MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004
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Mangino pleased with seniors despite defeat
NING RVICES
They walked off the field at Memorial Stadium for the last time, after falling just four points and 17 seconds short of defeating the sixth ranked team in the country.
Although heads hung low, many of the Kansas football seniors looked up to acknowledge some of their young fans who lined the fence near the locker room.
Receiver Gary Heaggans, center Joe Vaughn and quarterback John Nielsen removed the gloves from their hands and threw them into the stands. They wanted to
leave their mark on their fans just like they left their mark on Kansas football.
"They are a special group of kids," said coach Mark Mangino. "They bought into what we are doing here. We are going to miss the senior class because they have really and truly dedicated themselves to making KU football better."
Saturday's game against Texas was Senior Day — the final home game for 19 Kansas seniors.
Thirty minutes before the game, a video of the seniors was shown on the video board in Memorial Stadium. The seniors were all introduced before the game as their family and friend
waited on the field to congratulate them.
In part, Saturday's game was just how the college football world predicted it.
Texas, the 20.5 point favorite, did defeat the Jayhawks. But the manner in which that result happened was quite different than people imagined, with the Longhorns having to battle back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit just to pull off the victory.
The feeling among the seniors was that the hard-nosed fight put up by the Jayhawks was indicative of the seniors' style.
"Today is a good example." said senior kicker Johnny Beck.
"Out of bowl contention and having a BCS team come in and play we fought our butts off, and I don't think a lot of people gave us a chance."
Vaughn said despite the loss, the seniors felt like they went out the right way.
"We feel like we left it all on the field," he said. "That is how you want to do it as a football player. When you leave it all on the field, you can't have any regrets."
For Beck it was a day of redemption. Beck, who had struggled throughout the season — missing crucial field goals, losing his starting job to freshman Scott Webb and then getting it back — went 3-4 on Saturday,
giving the Jayhawks the lead at halftime even though they had yet to score a touchdown.
Beck said he wished he had played more games like Saturday's, but he hoped people remember him for his play on Senior Day.
Senior day.
"It's special." Beck said. "It's senior day. It is a day that I am going to remember.
"People are going to remember the last game at Memorial Stadium. I hope people know that by now, that I am not going to give up."
This group will not match last year's success of getting a bowl bid, but Mangino said it was important not to undermine the seniors' role in the future of
Kansas football.
"Although they are not going to get a chance for postseason play, they know that their role is part of the foundation for success in the future, and they have done that," Mangino said. "As players and coaches we see it getting better every day, and they see it as the future."
Senior wide receiver Brandon Rideau said he took pride in helping the football program improve.
"We have worked real hard since coach got here, and we were able to adjust," Rideau said. "This was an important season for the organization."
'Young' gun wreaks havoc on Kansas defensive attack
- Edited by Ashley Bechard
By Ryan Colaianni
rcolaiani@kansan.com
kansan SPORTSWITTER
The game had come down to one play — fourth and 18 from near midfield. Kansas needed a stop to knock off No. 6 Texas, a team they had not beaten since 1938.
Texas quarterback Vince Young had to deliver on the most important play of the game. The Jayhawks backed off the line to play the pass. Young didn't have anyone open and he took off on his feet.
"People can't drop off of him because he makes touchdowns, first downs, he can just win the game with his feet as well as his arm," Texas coach Mack Brown said.
Young advanced about ten yards past the line of scrimmage where he met Kansas linebacker Nick Reid.
"I just used my God-given talent in my legs and try and make the first down on my feet," Young said. "In my head, I refuse to let that guy make that tackle, especially when it is one-on-one."
In my head, I knew I was going to make that guy miss."
Reid, who is second in the Big 12 Conference in tackles, needed that tackle to give the ball back to the Jayhawk offense. But Young made Reid miss to pick up the Texas first down.
"He pump-passed the line of scrimage to make everybody set, and as soon as he started running I knew he was going to get it." Brown said. "He's just a tremendous player and he grows up as a quarterback everyday."
Young later would cap the drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Tony Jeffery with 11 seconds to go to give the Longhorns a narrow 27-23 victory, keeping their Bowl Championship Series bowl bid alive.
"That was just amazing, just a great play at the end of a great game," Texas running back Cedric Benson said.
Young finished with 114 rushing yards, yet none were more important than the ones that he gained to pick up that first down. Young also had an 18-yard scamper just three minutes before his first down run that
Young was also solid in the passing game as he threw for 289 yards. For the second consecutive game, he amounted over 400 yards of total offense.
ended up in the end zone to put Texas down just three.
"Vince is a freak, when I saw him run I said, 'Hey, there's a chance he could put this in the end zone,'" Benson said. "I knew there was a chance, 50-50, and when I saw Vince scrambling it increased to about 80. Vince can do anything out there, and he made a great play."
It was also the second straight game where the Longhorns recovered from deficits to get the victory.
"Conch is walking up and down the sideline," Jeffery said, "saying, 'Believe, believe.'"
The victory gave Young his 15th victory as a Longhorn, bringing his record to 15-2 in just his sophomore year.
Edited by Steve Schmidt
Texas trailed Oklahoma State 35-7 last week before rattling off 49 unanswered points to win, 56-35.
Vince Young.
Texas sophomore quarterback, looks to pitch the ball during the second half. Young found Texas wide receiver Tony Jeffery in the end zone for the winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. Young's only touchdown pass rallied the Longhorns to a 27-23 victory.
Rvlan Howe/KANSAN
ONLY IN THEATRES NOVEMBER 19