4B
6B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2004
Underdog upsets lead to Kealing's 9-4 record
This was a down week for every single football team I like.
It started Thursday when my brother's high school team gave away a 21-point lead in the second half.
The drama continued Saturday when I watched the Jayhawks give away a 25-point lead to the visiting Red Raiders of Texas Tech.
Then, to wrap up the fantastic weekend of football, both the Chiefs, my AFC team, and the
Rams, my NFC team, lost to Houston and New Orleans.
Maybe next week I should just flip a coin when I pick my games.
I guess it should come as no surprise that I went an abyssal 8-5 again this week.
Clearly, I need to find a new system. Last week, I went heavy on the upsets and got burned. This week, I went after home teams and favorites and got burned.
KICK THE KANSAN
JONATHAN KEALING
jkealing@kansan.com
I mean, come on. Who would believe that Wake Forest would get past Boston College? And then what's up with the Jayhawks?
I suppose we have come to the time when I acknowledge the person who took top honors this week.
If they'd been able to win, not only would I have been 9-4. I would have been perfectly fine with sucking as much as I did.
Brent Uhrig, from Omaha, Neb., was the one person to go 12-1 this week and win this week's contest.
Uhrig joined a growing list of Nebraskans who have beaten
"I'm pretty knowledgeable about college football, growing up in Nebraska." Uhrig said.
ne in Kick the Kansan.
I guess that makes sense; football is religion in Nebraska.
So far, we've had no repeat winners, but Uhrig claimed that his roommate, Jim Lusk, stole Uhrig's picks when he won last week. If that's the case, I could have a repeat winner on my hands by next week if I don't get back on track.
This week it should be easier because there are fewer teams with byes, and conference play is in full swing.
The fact that it's easier for me also means it's easier for you.
If you've played occasionally, or never before, come on out for this week. It should be a good one.
Keeling is a Chesterfield, Mo. sophomore in journalism and political science.
TURNOVER: Missed field goals key once again as Jayhawks fall
Landon Harness/KANSAN
Senior linebacker Clark McCracken and sophomore running back John Randle recover a punt fumble in the first half of Saturday's game against Texas Tech. The fumble recovery lead to a 22-yard field goal by freshman kicker Scott Webb.
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win in Saturday's game.
During the Jayhawks first offensive series they received the ball at their own four-yard line and managed to move it to the 10-yard line of the Red Raiders in three downs. When they went to punt the ball, junior linebacker Kevin Kane rolled the ball along the ground, under freshman punter Kyle Tucker and out the back of the end zone. If not for those two points, Kansas may have been on the winning side of a 30-29 victory.
Another costly play occurred when coach Mark Mangino decided to attempt a two-point conversion with 48 seconds remaining in the first half. Kansas was leading 30-5. Had Kansas made the extra point, it could have at least forced a 31-31 tie and sent the game to overtime.
"That's what our plan was. That's the way we set up our chart, with the point system that our staff puts together. That's why we did it," Mangino said of his decision.
And there's what seems to have become a recurring problem for Kansas: missed field goals. Freshman Scott Webb, in his debut as the starting kicker, went 1-3, missing one attempt from 45 yards and one from 43. The one field goal he made was from 22 yards out.
Mangino's decision to kick the 45-yard field goal seemed to directly counter the comments he made both before and after the game. Both he and his staff
Mangino said Webb would maintain the job and there was no thought of starting to senior kicker Johnny Beck. Beck's missed field goals were the deciding factor in last week's loss to Northwestern.
said that they believed Webb's range was about 40 yards.
However, on a fourth and three from the Texas Tech 28-yard line, Mangino elected to send his kicker out to attempt a 45-yard field goal. The kick was no good.
The offense built a 30-5 lead before the half, but went quiet in the second half. While Texas Tech scored 26 unanswered points, the Kansas offense was relatively dormant. They racked up 142 yards of total offense, but could not sustain drives.
Texas Tech's game-winning drive came as a direct result of the second of sophomore quarterback Adam Barmann's three interceptions. After Texas Tech's offense got back on the field, they took a third down with six yards to go all the way to the end zone. Junior Taurean Henderson rushed 70 yards for the game winning score.
"They executed, we didn't come through, and they made a big play," junior corner Theo Baines said. "We didn't wrap up, we didn't make the tackle."
Texas Tech, generally known as a team that gains yardage by going through the air, completely abandoned the pass in the fourth quarter.
Senior quarterback Sonny Crumbie attempted just five passes and connected on zero. Instead, the Red Raiders amassed a season-high 182 rushing yards. Their previous high came last week against Texas Christian.
Kansas' 30 points came from a 36-yard pass and a one-yard rush by sophomore running back John Randle. In addition to Webb's one good field goal, Kansas notched one other touchdown on a pass by sophomore corner Charles Gordon to Brandon Rideau.
Barmann gave the ball to
Gordon, who faked a run, then completed a half-back toss 20 yards to Brandon Rideau in the end zone.
Both Kansas' offense and defense tried to accept responsibility for the loss after the game.
The Jayhawks will travel to Lincoln, Neb. next weekend to face-off against the 2-1 Cornshucks in their conference
"We're one play, two plays away from being 4-0," Kane said. "We can't let the big plays happen at the end of the game.
"It was a little wrinkle we put in this week," Barmann said. "It happened to work pretty well."
opener. Game time is set for 6:10 p.m.
Game notes
TEXAS TECH VS KANSAS
Junior kick returner Greg Heaggans, who was arrested on suspicion of DWI shortly before the game at Northwestern, suited up and took kicks in practice but did not see playing time.
If Kansas is to go to a bowl, it must win four of its next seven games. The team has home contests against Texas, Kansas State and Colorado. Even if it wins all those it must also win one of its four road games against Nebraska, Iowa State, Oklahoma or Missouri. The last time Kansas beat any of those teams on the road was at Missouri in 2000.
| Score by Quarters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Texas Tech | 5 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 31 | Record: (3-1,1-0) |
| Kansas | 14 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 30 | Record: (2-2,0-1) |
Official attendance at Saturday's game was 37.422.
09:59 TT - TEAM safety . TT 2 - KU 0
06:01 KU - Randle, John 36 yd pass to Barmann, Adam (Webb, Scott kick), 1-36 0:11, TT 2 - KU 7
02:48 KU - Randle, John 1 yd run (Webb, Scott kick), 7-40 2:49, TT 2 - KU 14
Scoring Summary
02:37 KU - Rideau, Brandon 26 yd pass from Gordon, Charles (Webb, Scott kick), 8-60 3:30, TT 5-
KU 24
2nd 09:45 KU - Webb.Scott 22 vd field goal.7-16 1:52 TT 5 - KU 17
NFL
The Rams (1-2), who won the NFC West last year, have yet to force a turnover. Last year, they lost two of the first three on the road before recovering to go 12-4.
00:48 KU · Gordon, Charles 20 yd pass from Barmann, Adam (Barmann, Adam pass failed), 4-36
1:11, TT 5 · KU 30
00:16 TT - Haverty, Trey 32 yd pass from Cumbie, Sonny (Cumbie, Sonny, pass failed), 3:60 0:33,
TT 11 - KU 30
"I believe in myself and my teammates had no doubt in me."
00:44 TT - Hicks, Jarrett 27 yd pass from Cumble, Sonny (TEAM rash failed), 5-54 0:41, TT 24 - KU 30
4th 02:37 TT - Henderson, T. 70 yd pass (Trilica, Alex kick), 3:74 1:03, TT 31 - KU 30
The Associated Press
Sophomore running back John Randle saw time on all special teams plays and also as the primary running back. After the game, Mangino said that Randle's use on special teams was a reason that junior Clark Green was the running back in the third quarter.
"Hey, I'm a running back," Stecker said. "It's not like they pulled me out of the front office and said 'Deuce is out, do you know how to play some running back?'
"We were 1-2 last year and no one thought we could come back and take the lead in this game," Bulger said. "So, we've been there before. No one is this locker room is going to give up."
Rams' offense falters again in 28-250T loss
Brooks calmly directed the winning drive, Carney kicked five field goals and Grant led a
3rd 11:42 TT - Henderson, T. 1 yd run (Trilica, Alex kick), 2-6 0:45, TT 18 - KU 30
ST. LOUIS — Even without Deuce McAllister, the New Orleans Saints' running game is in good hands.
Stecker, who entered the game with 443 yards in fourplus seasons, was supposed to split time with Ki-Jana Carter, and the Saints figured to struggle on the ground with McAllister sidelined by a high ankle sprain. Stecker ended up with 106 yards on 19 carries, including a 42-yard touchdown run.
Sophomore corner Charles Gordon took several snaps on offense. He threw a pass, caught a pass, returned punts and also served in his traditional role as corner.
Stecker's performance added balance for the Saints, who also got big games from Aaron Brooks, kicker John Carney and defensive end Charles Grant, who had three of his team's five sacks.
Perturbed after being described as a journeyman, fill in Aaron Stecker responded with his first career 100-yard day in the Saints' 28-25 overtime victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
- Edited by Ashley Bechard
strong defensive effort that combined to end the Rams' 15game regular-season home winning streak. The Saints have never been intimidated by the Rams' home,winning in St. Louis in 2000 and '01,when both teams were in the NFC West.
New Orleans (2-1) somehow forced overtime after the Rams (1-2) took the lead on Marc Bulger's 19-yard scramble with 28 seconds to go. Then they stuffed the Rams' once high-powered offense in overtime and drove to Carney's clinching 31-yard with 7:59 left in overtime.
"I don't know if they don't like to play us," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "I know we don't like to play them because of all the talent they have, but I don't know if they like to play us, either."
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loss with a 2-1 win over the Buffaloes. Colorado entered the game coming off a 1-0 win in their conference opener at Iowa State.
SOCCER: 1-1 in weekend play
Sophomore defender Holly Gault got the Jayhawks on the board first with a rebound off of a Cauzillo free kick. In the second period, senior forward Rachel Gilfillan took over the team lead in goals on the season when she scored her fourth on a pass from sophomore midfielder Jessica Kilpatrick at the 51:02 mark. The assist by Kilpatrick gives her the team lead in assists with four.
"I was really happy with our movement up front and we got good contributions from our bench," Francis said. "We still have to work on burying teams when we get the lead."
period when Colorado junior defender Ashlie Mihalcin scored off of a Fran Munnelly pass in the 70th minute. The goal marked the first time Miller has given up goals in back-to-back games this season.
"It's a huge win," Francis said. "Colorado is a good team."
The Buffalos attempted a comeback later in the second
The 1-1 conference record for the Jayhawks put them in a tie for fourth in the Big 12 with Colorado and Baylor. The three teams in front of the Jayhawks are Texas A&M (3-0), Nebraska (2-0) and Missouri (2-0). Kansas' overall record is 9-2.
The Jayhawks' next conference foes will be Texas Tech and Baylor. The Jayhawks take on the Red Raiders 4 p.m. Friday and the Bears 1 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be played at home at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
- Edited by Ryan Greene
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