ANSAN
2009
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
KANSAS 20,TEXAS 51
5B
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FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
calmly answered each question thrown his way by reporters.
In light of everything that went on this week, was it hard for you and your team to stay focused?
"Distracted? Nah," Mangino said. "Let me tell you what was on my mind: football. This week it was Texas. As soon as I walk out of this room, it's Missouri."
Edited by Abbey Strusz
Are there are any concerns that you won't be on the sideline next Saturday against Missouri?
"None whatsoever," Mangino said. "I'm ready to go. Our players are ready to go. But you asked the wrong person the question."
Continued questions about the investigation came hand in hand with hard-to-answer questions about on-the-field play.
And so on.
That Kansas suffered a lopsided loss to Texas isn't shocking. In fact, that tended to be the consensus heading into the game.
Still, the game represented another point of disappointment in a season that never fully materialized.
Kansas entered the season with its eyes targeting a Big 12 North title, and that goal remained intact until a 17-10 loss at Kansas State two weeks ago.
Now the Jayhawks are stuck in an extended losing streak with controversy and coaching uncertainty surrounding the program.
"It's been hard on all of us." Thornton said. "Not just Mangino and the coaching staff. It's been hard on all of our players to stay focused."
And for the first time all season, Kansas was simply outmatched.
The Jayhawks showed flashes against the Longhorns — they connected on a couple of big pass plays and made a handful of defensive stops — but they never posed a serious challenge.
Senior quarterback Todd Reesing looked more comfortable. Junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. And senior defensive end Jeff Wheeler stripped Texas quarterback Colt McCov.
"Every other game, except for this one, we had opportunities to win the game. And really we beat ourselves in those games," Reeing said. "This is the first time we really played a better team."
Briscoe provided one of the few bright spots for Kansas, catching five passes for 101 yards.
But, really, the game ended in the final minutes of the first half when Texas built a 27-6 lead that sealed and stamped Kansas' loss.
It was a point Mangino reiterated after the game, noting that "the better team won the game."
Yet his performance represented a larger theme from Saturday: Briscoe
"There's more than just Dez," Mangino said. "There's not enough more-thanjust-Dez's."
played well but the Jayhawks don't have enough top-caliber athletes to compete against Texas.
The night was a glowing final home game for a handful of Texas seniors, including quarterback Colt McCoy, whose four touchdowns and 396 passing yards might have placed him as the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.
For Kansas, the loss places even more importance on the season finale against Missouri, the team the jayhawks need to defeat to become bowl eligible.
"I think he should stick around for the last season," Thornton said. "I don't think there's any sense in stirring up all the commotion and stuff right now. I honestly wish none of this would have come up in the middle of the season. I think it's something that could have waited until we were done."
Weston White/KANSAN
In the next few days, the team will probably tire of reporters and fans posing the ultimate question: Will Mangino still be coaching the Jayhawks against the Tigers?
Edited by Brenna M.T. Daldorph
Follow Jayson Jenks at twitter.com/
JaysonJenks.
Texas receiver James Kirkendoll takes hold of a pass from quarterback Colt McCoy after burning past Kansas cornerback Anthony Davis for a touchdown. The layhawks gave up 532 yards to the Longhorns in Saturday nights 51-20 loss in Austin.
Briscoe kick return touchdown first in two years
Junior receiver Dezmon Briscoe's 98-yard kickoff return touchdown was Kansas' first since Marcus Herford returned a kickoff for a touchdown against Baylor in 2007.
It was the fifth-longest return for touchdown in Kansas history.
Biggest crowd in Texas history
Blue pants back again
Kansas wore blue pants for the second time this season. They also wore them against Texas Tech. The last time Kansas had worn blue pants before this season was in 2004.
The announced attendance of 101,357 was the largest crowd in the University of Texas' history. Kansas has never played in front of a larger crowd.
Clark Goble
COLUMN (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
beat itself. That said, it was equally rough to watch
Last week, more than a dozen seniors played their final game in Memorial Stadium in a 31-17 loss to Big 12 North champ Nebraska. The mood and the pitch of the postgame press conference was funereal. And that was before the investigation was initiated
his interruption was imitated.
- All that's left — football-wise
  - is a Saturday trip to Arrowhead Stadium to play Missouri. Two seasons removed from a No. 1 vs.
    No. 2 showdown and one year after one of the program's finest performances, Kansas could well watch its wounds expand. Or hell, it could again put on another classic — that's the nature of the rivalry and a topic for another day.
But does anyone want to see Kansas in a mid-to-late December bowl game? A deserving TCU getting screwed out of the BCS championship game may provide fodder for playoff proponents, but being subjected to a Kansas-Idaho Humanitarian Bowl — as ESPN's Bruce Feldman recently projected — would do just as much to get the BCS to join health care in Congressional deliberations.
I'll be interested to see how this
As far as Mangino is concerned, it is in his best interest that he no longer coaches at Kansas — be it effective immediately or after this season. He's unhealthy physically and, should there be truth to the wealth of accounts brought forth, spiritually.
team — namely seniors such as Darrell Stuckey, Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier — salvage a season long since lost and spiraling further from control.
Mangino indeed could benefit from a break. He has the financial means and could gain exponentially from changing his perspective and lifestyle.
These attributes should find themselves on the list of criteria being considered should Kansas look for a new man to lead it into a new decade.
An effective coach leads with conviction, enforces values and expectations and — perhaps most important of all — maintains the respect of his subjects.
Follow Stephen Montemayer at twitter.com/smontemayer.
— Edited by Amanda Thompson
Junior receiver John Chiles makes a cut in the open field Saturday against Kansas at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas' offense pulled in 396 yards in the air in a 51-20 victory against Kansas.
Quote of the Game
Senior defensive back Justin Thornton on whether everyone on Kansas' team is pulling in the same direction:"I honestly think I can speak for the majority of our guys are going out there and giving everything they've got. But there are a few on our team that probably think differently."
Thornton
Game Balls
Dezmon Briscoe. There weren't many Kansas players that appeared evenly matched with Texas. But Briscoe certainly was one of them. He caught five passes for 101 yards and returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
Todd Reesing. In his return to his hometown, Reesing played his best game since the conference opener against Iowa State Oct. 10. He passed for 256 yards, completed 64 percent of his passes and connected on a handful of big plays down the field. It was refreshing to see
Jeff Wheeler. Wheeler turned in one of the few bright spots for a Kansas defense that surrendered 51 points and 532 total yards. With the game still close in the first quarter, Wheeler sacked quarterback Colt McCoy and knocked the ball loose. Kansas recovered and kicked a field goal on the ensuing drive.
Delay of Games
Phillip Strozier. Strozier played at safety more Saturday than he had all season. Yet he wasn't necessarily effective, allowing Texas' talented wide receivers to find openings for big plays down the field.
Jacob Branstetter. Branstetter did connect on two field goals, but he also botched a couple of other chances. On one occasion, he missed a field goal. More importantly, though, he failed to kick the ball the required 10 yards on a surprise onside kick.
Play of the Game
Anthony Davis. Davis entered Kansas' playing rotation two weeks ago against Kansas State, and he seemed to be doing an adequate job at cornerback. But Davis was beat for a couple of big plays, including a deep touchdown. He was replaced by Calvin Rubles.
With the game out of hand, junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe hauled in a kickoff in the fourth quarter, darted through Texas' coverage unit and sprinted 98 yards untouched for a touchdown. It was one of the few highlights from the loss.
THE GLASS IS HALF FULL...
Notes
THE GLASS IS HALF EMPTY...
At least Kansas doesn't have to play Texas, the Big 12's best team, again this season. Not much has gone as expected for Kansas this season and that trend persisted Saturday. The Longhorns didn't struggle too much with the Jayhawks, putting the game away before halftime.
Kansas suffered a lopsided loss on primetime national television. Not many people expected the Jayhawks to seriously contend with the Longhorns. Still, the game was never competitive in the second half. That's not the type of exposure Kansas needs.
SECONDARY STRUGGLES
BIGGEST ANSWER...
Kansas' defense has been a rather patchwork unit all season. Perhaps no unit on that defense has experienced as much turnover as the secondary as players have been shuffled in and out of the lineup all year. Against Texas, the secondary showed giant weaknesses against talented receivers. And the turnover continued: junior cornerback Calvin Rubles played significantly for the first time all season.
Kansas' secondary just isn't that good. It's really that simple. Coach Mark Mangino has attempted to shuffle defensive backs in and out of the lineup all season. Yet the unit struggled for the second consecutive game, routinely allowing too much room for Texas' talented receivers.
STILL QUESTIONING...
LOOKING AHEAD...
Kansas' aspirations of becoming bowl eligible rest on the Border Showdown this Saturday against Missouri. The Tigers enter the game 7-4, including back-to-back victories against Big 12 North opponents. Kansas, meanwhile, enters with a six-game losing streak.
GOOD, BAD OR JUST PLAIN STUPID?
What the future holds for Kansas. There are still plenty of storylines to play out in the days following the Jayhawks lopsided loss Saturday. In the smaller picture: Will Kansas rally to earn a victory — and bowl eligibility — against Missouri? In the larger picture: What will happen with the internal investigation and, subsequently, Mangino?
Original prediction: Texas 52, Kansas 10. Actual score: Texas 51, Kansas 20. The Jayhawks moved the ball with more ease than expected. Still, the actual score stacks up pretty nicely with the original prediction.
FINALTHOUGHT...
There certainly wasn't much surprise in this result. Not many people gave Kansas a chance in this game and for good reason. Texas is one of the nation's elite teams and the Longhorns will likely play in the national championship game. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, are scraping for a bowl game.
— Jayson Jenks
Schedule
Date Opponent Result/Time
9/5 Northern Colorado W, 49-3
09/12 at UTEP W, 34-7
09/19 vs. Duke W, 44-16
09/26 vs. Southern Miss W, 35-28
10/10 vs. Iowa State W, 41-36
10/17 at Colorado L, 30-34
10/24 vs. Oklahoma L, 13-35
10/31 at Texas Tech L, 21-42
11/07 at Kansas State L, 10-17
11/14 vs. Nebraska L, 17-31
11/21 at Texas L, 20-51
11/28 vs. Missouri 2:30 p.m. on ABC