more than 145 yards per game and leading the Big 12 Conference in rushing.
If the Jayhawks let Parker run wild, it could be a long day for the defense
On the flip side, the Oklahoma defense has been less than imposing. The Sooner secondary, one of the nation's worst last season, continues to be porous. They have been riddled by opposing quarterbacks.
If the Kansas passing attack is looking for a breakthrough game, this could be its best opportunity.
The Jayhawks aren't going to crush the Sooners, despite Aaron G. The game will be close.
Neither team has shown the ability to put together a complete performance for 60 minutes, and both have shown a propensity for costly turnovers.
The score will remain close for a half, but the Oklahoma running game will wear Kansas down.
Call it blind faith, call it wishful thinking, call me mutty, but the final score reads:
Sooners 28, Jayhawks 20
Women's soccer still has foot in Big 12 Conference tournament door
By Harley V. Ratliff
Kansan sportswriter
For the Kansas women's soccer team, the pressure is on.
The Jayhawks, trying to make the Big 12 Conference postseason tournament, know their backs are against the wall. Kansas must win four of its next five conference games in order to have a chance to make it to San Antonio — the site of the Big 12 tournament.
The Jayhawks begin with a road game against last-place Iowa State at 4 p.m. today in
Ames, Iowa. Kansas will finish the weekend at No. 11 Nebraska. The team must win at least one of its two conference games this weekend to keep pace.
"Making the tournament is a very realistic goal for us," junior midfielder Jackie Dowell said. "We know that we have the ability to beat the rest of the teams on our schedule."
The Jayhawks will face a tough task in both the Cyclones and the Cornhuskers. Iowa State is coming off a weekend where it lost to Baylor but defeated Texas Tech - a team that had
previously defeated the Jayhawks.
Nebraska, however, could prove to be the more daunting challenge. The Cornhuskers, who struggled early in conference play, have strung together four consecutive shutouts.
"Nebraska has really gotten into a groove as of late," Kansas soccer coach Dan Magner said. "But that doesn't mean that we will take Iowa State lightly. We know that from here on out every game is critical."
The Jayhawks will be looking to build on their success from
last weekend, when they defeated conference rival Colorado 4-3 at SuperTarget Field. Part of that success came as a result of freshman forward Katie Lents' aggressive offensive play.
"She is able to cover so much ground," Magner said. "Katie is able to use her speed and mobility to push the game forward. Her range makes her a constant threat."
Lents, who is still overcoming an early-season bout with mononucleosis, sparked the Jayhawks with two goals. She has scored three goals in four games in limited action, giving Magner an extra weapon on offense.
Kansas will be facing a disadvantage this weekend — it will be playing away from SuperTarget Field. The Jayhawks are No. 9 in the nation in home attendance, averaging 294 fans a game.
"The women are so appreciative of the vocal support at the home games," Magner said. "Against Colorado, I think having such an active crowd was one of the main ingredients to this team's success."
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