4B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2007
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
North and South rivalry heats up
BY CASE KEEFER ckeefer@kansan.com
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ask college football fans what the Red River Shootout is and they will correctly identify it as the annual rivalry game between Oklahoma and Texas.
Ask college football fans what the Sunflower Showdown is and they will be more inclined to guess that it's some kind of annual gardening competition.
There's no denying that the Sunflower Showdown, the name given to the Kansas vs. Kansas State rivalry game, pales in comparison to Oklahoma and Texas' yearly slug fest in Dallas. Partly because of K-State's dominance of Texas last week in a 41-21 victory, Manhattan will be the site of the most important rivalry game this weekend - not Dallas.
"I watched mostly all of the game and I'm glad that Kansas State won actually," Derek Fine, Kansas senior tight end and team captain, said. "This makes it a much bigger game for us."
Oklahoma also fell victim to a shocking upset when Colorado beat it 27-24 last week. The Buffaloes' victories were more meaningful than simply bolstering the billing between Kansas and K-State this weekend, though.
Two Big 12 North teams overcoming two Big 12 South powerhouses sent shockwaves across the nation. The Big 12 South has been considered the vastly superior division since the inception of the Big 12 Conference 11 years ago. But with Colorado and K-State's upsets, people are finally giving the Big 12 North respect.
"These past few years everyone has talked about how the North is so much weaker than the South, and for two North teams to go in and knock off two top-10 ranked teams in the South, it's big for us," Todd Reesing, Kansas sophomore quarterback, said. "I think it shows we do have teams that can play and it makes the conference look that much stronger."
It's no secret why the Big 12 South has garnered all the praise and applause the last few years. A team from the North hasn't won the Big 12 Championship in four years. Even when K-State won in 2003, Oklahoma still went on to play in the national championship.
The next two years made for two more national championship appearances for teams in the Big 12 South. In the last three years, the South's record against the North is 39-15. Although the North's 2-0 record against the South this season is just a start, it's already gained attention from Big 12 South coaches.
"The guys at Colorado can play and coach, the guys at Nebraska can play and coach and same with the guys at Kansas State and the guys at Missouri," Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State said, "If you polled the coaches in the South, I'm going to
guess that they are going to say we better be ready to play because the teams in the North can beat us just
big 12 match-ups
Notable Big 12 North vs. Big 12 South games:
Week 5
Kansas State 41, Texas 21
Colorado 27, Oklahoma 24
Week 7
Oklahoma State at Nebraska Missouri at Oklahoma
Week 9
Kansas at Texas A & M Nebraska at Texas
as easy as the teams in the South."
Big 12 Conference play has barely begun, and it will take nearly two months to determine if the North has truly caught up to the South in 2007. But for this week, all the talk is surrounding the Big 12 North and all the focus is on the Sunflower Showdown.
Edited by Meghan Murphy
football notebook
BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL
The Sunflower Showdown provides players with plenty of built-in motivation, but the Jayhawk wide receivers are getting an additional boost from the words of one Wildcat. Kansas State senior cornerback Justin McKinney said earlier this week that the Wildcats were faster than the Jayhawks. Kansas junior wide receiver Dexton Fields said he and his teammates had been using the statement for extra motivation.
"Some comments that one of their players made kind of made us focus a little bit more, so we'll come out ready to play," Fields said.
Fields also said the trip to Manhattan would give the Jayhawks a chance to prove themselves against a quality opponent in their first conference game of the season.
TRICKY WILDCATS
Coach Mark Mangino said Kansas would prepare for the
possibility of Kansas State running trick plays by focusing on fundamentals.
"You've just got to be sound in assignments," he said. "If everybody just handles their assignment and gets their read, we'll be OK."
Kansas State wide receiver Jordy Nelson has thrown two passes this season and completed both for touchdowns.
ADDING TO THE SECONDARY
Kansas fans shouldn't expect to see many changes in the secondary this weekend. Junior cornerback Kendrick Harper is back in action but is not challenging freshman Chris Harris for the starting job as of now. Mangino said Harper looked "rusty but good" after missing about a month with an arm injury. Sophomore cornerback Anthony Webb, who did not suit up two weeks ago despite being listed on the depth chart, should see playing time as a special teams backup at Kansas State, Mangino said.
>> NFL
-Asher Fusco
Mangino
Rams coach pulls quarterback
All season, Bulger has insisted he was healthy enough to play. It's unclear how much time Bulger will need to heal after injuring the ribs
Linehan also will return to playcalling in an effort to wake up a dormant offense that has scored only two touchdowns, yanking duties from offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Olson was Linehan's first hire when he got the job last year, and will move to the booth where he'll assist the head coach.
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Bulger, a two-time Pro Bowl player, signed a six-year, $65 million contract extension in training camp. He has thrown four interceptions the last two weeks and was 11-for-24 for 114 yards and an interception in Sunday's 35-7 loss to the Cowboys, the first sub-50 percent passing game of his career.
Linehan said sitting Bulger was his call after reviewing the last three games, and not a decision made under pressure from superiors.
"Any theories or anything said out there are absolutely not true," Linehan said. "I look forward to a healthy Marc Bulger getting back in the lineup as soon as possible.
while being sacked six times in the second week of the season against the Panthers.
St. Louis Rams backup quarterback Gus Fretto will start in place of Marc Bulger, who has been playing with two broken ribs, for Sunday's home game against Arizona. Fretto has experience stepping in for injured players.
"It's obvious to me there is something genuinely wrong, and I knew there was."
The winless Rams will go with backup Gus Frerotte on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, Linehan said Wednesday. Frerotte and Bulger, who has been ineffective while playing with two broken ribs, both got the news on Tuesday from the coach and the news was made public before practice Wednesday.
Bulger has been playing behind a patchwork offensive line decimated by injuries. Left tackle Orlando Pace and guard Mark Settterstrom are out all season with injuries, and guard Richie Incrito has yet to play because of a high ankle sprain although he's expected to return to the lineup on Sunday.
Frotte also had success stepping in for injured Daunte Culpepper with the Vikings in 2003 when Linehan was the offensive coordinator there. That led to his deal with the Rams.
Linehan likened his decision to take over play-calling again to a "lineup change." He expects to call plays the rest of the season, but knows better given the Rams' injury-riddled start not to promise anything.
"He said 'We're going to switch things around and let's go, let's see what you've got'. Frerotte said. "I said, 'I'm ready.' We've made several changes this week and hopefully it'll show up on Sunday."
ST. LOUIS — One day after insisting he'd stick with Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams coach Scott Linehan benched his ranged-up quarterback.
"I was never going to pull myself out, I know that much," Bulger said. "It's real easy to play hurt when you're winning, but it's just not in me to pull myself out when we're 0-4.
BY R.B. FALLSTROM ASSOCIATED PRESS
"He's a proven quarterback," Linehan said. "Even better yet, he understands his role and he knows what he's being asked to do."
The 36-year-old Frerotte started 15 games in 2005 for Miami, where Linehan was the offensive coordinator at the time. Bulger will be Frerotte's backup against the Cardinals (2-2) on Sunday.
"Get me through this week and you can ask me a whole new set of questions next Monday," Linehan said.
"It was going to have to be the coaches pulling me out, and that's what happened."
Bulger had not been aware of Linehan's endorsement on Monday, avoiding the media glare. He did not argue his coach's about-face.
"I've tried for a couple of weeks," Bulger said. "He had enough of me telling him I was OK."
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