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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2009
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COMMENTARY
PAGE 10A
Thursdays no longer for 'little' conferences
Once upon a time, Thursday nights were reserved for mid-level MAC or Mountain
West "showcase games." Every once in a while, a halfway decent Pac 10 may have stopped by. But then those non-BCS conferences started to get better. And with that improvement, the once desolate Thursday night slot began to climb in prestige. No longer reserved for also-rans and fringe bowl teams, BCS busters like Boise State began to make more frequent appearances. Following on their tail, more teams from more power conferences started to see the appeal in a pre-weekend spotlight game.
Now, once upon a time has given way to the present time. And in the present, tonight offers a Big 12 game bigger than any taking place on Saturday, as Nebraska visits Missouri
Both teams find themselves in the Top 25 — Nebraska at No. 21, and Missouri at No. 24. Both have looked much better than might have been expected coming into the season.
Nebraska returned a lot of players, but did lose their starting quarterback. No matter. The Cornhuskers stand at 3-1, their only loss being a nail-biter at Virginia Tech.
Missouri's success has been more surprising. The Tigers graduated their offensive line and the most statistically successful quarterback in program history. Jeremy Maclin, one of college football's premier playmakers, took his ample skills to the NFL. That, combined with an embarrassingly sloppy spring game performance, left many in Columbia tossing around the phrase "rebuilding year". So far, the supposed rebuilding looks ahead of schedule. Blaine Gabbert has stepped into Chase Daniels' shoes and looks quite comfortable in them. Behind him, the Missouri offense has hummed along with the fluidity Tiger fans have come to expect. Most importantly, the team is 4-0.
To Jayhawk fans, that's all just a bit tangential to the real point: Missouri and Nebraska are the biggest obstacles to Kansas winning the Big 12 North this season.
Sure, Kansas has a more experienced team than either Nebraska or Missouri — especially on the offensive side of the ball, specifically, at quarterback. The Jayhawks also have the luxury of playing Nebraska at home, and Missouri at neutral Arrowhead Stadium.
But the schedule isn't universally kind to the Jayhawks. Kansas has to play Oklahoma and Texas, a challenge which the Tigers and Huskers don't face this season. Consider the fact that Sam Bradford will likely be a healthy participant when Oklahoma visits Lawrence, and that Kansas has to travel to Austin, and the odds of Kansas running the table in conference play don't look so good. This illuminates the greater meaning for tonight's game: Either Nebraska or Missouri will start Big 12 play 0-1.
Now that's hardly a revelatory truth, but it's an important one nonetheless. That one loss could be the difference between Kansas finally earning a trip to the Big 12 title game — in the season where things seem best aligned for it to do so — and a continued chorus of "maybe next year."
Edited by Alicia Banister
BASKETBALL
Morris involved in accident using Taylor's car
BY COREY THIBODEAUX
cthibodeauxkansan.com
Sophomore center Markieff Morris was involved in an accident while driving teammate sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor's car on Sept. 13, according to police reports. Morris was issued a citation for an improper lane change. There were no injuries.
Previous reports said the 1997 Chevy Tahoe was former Kansas
basketball player Scot Pollard's. Three passengers, including Morris, were in that car during the incident.
The accident occurred at 17th and Tennessee Streets with one other car, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am. A 23-year-old Buhler woman drove the Pontiac with one other passenger.
Morris
Morris said he was driving southbound on Tennessee Street, was preparing to turn left on 17th St. and did not see a car when he attempted to change lanes. He said when he tried to switch lanes the bumper of his car struck the rear passenger door of the other car.
The Chevy Tahoe used to belong to Pollard, but was later sold to Taylor. Pollard recently moved to Lawrence after calling it quits in the NBA.
did not see any damages to Morris' vehicle.
If the car still belonged,to Pollard, the NCAA would have the grounds to consider it an extra benefit given to Morris for letting him drive.
Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said Morris' use of his teammate's car was legal. In the police report, the car is filed under Pollard, but Marchiony does not know why.
"The compliance office monitored the sale, so it complied with NCAA rules," he said.
Brandon Sayers contributed reporting for this story
BIG12
— Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
Who will win the North?
Kansas faces tough competition in race for conference title
BY JAYSON JENKS jjenks@kansan.com
Coach Mark Mangino has never been one to dangle a prediction in front of the media. He's never been a fan of forecasting or looking a few games down the schedule, either.
That's not his style, and he'll tell you so in a handful of ways if the topic surfaces.
In responding to a similarly-themed question, Mangino didn't stray from that trend. But his answer provided a noteworthy summation of the upcoming Big 12 North title chase.
"It's going to be a competitive race"
Mangino said. "I can tell you that."
A nationally televised showdown between Top-25 teams Nebraska and Missouri tonight marks the first leg of an eight-game conference season. And that game is the first of many filled with postseason implications.
The winner has an early one-up in what is expected to be a tightly-contested Big 12 North race. The loser, meanwhile, has already dug its own hole.
It's something most Kansas players said they'll keep an eye on.
"Of course we're going to watch the Missouri-Nebraska game to see what happens," sophomore cornerback Daymond Patterson said. "We know that plays a factor in to how our season goes and who you have to beat."
The level to which players follow conference opponents, though, varies greatly.
Follow Kansan writer Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/ JaysonJenks.
For instance, senior safety Justin Thornton, who grew up in St. Joseph, Mo., attempts to closely follow teams in the Big 12. If Thornton sees a conference game on TV, he'll watch it.
"Me, personally, I try to stay up on what all the other teams are doing, especially when they start playing each other," Thornton said. "It's definitely something you have to stay up on."
VOLLEYBALL
Senior safety Darrell Stuckey, who is paired with Thornton in the secondary, has a slightly different take. Stuckey rarely, if at all. follows teams via television.
Jayhawks defeated again by Cornhuskers
Instead, reverberating one of Mangino's previous statements, Stuckey said the most important aspect of winning a conference championship is avoiding outside influences, such as the highs and lows experienced by opponents.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 8A
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
The Kansas volleyball team was unable to end its winless streak Wednesday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Kansas is now 0-83-1 all time against Nebraska in volleyball.
Kansas fell to 9-6 (2-4) and Nebraska improved to 11-4 (4-2) as Kansas was swept by Nebraska 3-0 for the 65th time in 84 matches. The loss means Kansas also doesn't have a conference road victory this season.
Sophomore outside hitter Allison Mayfield racked up her fourth career double-double, tallying 13 kills and 12 digs and sophomore setter Nicole Tate also had a double-double on the night.
Junior outside hitter Karina Garlington continued to struggle as she only recorded four kills while adding five errors in the first two sets, but bounced back with four kills and zero errors in the third set.
Kansas played very closely to Nebraska for most of the sets, but then Nebraska turned up the
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writer Zach Getz at
twitter.com/zgetz.
intensity Coach Ray Bechard said. Bechard also said Kansas needs to continue to work on its end game and execution.
"There was a time tonight where I thought that we were waiting for something to happen instead of making something happen," Bechard said. "When it comes time to make a difference at the end of the game, we need a little better execution."
Mayfield said that whenever Kansas would make a run, Nebraska always had an answer to stifle any momentum Kansas would gain.
"We were in it, then they would get just a couple of good plays, and they would get some of the momentum back," Mayfield said. "It's hard to get the momentum back when they have the crowd behind them."
Kansas played in front of more than 4,000 fans and Nebraska volleyball had its 126th consecutive sellout, which is an NCAA women's sports record. The crowd was a joy to play for, and appreciates good volleyball, Garlington said.
SCORES
Kansas: 20 20 21
Nebraska: 25 25 25
UP NEXT
UP NEXT No. 14 Iowa State at Kansas WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 10th WHERE: Horejsi Family Athletic Center
"On big rallies, regardless of where the point ends, they are cheering." Garlington said. "There not the type of crowd that heckles or distracts them. They just want to see a good match."
The first set started out back and forth, but after it was tied 14-14 Nebraska built a lead and Kansas lost the set 20-25.
Kansas fell behind by four
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 8A
Allison Mayfield bumps the ball against Colorado on Sept. 30. The Jayhawks won that match 3-1. They lost to the Cornhuskers Wednesday night. The team has never won against Nebraska: their record is 0-83-1, and has been swept 65 times.
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