THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2006
SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN
3B
K-State doesn't blame QB for loss
Jared Gah/KANSAN
Kansas State's Andrew Erker checks on his teammate Joshua Moore after a play, which left him injured. Moore was taken off the field by paramedics.
BY SHAWN SHROYER
Weeks ago, the Kansas defense was turning opposing quarterbacks into conference players of the week. On Saturday, it gave a conference player of the week nightmares.
Stuck in some kind of "bizarro" world, Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman never found a comfort zone and regressed to the quarterback held been earlier in the season.
Freeman was responsible for all six of Kansas State's turnovers, resulting in 31 of Kansas' 39 points. Interestingly enough, the Wildcats directed blame for the 39-20 loss everywhere but their young quarterback.
Kansas State coach Ron Prince said that part of his quarterback's forgettable performance might have been the result of it being "one of those days." He appeared to be more upset with the lackluster play of Freeman's supporting cast.
"A lot of people around him have to play well," Prince said. "That didn't happen, and we were a little bit out of sync, a little bit out of rhythm."
While Freeman's receivers didn't run perfect routes every play, and his blockers missed blocks occasionally, it's hard not to focus most of the blame on Freeman.
Take away Kansas State's first play from scrimmage — a 66-yard pass — and Freeman was a dismal 22-for-43 for 178 yards with three interceptions and three lost fumbles.
Nevertheless, even his teammates went to bat for him.
"I think Josh executed well when he had the chance" tight end Rashaad Norwood said. "That's pretty much it."
The key for Kansas was taking away Freeman's opportunities. Sophomore defensive end Russell Brorsen said the defense sent more pass rushers after Freeman as the game progressed.
The only reason the Jayhawks would have had any reason to doubt their game plan was what Freeman had done the last two weeks.
Freeman entered the weekend with back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Week honors and was voted
Cingular All-America Player of the Week for his performance against Texas last Saturday.
Freeman was looking at a possible third-straight week of accolades, facing the 12th-ranked passing defense in the conference and 117th-ranked out of 119 teams nationally.
But against Kansas, Freeman looked more like the quarterback he was his first four games as a starter when he completed only 49 of 114 passes and had seven interceptions and one lost fumble to zero touchdowns.
Freeman's relapse took Kansas sophomore cornerback Aqib Talib by surprise.
"He didn't look like a freshman quarterback on film," Talib said.
Freeman's struggles brought Kansas State's offense to a screeching halt. The Wildcats went the entire third quarter without a single first down. Again, Prince took the blame.
"It's my responsibility for how the ball moves," Prince said. "I obviously did a poor job of that, and I take responsibility for that."
Perhaps Prince's biggest mistake was neglecting running back Leon Patton. Not until an eight-yard run by Patton in the fourth quarter did Kansas State finally move the chains in the second half.
Patton carried the ball only 14 times, leaving Freeman to take most of the beating — a total of five sacks.
Bronsen gave Freeman credit for being tough to bring down, saying it took multiple shots to bring him down.
At times though, he resisted being sacked only long enough to cough up turnovers.
Still, Prince refused to blame his quarterback.
"I did a poor job, not Josh," Prince said. "He's a freshman quarterback. He's done unbelievable things for us. Everything he'd done for us, I consider a real blessing."
Kansan sportswriter Shawn Shroyer can be contacted at sshroyer@kansan.com.
— Edited by Kristen Jarboe
Jared Gab/KANSAN
Fans boo as others tear down goalposts
BY C.J. MOORE
Kansas fans bring down the south goalpost after Saturday's 39-20 victory against Kansas State. Both goalposts were marched to Potter Lake. The crowd of 51,821 had mixed feelings. Some fans booed at others who took the goalposts to Potter Lake, while others celebrated on the field but wanted no part in bringing down the goalposts.
As the clock approached zero Saturday and the Rock Chalk Chant echoed through Memorial Stadium, it became obvious the goalposts were about to meet their eventual downfall.
Once KU quarterback Kerry Meier took the final snap and kneeled the ball on a 39-20 victory, fans rushed the field and celebrated by tearing down the goalposts ... again. This time, others stayed in their seats and booed.
"We rush any time we win it," said Ben Legler, medical student, who booed the fans for rushing the field after the game. "It's not good for the program. We beat K-State. We're just as good a team. We do that and we look like we're a bad team that shouldn't have won. It's not classy and I don't like it. I'm sick of it."
In what's becoming a tradition after a Kansas home victory, it was the fourth time in two years the goalposts were torn down Saturday. The record crowd of 51,821 gave mixed reviews to the celebration.
Nick Fisher, Basehor sophomore, celebrated after the game on the field but steered clear of the goalposts. A goalpost struck Fisher last year after a Kansas victory and he was on crutches for a week because of a bruised leg.
But Fisher said he is still OK with
Ouotables
"I think they thought after the Texas game, they thought they could come in here and win. Probably based on that, their performance was lower."
— Running back Jon Cornish on K-State overlooking the larkwings
"Before the game Anthony told me'Aqib, this is my breakout game, Aqib. I'm going to have my breakout game.'So I told him. You've been telling me that for eight weeks straight'But he finally had his breakout game. He's ready now"
Talib on freshman cornerback Anthony Webb
> "Our referees are pretty strict in the Big 12, and rightfully so. I don't like that hotdogging stuff."
— Mangina on Webb's touchdown celebration, which drew a 'taunting' penalty.
students going for the posts.
"It's all right because it's a big game and it's the first time this year," he said. "I think it's fine."
"Bob Whitaker had his 47th start in a row. Poor Bob, he's got a couple bad knees, and then he got his ankle rolled up in the fourth quarter. He was limping off the field looking like a frog on crutches. But he's a tough son-of-a gun, and he's courageous, and he's meant a lot to our program."
— Mangino on offensive lineman Bob Whitaker, who has started every game in his four-year career at Kansas
Kansas tore down the goalposts following victories against Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa State last sea-
his four-year career at Kansas
son. During the 2004 season, the goalposts also came down after the Kansas State victory.
the safety of the fans.
The KU Athletics Department has discouraged fans from rushing the field. Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony said he worried about
"I don't know which is more embarrassing," he said. "The fact that they ran on the field for the second time in three years after a victory over K-State or whether they continue to disregard the chance of someone getting hurt. Both are embarrassing."
Justin Martinek, Olathe junior,
headed for the exits instead of for
the field Saturday. Like Marchiony,
Martinek said he was embarrassed.
"I honestly didn't think it was going to happen and I'm kind of disappointed, because I don't think it's necessary," Martinek said. "We should go out and party. Celebrate with class and don't rush the field."
Saturday marked the first time a good portion of Kansas fans voiced their displeasure by booing for other fans tearing down the goalposts. Marchiony said he feels like that's a promising sign.
For fans like Fisher, they'd rather give the visiting fans a reminder of who won after the game.
"It's nice to rub it in to my Manhattan friends," he said.
Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmoore@kansan. com.
Edited by Kate Shipley
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