Monday, August 17, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 11
Colorado hopes to avoid astringent taste of losing
Players want drive of spring practice to resurge for fall
1997 Record: 5-6
Coach: Rick Neuehl, fourth season. 25-10 at Colorado
Key Players: Hannibal Navies,
senior outside linebacker; Darrin
Chiaverini, senior wide
receiver
Returning offensive starters: 4
Returning defensive starters: 5
By Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan sports editor
Colorado Coach Rick Neuheisel has an impressive record of 25-10 in his first three years as coach.
But six of the 10 losses came last year when the Buffalooes lost five conference games and finished tied for fourth with Kansas in the Northern Division of the Bier 12 Conference.
Even the three-point loss in
the team's final game of the season to event u a l national champion Nebraska did not assuage the team's feelings about the season.
Neuheisel: Begins season against instate rival.
"Unfortunately
when you have a season like we experienced last year, it takes a while to get that taste out of your mouth," Neuheisel said. "You have to wait until you can play again."
Colorado plays again Sept. 5 in Denver against in-state rival Colorado State.
The Buffaloes and Neuheisel will look to avoid the mistakes they made last year and return to the winning form of previous seasons.
tion was fierce, according to Darrin Chlaveri, wide receiver, and Hannibal Navies, weak outside linebacker.
This spring, every position was up for grabs and competi-
"It was open season for everybody." Chiaverini said. "Even when we weren't wearing shoulder pads, we had people going over the middle getting creamed."
Navies agreed.
"This was the most competitive spring ball I've ever been a part of at Colorado," Navies said.
But spring practice does not count. Although the Buffaloos do not play Michigan during the nonconference schedule, the team does open with Colorado State, play Kansas State in Boulder and finish at Nebraska.
"The Colorado State game means a lot for our program," Navies said. "It means a lot as far as setting the tone for our season.
"Obviously, they're going to be ranked ahead of us. We have a lot to prove to the nation that we are back as Colorado football," he said.
Missouri ends 14-year drought
Bowl confrontation aids team recruiting
1997 Record: 7-5
Coach: Larry Smith, fifth season,
18-27 at Missouri
Key Players: Corby Jones,
senior quarterback; Harold Piersly,
senior free safety
Returning offensive starters: 8
Returning defensive starters: 7
By Matthew Friedrichs Kansan sports editor
Missouri traveled to its first bowl game since a trip to the Holiday Bowl in 1983 as fourth-year coach Larry Smith directed the Tigers to their first winning season in 14 years.
Not only did the Tigers qualify for the Plymouth Holiday Bowl in 1997, but they came within a fluke play of beating Nebraska — a game that the team lost in overtime.
"I have never seen so many people get excited over a 7-4 season," Smith said. "These people have waited 13 years for all of this."
Enthusiasm for the team was contagious in Columbia.
Smith hopes to turn last season's wins into success in recruiting.
"The momentum of the season and our exposure has helped tremendously," Smith said. "We were able to get more respect in Texas, Florida and Illinois when we went to some
homes. We also came away with some pretty good football players."
Veteran players who now have experienced winning also will lead Missouri's continued quest for football respect.
Smith: Has his most experienced team in several years.
"This is the most experienced team we've had in a few years," Smith said. "We'll average about two years of experience on defense and about 2.5 years of experience on offense."
Of course, high school players will not be the only ones aware of the Tigers' new-found confidence.
The close loss to Nebraska and Missouri's winning season can only draw the attention of this season's opponents, said Barry Odom, inside linebacker.
"After you have won, you can't sneak up on people," he said. "They will be looking at us and be ready for the Missouri week."
Quarterback Corby Jones will have special motivation to succeed his senior season.
His father, Curtis Jones, was a Missouri alumnus and assistant football coach. He died in late July.
Despite the personal loss, Jones
"The momentum of the
"The momentum of the season and our exposure has helped tremendously. We were able to get more respect in Texas, Florida and Illinois when we went to some homes. We also came away with some pretty good football players."
Larry Smith Missouri coach
will attack other teams with his running and passing ability. Last season, he almost singelaidly pulled Missouri to an upset win against Nebraska.
Jones appears on the cover of the Missouri media guide and on a promotional poster doing the Heisman pose.
"He is probably the best athlete I've ever coached and is an incredible competitor." Smith said.
If he and Smith can guide the Tigers to another successful season with an upset against Nebraska or Texas A&M, he might move from long-shot candidate to full-blow contender for the award given to the nation's best collegiate player, and Missouri could be bowling again.
Iowa State bulks up with juco transfers
McCarney builds strong foundation
1997 Record: 1-10
Key Players: Tailback Darren Davis; Quarterback Todd Bandhauer
Returning offensive starters: 6
Returning defensive starters: 9
Coach: Dan McCarney, fourth season. 6-27 at Iowa State
By Matthew Friedrichs
Kansan sports editor
quicklv
Dan McCarney's teams have won only six games in his three season coach at Iowa State.
In Ames, where people paid more attention to basketball coach Tim Floyd's prospects of coaching the Chicago Bulls than they did to anything regarding the football team, McCarny had to make a move to improve, and
He recruited 18 junior college transfers to plug the gaps and to add depth to a team that last year only beat Baylor and finished last in the Northern Division.
"We have bottomed out and now have a foundation built out of rock instead of sand," McCarney said.
That foundation has come from hardening players during off-season conditioning and workouts.
Linebacker Dave Brcke said the transfers were not a threat to
"We have 85 kids in town and have been working hard in the weight room to keep becoming more physical," McCarney said. "We have concentrated more on speed and overall size improvements since last season rather than conditioning, and we can get the conditioning done in these three and a half weeks before the season starts."
the team's identity; instead, the other players were practicing and preparing harder.
"I don't think the junior college transfers are a challenge to our team or
McCarny: Brings in 18 players from junior colleges.
McCarney seems confident Brcka and the transfers will do the job.
our eggs," Brcka said. "We need to have people push us hard and make us play up to our potential."
"We will have a legitimate Division I defense for the first time, this year, and the junior college kids give us some depth," McCar
ney said. "We won't have people playing 80-85 snaps and have their tongues hanging down to the ground at the end of the game."
Offensively, tailback Darren Davis returns to full speed for the Cyclones. Davis gained 1,005 yard in only seven and a half games last season.
Quarterback Todd Bandhauer returns from a solid season. The Academic All-Big 12 player threw for 2,514 yards. Both he and Davis must avoid injury for Iowa State to compete successfully.
"There's a lot of difference in our offense if both Bandy (Bandhauer) and I stay healthy," Davis said.
"A football program takes a long time to rebuild, and every year we've improved talent wise," Brcka said.
The Cyclones have nowhere to go but up.
1998 BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA PRESEASON FOOTBALL TEAM
Offense
Wide receiver: Donnie Hart, sr., Texas Tech
Tight end: Derek Lewis, sr., Texas Offensive line: Ryan Young, sr.
Offensive line: Ryan Young, sr.,
Kansas State
Offensive line: Todd Neimeyer, sr., Missouri
Center: Josh Heskew, sr., Nebraska Offensive line: Adam Davis, jr., Oklahoma State
Offensive line: Ben Adams, sr., Texas Wide receiver: Darnell McDonald, sr., Kansas State
Quarterback: Michael Bishop, sr. Kansas State
Running back: Ricky Williams, sr., Texas
Running back: DéMond Parker, jr.,
Oklahoma
Place kicker: Martin Gramatica, sr., Kansas State
Offensive Player of the Year:
Ricky Williams
Newcomer of the Year: Frank Murphy, jr., Running back, Kansas State
Defense
Defensive line/Outside linebacker:
Monta Reagan, br., Texas Tech
Defensive line: Kelly Gregg, br., Oklahoma
Defensive line: Mike Rucker, br., Nebraska
Defensive line: Darren Howard, jr.,
Kansas State
Defensive line/Outside linebacker:
Mark Simoneau, Jr., Kansas State
Linebacker: Dat Nguyen, sr., Texas
A&M
Linebacker: Jeff Kelly, sr., Kansas State
Defensive back: Ralph Brown II, jr.,
Nebraska
Defensive back: Lamar Chapman, jr. Kansas State
Defensive back: Harold Piersey, sr. Missouri
Defensive back: Gana Joseph, sr.,
Oklahoma
Okanofia
Punter: Shane Lechler, |r., Texas A&M
Defensive Player of the Year:
Dat Nguyen
Source: Big 12 Conference
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