TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2004
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
Clint Rountree, Tulsa senior defensive back, tackles John Randle, Kansas running back, in the second half of the Kansas-Tulsa football game on Saturday. Randle rushed nine times for 45 yards in the third quarter
Courtney Kuhlon/KANSAN
Randle ignites Jayhawk offense
BY.RYAN COLAIANNI
rcolaiani@kansan.com
After the first half against Tulsa on Saturday, the Kansas offense was sputtering with just 80 total yards and a lone field goal to show for its efforts.
The offense rallied in the third quarter, however, as the unit was more successful on the ground and through the air. The spark that aided Kansas in the second half and pushed the team to a 21-3 victory was the play of sophomore running back John Randle.
Randle sat out the first half as part of a punishment for being arrested three times in the past year, but he was able to get large gains on the ground once he was off the bench.
Randle was most effective
during the third quarter when the Jayhawks broke the game open. He carried the ball nine times for 45 yards in the quarter.
"He did a good job of just seeing where those creases are and using his vision and accelerating through those creases," coach Mark Mangino said.
Junior running back Clark Green, who has led the team in rushing the past two seasons, did not see a single carry in the second half after he had six carries for 23 yards in the first.
Mangino attributed the lack of carries given to Green in the first half to the increase of muscle weight he put on in the off-season.
"He has done a great job in the weight room, but he is about 8 or 10 pounds heavier than last year, and he looked like it running
tonight." Mangino said. "He's not out of shape; it's just that he felt like he needed to get in the weight room and put all this weight on, and he doesn't need to."
Green was unable to break any big gains against Tulsa, and his longest run was just seven yards.
"He didn't have any explosion. His legs were dead after a couple of series," Mangino said. "You have got to be careful because John Randle is like the Energizer Bunny. You can't wear John Randle out."
Last season, the speedy Randle had more than 500 yards rushing in limited carrying opportunities, but before this season began, Mangino had said that it was Green's job to lose. Now Mangino's position has been changed.
Sophomore quarterback Adam Barmann also has praise for Randle's performance..
"We are going to play with the guy who is playing really well," Mangino said after the victory over Tula.
"John's a great back. He's that shifty guy; he can make guys miss and really get downfield." Barmann said. "He can get big yards for us, and that's what we want as an offense, getting chucks of yards."
"I don't care who's back there, I like both of them back there," Barmann said. "They are both great backs to have beside you."
Barmann said he does not have any preference of who starts at the running back position.
Edited by Johanna M. Maska
Sportswriter attains nearly perfect week
KICK THE KANSAN
JONATHAN KEALING jhealing@kansan.com
Just one field goal. All I'm asking for is that the Northern Illinois Huskies put up one lousy last-minute field goal. But no, they had to go and stall on the Maryland 33-vard line.
The rest of the games were landslides, but if I saw one thing this week, it was weakness across the Big 12. Kansas State didn't manhandle Western Kentucky the way it should have, and Texas Tech trailed Southern Methodist University for much of the game before pulling it out in the end.
Two contestants went a perfect
I went 12-1 this week, but I have to be honest: I didn't pick any games that were overly difficult. Nor did I go out too far on any limbs. In fact, the only games I selected that were even close were a 20-13 victory by Memphis over Ole Miss and the 23-20 Maryland victory over Northern Illinois.
Come on, don't you think their kicker can make a 51-yard field goal? Johnny Beck did it in the Kansas game. Well, at any rate, I was a fictitious field goal away from making my stated goal of a perfect 13-0 week to start out Kick the Kansan this year
The rest of the games were landslides, but if I saw one thing this week, it was weakness across the Big 12.
13-0 this week. Senior Robert Brock and Austin, Texas, freshman Antonio Mendoza. Mendoza said he didn't have to do too much research on the games.
"I'm a huge college football fan and I've been a huge college football fan since I was little," he said.
He did admit to looking up the Division III game and discovering Mount Union's impressive win streak.
Mendoza may have been perfect this week, but next week will not be so easy. I am determined to have at least one weekend when I beat everyone.
Next week's highlight pick has to be the Florida State-Miami game, rescheduled for this Friday because of this weekend's Hurricane Frances. Also, look for some of this weekend's best teams to be featured in games next week.
Kick the Kansan entry ballots are available in today's paper because there was no paper yesterday. Next week, we return to Monday. As always, good luck to all who compete. Believe me, you're going to need it.
Kealing is a Chesterfield, Mc. sophomore in journalism and political science.
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