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Kansas loses Jayhawk Invitational to Florida International. **SPORTS** | 6B
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
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COMMENTARY
SEASON OPENER
PAGE 1B
Promising start does not mean easy season
Let's resist drawing too many conclusions from Kansas' 49-3 season-opening victory Saturday against overmatched Northern Colorado
First impressions can lead us down divergent paths, some more welcome than others. Those found Saturday suggest a special race for the Big 12 North crown this year.
They suggest that those sleeping on the Big 12's lesser-hyped half will rue the decision.
Saturday did not provide an opportunity for a fair assessment of Kansas. We'll have to wait until Sept. 26, when non-conference play concludes, to have a better idea of what to expect from a new look offensive line and linebacker unit.
That's not to say there wasn't lot to like Saturday. Most impressively, Kansas turned in an incredibly balanced offensive performance. Recall last season's non-conference start: 138 rushes for 476 yards vs. 44 pass attempts per game from quarterback Todd Reesing.
On Saturday, Kansas amassed 328 rushing yards — 79 and two scores from Reeing, who attempted just 20 passes all night. Senior running back Jake Sharp led with 123 yards and a touchdown.
If Kansas can even come close to replicating that production next time, you can bet coach Mark Mangino will breathe easier when Missouri and Nebraska try to keep his team off the division's top perch.
Those who left before freshman quarterback Kale Pick and running back Toben Opurm (two touch-downs) took the field missed the two collecting 47 and 79 rushing vards, respectively, in garbage time.
"If people are going to play you a certain way, you know, to try to play your passing game then you've got to be able to run the ball," Mangino said. "And if you can't, you're in deep, deep problems. Really deep."
That near slip underscored the importance of forcing Missouri and Nebraska — the other two-thirds of the North's premiere trifecta — to think twice about bringing a one-dimensional answer to Kansas' offense.
Meanwhile, Missouri sent a defiant and booming response to doubts that it can weather the loss of its departed stalwarts. Sophomore quarterback Blaine Gabbert, in the start of his career and in front of 64,215 spectators in St. Louis, squashed Illinois and looked as good as Chase Daniel ever did.
Gabbert is bigger, stronger and faster — he runs a 4.51 40-yard dash — than Daniel. His 319-yard, four touchdown performance stole the hearts of the scribes on hand. Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock wrote Sunday that he's leaving Jeff George. That cannot be discounted.
Nebraska matched Kansas with a 49-3 victory against Florida Atlantic.
The assumption heading into this season was that Kansas and Nebraska would be the lone contenders for the North Crown. Missouri would fall off and fall off hard.
Be careful taking too much away from just one week. But impressions often trump assumptions.
Edited by Jacob Muselmann
Freshman running back Toben Opurum shakes off three players from the University of Northern Colorado as sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Spikes follows behind. The Jayhawks won their first game of the season on Saturday, 49-3. Opurum rushed for 79 yards on eight carries and added two touchdowns in the game.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Call in the reserves
BY JAYSON JENKS
jjenks@kansan.com
The questions started around the fourth quarter and, from there, kept pouring in. They came from the mouths of wide receivers and linemen, from starters and seldom used backups.
And they all wanted to know the same thing: When would freshman backup quarterback Kale Pick see his first snap in a Kansas uniform?
In the fourth quarter, there were probably 20 of my teammates that came up to me asking 'Are you going in yet? Are you going in yet?' Pick said. "It just made me more anxious."
It was a common question before and during Kansas' game against Northern Colorado Saturday.
With the layhawks expected to easily handle the Bears — and they did, walking away with a 49-3 victory — Pick's emergence onto the field with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter marked an all-but-official end to Kansas' first game.
Follow Kansan football writer Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/JaysonJenks.
After rushing for 47 fourth-quarter yards in his first college game, Pick walked into the Mrkonic Auditorium wearing a dark blue suit. Most of Kansas' remaining players simply wore dress shirts.
The Jayhawks opened the game with a 30-yard completion from senior quarterback Todd Reesing to senior wide receiver Kerry Meier.
"First game of the season, you know?" Pick said. "You have to look nice."
Then, with Northern Colorado attempting to eliminate the pass, Kansas totaled 328 rushing yards while averaging nearly seven yards per carry.
"With the players we have at receiver and obviously with Todd, I think they expected us to air it out so they dropped people back," freshman running back Toben Opurum said. "We had to take care of things on the ground."
After the game's opening play, Northern Colorado consistently dropped seven and eight defenders back in coverage. If the Bears were going to lose inside Memorial Stadium, it wasn't going to be on highlight-worthy catch-and-runs.
In turn, Kansas opted to use the legs of Reesing and senior Jake Sharp to drive the offense. Reesing attempted just 20 passes against Northern Colorado. Sharp rushed 123 yards.
"I think they were determined
not to let us put up big numbers in the passing game," coach Mark Mangino said.
One of the areas with the most intrigue entering Saturday's game was Kansas' restructured offensive line.
Breaking in three new starters — with sophomore Jeremiah Hatch playing his first game at center — Kansas rushed for more yards than any game last season. Plus, the Jayhawks didn't allow a sack.
"We've been known to be a big passing team," freshman left tackle Tanner Hawkinson said, "To be able to go out there and make a statement on the ground, it's really good for us."
The end result was never in doubt — and it shouldn't have been against a team such as Northern Colorado — but, slowly, some of the pre-season questions surrounding the Jayhawks' lineup
were answered.
Defensively, Kansas used five defensive backs and two linebackers throughout the game to counter Northern Colorado's spread offense.
Junior Drew Dudley, senior Arist Wright and freshman Huldon Tharp split most of the time at linebacker for the game's first three quarters.
Opurum, who was listed with sophomore Rell Lewis as the backup running back entering the game, solidified his status as sharp's primary reserve. Opurum rushed for 79 yards on eight carries and added two touchdowns.
"It will only go up from here." Opurum said. "We're going to play tough opponents and our nonconference schedule isn't a cakewalk. To get the first one out of the way feels good."
Kansas' offense remained potent
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 5B
SOCCER
Women's team starts season with five-game winning streak
Undefeated Jayhawks come out'on fire'in holiday weekend games
BY CLARK GOBLE
cgoble@kansan.com
The team's 5-0 start is just the third in the program's history. The other two teams with a similar start qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Coach Mark Francis
Kansas women's soccer entered the holiday weekend with an undefeated record, and with a pair of 3-1 victories against Long Beach State and Rhode Island, they left with that record unscathed.
Follow Kansan soccer writer Clark Goble at twitter.com/cgoble89.
downplayed the importance of the team's record, but freshman Shelby Williamson thought it might turn some heads.
"People probably underestimate us," Williamson said. "And now they kind of have to take a second look at us."
On Friday, it didn't take long for Kansas to get Long Beach State's attention.
Senior midfielder Monica Dolinsky said the Jayhawks came out "on fire," scoring three goals in
the first half. Sunday, coach Mark Francis said that his team needed to play every half like Friday's.
Twenty minutes later, junior defender Cattlin Noble kicked a high-arching ball that sophomore forward Emily Cressy headed into the back of the net for her second goal of the season.
A little later, Dolinsky played a ball through the Long Beach State defenders to freshman forward Whitney Berry, who maneuvered around the keeper and gave the lavhawks a 3-0 lead at halftime.
"With a 3-0 lead, no matter what you say to them at the half,"
In the second half, Francis said
the team let off the throttle.
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 3B
Weston White/KANSAN
Freshman midfielder Whitney Berry plays a ball forward before being tackled by a Long Beach State defender. Berry scored on goal in Kansas' 3-1 victory.
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