Sports
Getting set The Kansas volleyball team is excited for its first NCAA Tournament appearance and is preparing to face Long Beach State in the first round.PAGE 8A
sports commentary
12A
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, December 2, 2003
Joey Berlin jberlin@kansan.com
There's something bittersweet about the Kansas football team earning a bid to the Tangerine Bowl with a 6-6 record. The Jayhawks are in the postseason for the first time since 1995, which is cause for celebration. But there's also a feeling that the program's resurgence can't rise too high above this point—and that's not the Jayhawks' fault.
Playoffs would aid Jayhawks' title shot
It's the fault of college football's governing forces, which refuse to install any type of playoff system to allow up-and-coming programs a shot to win a national championship. Until that happens, Kansas likely will never get the opportunity to become a national power in football.
When I say "national power," I don't mean the Kansas State-type, where you lose two or three times, earn the occasional invitation to a Bowl Championship Series bowl and be happy with finishing sixth or seventh in the country. I'm talking about a real, Miami-type national power, where competing for a spot in the BCS title game is expected every single year.
Kansas has virtually no opportunity at winning a national title because doing so is almost impossible for all but a handful of programs.
Some playoff systems, such as in the NBA and NHL, cheapen the postseason spectacle by letting too many teams in. The BCS system is too exclusive, allowing only the top two teams in the country, as ranked by a complex computer system, to get a shot at the championship.
So what does that make the other 27 bowl games? Essentially, those games are college football's version of the NIT. The teams ultimately in contention for the title game vary little from season to season.
This year, Oklahoma is expected to win the national championship; the Sooners' last title came three years ago. Last year, perennial power Ohio State won the title; the Buckeyes were an underdog in the title game because they were playing Miami, the previous year's champion. Miami earned its title by beating Nebraska, which won three titles during the '90s. And people complain that Major League Baseball doesn't have any parity.
While the NCAA basketball tournament routinely provides fans with Cinderella teams that make deep runs in the postseason, such as Butler and Southern Illinois, college football rarely gives us any surprises. The contenders for the national championship are usually predictable. College football almost never has a Butler or Southern Illinois.
As the Kansas men's basketball team plays each year with the national championship in its sights, Jayhawk football fights merely for respect and some level of national recognition. Even as that goal is slowly being achieved, there's a sense that the most coach Mark Mangino and his crew can hope for is to be one of those teams that routinely lands in one of the NIT bowls.
A 16-team playoff, played out during December, could change all that. Top five teams, such as this year's Louisiana State team, would get the shot to beat Oklahoma or USC that they deserve. Teams that found their way into the top 15 with soft schedules, such as TCU, would get the opportunity to prove they can play with the big dogs. And theoretically, up-and-comers like Kansas would have an opportunity to make a postseason run.
Maybe someday, college football will see how much it has to gain, in both national interest and parity, from an annual playoff tournament. Until then, competing for a national championship, rather than just a bowl appearance, will never be expected at Kansas, and chances are it will never become a realistic goal. For all the work Mangino, his staff and his players have put in to revive this program, that's a shame.
Borin is a Leawood senior in journalism
Kansas 85, Texas Christian 66
No.1'Hawks defeat Frogs
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan senior sportswriter
FORT WORTH, Texas — It's been two years since he left Kansas, but Texas Christian University coach Neil Dougherty is still learning from the program.
Playing against their former assistant coach for the first time since he accepted the coaching position at TCU in 2002, the Jayhawks handed Dougherty at 85-66 defeat last night and a lesson in second-half basketball.
Ranked the No. 1 college basketball team earlier in the day, the Jayhawks struggled midway through the first half. After gaining a 19-11 advantage on a bucket from junior guard Keith Langford, Kansas suffered a 9-1 TCU run before senior forward Bryant Nash hammered an alley-oop pass from sophomore guard Jeff Hawkins through the hoop. But neither that dunk nor another by Nash on nearly the same play later in the half could intimidate the Horned Frogs.
Led by 12 first-half points from junior guard Corey Santee, TCU (1-2) battled to within three points with 55 seconds to play in the half. A buzzer-beater by sophomore forward Chudi Chinzee that cut the Jayhawks' (3-0) lead to one point, appeared to give TCU momentum at the half. But Langford didn't think so.
Moments later he tossed in a pair of free throws to give Kansas a 43-14 lead. The Jayhawks would not trail the rest of the game; Langford wouldn't let them. Playing in front of nearly 50 friends and family members, the Fort Worth native scored 17 points in the second half and finished with a game-high 24 points.
"It's over," he told a group of hecklers before play began again.
His performance was contagious. Filling in for injured junior guard Mike Lee, J.R. Giddens and Hawkins each had career-high point totals. Giddens, a freshman guard making his first start at Kansas, scored 12 points on 5-7 shooting, including a dunk off a lob from Langford. Hawkins became the three-point threat the Jayhawks' had missed in their first two games, hitting 5-7 from behind the arc and scoring 19 points.
"Those were unsung heroes," Kansas coach Bill Self said.
Ty Halasz/TCU Daily Skiff
David Padgett, freshman center,
battled against Art Pierce, freshman
forward, during the first half of last
night's game in Fort Worth, Texas. The
Jayhawks lead 39-38 at the half, but
they rallied to defeat the Horned Frogs
85-66.
Edited by Katie Bean
HEARD on the hill
What do you think about the Kansas men's basketball team receiving the No.1 ranking?
Drew Alingh Leawood freshman
Erin Friend Wichita sophomore
"I think it's super. Yea for them!"
"I think it's good. They'll probably get better over the season. They have good defense from coach Self. The young players like Giddens and Padgett their athleticism is going to help out a lot."
Matt Bliss
Wichita
sophomore
"It'is awesome that we got a No.1 ranking without Roy. We have an awesome team and they're coming together."
"I think that's
Stefanie
Hayes-Murphy
Littleton,
Colo.,
freshman
"I think that's pretty awesome, especially since no one thought they would be able to do it again with a new coach and losing valuable players last year."
Tiffany Henke
Downs
freshman
"To show that we can win under Bill Self is totally awesome."
— Compiled by Nikki Nugent
Sizing up the quarterbacks
These QBs could be the biggest match-up in the Tangerine Bowl, here's how they break down
Philip Rivers 6-foot-5, 240 pounds Senior, Athens, Ala.
Key Stats — Rivers has completed 311 of 438 passes, or is 71 percent. That ranks first in the nation. He is one of two quarterbacks, along with Texas Tech's B.J. Symons, to throw for more than 4,000 yards this season. Rivers tossed a career-high 29 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions this season. Most impressively, he is second in the nation with a passer efficiency rating of 166.7. Yeah, Rivers is pretty good.
Accomplishments — The list of Rivers' feats in four years with the Wolfpack reads like that of a seasoned NFL veteran. Not only is he the school's all-time leader in passing and total offense, but he also owns those same records in the ACC conference as well. Rivers has started all 48 games for the Wolfpack over the past four seasons, throwing for over 13,000 yards and 107 touchdowns. And that's just scratching the surface.
Old School — Rivers is by no means the mold of a Generation-X quarterback who can make plays with his feet. Of Rivers' 107 career touchdowns, 17 have come on the ground, but he is not mobile. In his
He has led North Carolina State to a bowl game each of his four seasons as starter, and in the first three, he was named the game's offensive MVP in each contest. Rivers was the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, and is a finalist this year for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation's top senior quarterback.
Bill Whittemore
6-foot, 205 pounds
Senior, Brentwood, Tenn.
Key Stats - Despite missing three and a half games with a shoulder injury, Whittemore has remained the sixth-highest rated passer in the nation with 163.84 passer efficiency rating.
Whittemore has only been intercepted four times this season compared to 16 touchdown tosses.
SEE RIVERS ON PAGE 8A
Accomplishments — When compared with other top quarterbacks, Whittemore's numbers are not eye-popping, but in Kansas standards, they're out of this world. Whittemore's 16 touchdown passes are the single-season Kansas record, and his 47 touchdowns in just two seasons for are one behind the all-time Kansas record of 48, held by Chip Hilleary (1989-92). Whittemore was the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a junior in 2002. In two seasons, his 4,807 total yards rank fifth in school history in terms of total offense.
It's Just Something About Him — No one can quite explain it or stick a finger on it, but
SEE WHITTEMORE ON PAGE 8A
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact JJ Hensley and Shane Mettlen at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
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