4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2007
》FOOTBALL
Jayhawks, Buffaloes battle for the North
New, improved Reesing should make difference
Quarterback Todd Reedin launches a pass against Colorado in the teams' game last year in Lawrence. Kansas can put itself on the Big 12 North with a victory Saturday in Boulder.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins put permanent infamy next to his name during the off-season by lashing out in a press conference and screaming, "It's Division-One football. It's the Big 12."
Perhaps Hawkins will have a chance to shout his now-famous words for a different reason Saturday when Colorado hosts Kansas. He might yell it out of excitement because the match-up has the potential to catapult his team to first place in the Big 12 North division.
Kansas sits atop the Big 12 North standings as the only unbeaten team, and Colorado is in a three-way tie for a second. Although Hawkins typically doesn't like to deem one game more important than the next, he realizes the implications of Saturday's contest at Folsom Field.
"They are all important." Hawkins said. "There are a lot of burners coming down the stretch. We didn't take care of business last week, and anytime you do that you put more emphasis on getting it done the next week."
That the game in Boulder, Colo. means so much is very surprising when looking back on last year's game between the two teams in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks had dropped four consecutive games, and the Buffaloes had won only one of their first eight. It had little to no significance.
At least, it didn't appear to at the time. But a year later, Hawkins sees why the 2006 game was important. He remembers how then-freshman quarterback Todd Reeing came off the Jayhawk bench and rallied his team to a comeback victory in the second half.
Colorado's season so far
schedule
"Of course, last year he had his coming-out party against us," Hawkins said. "I think last year, in the game against us, he was more of a runner, and he wasn't as much of a passer as he is this year."
Date Opponent Result
09/01 Colo St W 31-28
09/08 at Arizona St L 33-14
09/15 Florida St L 16-6
09/22 Miami (OH) W 42-0
09/29 Oklahoma W 27-24
10/06 at Baylor W 43-23
10/13 at Kansas St L 47-20
Reeing threw for two touchdowns and ran for one more against Colorado, his first appearance at the collegiate level. Less than a year later, Reeing is 14th in the nation in passing efficiency and has provided stability at a position where Kansas never could for the past two years.
Colorado. But in 2007, Dan Hawkins turned to someone he was comfortable with — his son.
Redshirt freshman Cody Hawkins has been efficient marching the Buffalo offense down the field. Much like Dan Hawkins praised Todd Reesing, Kansas coach Mark Mangino said he was impressed by Cody Hawkins.
The situation is similar for the Buffaloes. The absence of a competent player under center last year caused offensive distress for
"Cody Hawkins, you can see each and every week as you watch the tape that game-by game, he is getting better," Mangino said. "He is poised, he makes plays, he is a smart plaver."
Poise is the young quarterback's best virtue. He's engineered comeback wins against Colorado State and Oklahoma by staying calm and stepping up in the pocket like a seasoned veteran.
Kansas and Colorado were both picked to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 North division standings this season. But Saturday, the two programs will play for first.
Good discipline gives Kansas extra momentum
FOOTBALL
—Edited by Chris Beattie
BY ASHER FUSCO
afusco@kansan.com
Since spring practices, Mangino has praised his team's discipline, using terms like "mental edge" and "football aptitude" to describe the difference between the 2007 team and his past teams. The offensive line, the source of penalty problems for many programs, has been one
Kansas has committed 22 penalties this season so far, which is the NCAA low. The team's average of 3.67 penalties per game is the second best in the nation. In fact, Kansas has drawn just one third as many flags as the nation's most penalized team, Cincinnati, has.
Referees across the country should be lining up to apply for the right to work Kansas football games, because a Saturday spent officiating the Jayhawks is like a paid vacation - the team doesn't commit many penalties.
"We tell our kids all the time to use their poise and do things in the proper way, because one penalty can kill a drive," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "We've been pretty good so far, and we need to maintain it."
of the jayhawks' most rule-abiding units. Holding penalties, false starts and delay-of-game violations have not heavily taxed Kansas at any point this season.
The Jayhawks have benefitted from the momentum swing that comes along with a penalty on several occasions this season. In the third game, Toledo committed a false start on fourth-and-one in the first quarter, forcing a punt. Kansas scored 51 seconds later. In the third quarter of the same game, Toledo faced a fourth-and-four near midfield and elected to go for a first down. After another false start penalty, the Rockets had to punit the ball away.
Though penalties can often seem unimportant at the time, they tend to add up. So far in 2007, Kansas has lost 225 yards to penalties and its opponents have lost 320, essentially giving the lajhwacks 95 free
"It really shows how hard those guys have worked and how focused they are during the games," sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing said. "The fact that we're not getting a lot of penalties is huge because penalties are big momentum-changers that can kill an offensive drive really fast."
The fact that Kansas has played in front of a tame Memorial Stadium crowd in five of its first six games stands out as a possible reason for the low penalty total. But the team handled the hostile din of Bill Snyder Family Stadium with ease two weeks ago, drawing just three flags, although two of them helped keep KSU drives alive. The team's discipline will be tested this weekend at Colorado's Folsom Field, capacity 53,750.
yards for displaying good behavior.
1. Kansas 22
2. Iowa State 23
3. Navy 25
t4. West Virginia 26
t4. Maryland 26
Edited by Rachel Bock
Penalties
Fewest penalties committed by team (NCAA rank):
— ESPN.com
Football Notebook
T. V. TIME AND PLACE
The praise keeps pouring in for Kansas junior cornerback Aqib Talib. Cbsportsline.com named Talib to its "Halfway All-America Team" Wednesday. The Web site selected players for the team who it thought would be All-Americans if the season ended now. So far this season, Talib has made 25 tackles and is tied for the Big 12 Conference lead with three interceptions.
HALFWAY ALL-AMERICAN
Kansas' game at Colorado this Saturday, which will be televised on ESPN (Sunflower Broadband Channel 33), will begin at 4:31 p.m. The appearance on ESPN will mark the eighth time Kansas has played in a game televised on the network. In previous ESPN appearances, the Jayhawks are 3-4. The last time the team played in an ESPN game was the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl on Dec. 23, 2005.
-Asher Fusco
A NEW COMEDY FROM THE DIRECTOR OF 'THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS' AND 'RUSHMORE'
OWEN WILSON ADRIEN BRODY JASON SCHWARTZMAN
IN AN AMERICAN EMPIREAL PICTURE BY
WES ANDERSON
- THE -
DARJEELING
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THELMA ADAMS. US "HILARIOUS."
PETER TRAVERS. Rolling Stone "I LOVE THIS MOVIE."
GLENN WHIPP. Daily News
"****. AN EXTRAORDINARY MOVIE, FILLED WITH SPLENDOR AND LAUGHTER."
TROY PATTERSON. SPIN "DIZZILY MADCAP."
A. O. SCOTT, The New York Times "A TREASURE."
PETE HAMMOND. MAXIM "YOU'LL LOVE IT!"
>> NHL
Thrashers coach fired after losing streak
BY CHARLES ODUM ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA — A six-game losing streak to start this season put Bob Hartley's job in danger. A quick ouster in last season's playoffs did not help his cause.
Hartley was fired Wednesday as coach of the Atlanta Thrashers, the only NHL team without a victory. General manager Don Waddell will coach the team until a replacement
Waddell said the Thrasher们 were playing as if they have not recovered from losing four straight games to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs last season.
is found.
"The emotions were so high last year going into the playoffs and we went out quickly and to be honest I don't know if we've recovered from that yet," Waddell said. "If you look we've lost 10 games in a row now, including the last four last year."
Waddell said he has no timetable for a hiring and indicated he may look for a coach who is less intense than Hartley.
"Maybe we've got to back off a little bit and let the players have some fun in the game," Waddell said.
That's where I believe a change has to be made"
"Certainly Bob has been here a long time. ... We weren't getting the most, particularly out of our veteran players, and that was a concern," he said.
Hartley did not attend Wednesday's news conference and did not return a phone message.
Michael Gearon Jr., who represented the ownership group at the announcement, said there was great concern the team was losing all momentum gained from winning the Southeast Division last season and making its first playoff appearance. The Thrashers have been outscored 27-9, including a 4-0 loss at Philadelphia on Tuesday night.