Mark Mangino's contract has just been extended to 2012 with a nice raise, making him (most likely) the third highest-paid coach in the Big 12 behind Bob Stoops and Mack Brown.
Was it a good deal? On paper, it looks that way. The Jayhawks went 12-1 last year, losing only to No. 3 Missouri.
But if you dig a little deeper, it looks like the Jayhawks' record was a product of the system—the system of cupcake scheduling.
Last year, the Jayhawks played Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International for their non-conference games. None of these teams put up much of a fight, losing collectively 214-23 to Kansas.
Having seven home games (plus one neutral site game) didn't hurt the Jayhawks either.
They squeaked by No. 24 Kansas State 30-24 before taking on "powerhouse" Baylor and spanking them into submission, 58-10.
Kansas then beat a plethora of unranked teams: Colorado 19-14, Texas A&M 19-11, Nebraska 76-39, Oklahoma State 43-28, and Iowa State 45-7.
Then along came Mizzou—and out went that perfect record.
You can look at this two different ways.
An 11-1 regular season record is nothing to sneeze at, since it is so difficult to go an entire season undefeated.
On the other hand, when the only top 20 team you played in the regular season beats you, it does take a little lustre off the polish, doesn't it?
Hawai'i was undefeated last year, but once they faced a "legit" team, they got spanked in the Sugar Bowl by Georgia. Can we not say that Kansas is another one of those teams?
Not really, when you consider that the Jayhawks did beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Convincingly.
So has the honeymoon just started, or is it already over?
The Jayhawks do return most of their starters, but they have to replace two solid receivers (Marcus Henry and Derrick Fine) and leading rusher Brandon McAnderson. They also lost DB Aqib Talib, a true superstar, so there is some level of concern in the secondary.
But the real wrench in this whole equation is their schedule.
This year's schedule is a bit more daunting. Make that a lot more daunting.
While they do get three cupcakes in Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and Sam Houston State—all at home—they have to travel to some humid weather and play at South Florida.
It is here where the walls will come crumbling down. Mark this a loss.
In the last four years, Kansas has only once won their first road game of the season. They lost to Northwestern, Texas Tech, and Toledo before beating a mediocre Kansas State team by six points last year.
No such luck again this year.
South Florida has a stifling defense, and a much-improved Mike Ford in the backfield should help keep the pressure off Matt Grothe.
Their conference opener is at Iowa State, and that looks like a guaranteed win. They then host Colorado, which is a trap game—Oklahoma looms the following week.
120 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Tristan Holmes 11 months ago
What impresses me about Mangino is that he manages to motivate players to work so hard for him when he is so unbelievably obese. I don't mean this as a knock on Mangino, he obviously works dangerously long hours under great stress and probably has a glandular problam on top of it, but come on. If you are a 6' something 220-230ish Div I FBS athlete who runs better than a 4.6 40 you can't tell me it is easy to listen to that man yell at you for not "hustling." But somehow he pulls it off, and I admire him for that.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
True, it's hard to take a coach's advice to show more discipline when the coach might suffer from a lack of discipline himself.
Mangino is like the old-school coaches in the 70's...they were all pretty hefty it seems. But his weight issues don't seem to be getting in the way of his mission, which is to put Kansas back on the map. For that, he is to be commended!
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Mangino is like the old-school coaches in the 70's...they were all pretty hefty it seems. But his weight issues don't seem to be getting in the way of his mission, which is to put Kansas back on the map. For that, he is to be commended!"
omg, I know... That is why MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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Justin Hokanson 11 months ago
Kansas had a great season last year, but you are right. They really didn't play a bunch of tough teams and they didn't have to face Oklahoma or Texas. They face them both this year.
But in Kansas defense, they did crush a lot of teams that they were supposed to beat. So even though their schedule was lacking, they took care of business beating Baylor by 48, Nebraska by 37, OK State by 15, and Iowa State by 38. So they did a good job of taking care of business.
But there's no doubt they got a break with the schedule and we will find out a lot more about them this year.
And I can't wait for Jimson's brilliant comments on this issue. I'm sure they will be objective and unbias. ; )
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Justin-
It's a mixed bag, isn't it? The only difference between this year and last year is the schedule....and it's a huge difference. Kansas can't help who they played- all they can do is play the schedule and win. They did achieve that. However, it's hard to put them up there as National Title contenders last year when you look at some of the schedules the SEC and Pac-10 played.
I honestly don't see them beating Mizzou and Oklahoma, and I think the South Florida Bulls might be their first loss. Then again, I could be totally under-estimating them.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Hawai'i was undefeated last year, but once they faced a "legit" team, they got spanked in the Sugar Bowl by Georgia. Can we not say that Kansas is another one of those teams?
Not really, when you consider that the Jayhawks did beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Convincingly.
So has the honeymoon just started, or is it already over?
The Jayhawks do return most of their starters, but they have to replace two solid receivers (Marcus Henry and Derrick Fine) and leading rusher Brandon McAnderson. They also lost DB Aqib Talib, a true superstar, so there is some level of concern in the secondary.
But the real wrench in this whole equation is their schedule.
This year's schedule is a bit more daunting. Make that a lot more daunting.
While they do get three cupcakes in Florida International, Louisiana Tech, and Sam Houston State—all at home—they have to travel to some humid weather and play at South Florida.
It is here where the walls will come crumbling down. Mark this a loss."
Wow Lisa, you really CONTRADICTED yourself here, lol :)
HAHA, I bet you don't know where you CONTRADICTED yourself, within these statements, lolz :)
"But in Kansas defense, they did crush a lot of teams that they were supposed to beat. So even though their schedule was lacking, they took care of business beating Baylor by 48, Nebraska by 37, OK State by 15, and Iowa State by 38. So they did a good job of taking care of business."
omg, I know... MY Kansas Jayhawks TOOK GOOD CARE OF THEIR OWN BUSINESS, during the 2007 College Football season, UNLIKE Tommy Bowden (who seems to NEVER take good care of his own business, during his tenure at Clemson)!!!
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James McPhate 11 months ago
Lisa, you're dead on. I do slightly disagree with a previous comment of yours concerning who they play. While the Kansas players cannot help who they play, the athletic department can. Scheduling and beating teams like UConn and Stanford would look waaaay better than MAC and Sun Belt teams. What's wrong with scheduling a weak BCS team? That goes for 90% of BCS team schedules though.
Losing Aqib Talib will be too much in my opinion. He takes away one half of the field. Their LBers are solid but I'm just not sold on their D yet. I was pulling hard for Kansas to beat Mizzou last year, but reality set in. Playing a weak schedule doesn't prepare you for a really tough game, before bowl season anyway. Would Kansas have beaten Virginia Tech in week 4 as opposed to in the bowl game? I don't think so. But that's all hypothetical.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
James-
I'm like you- not a believer. I would like to see them do a repeat performance, as I do think the Big 12 looks awfully tough this year. If Kansas tanks 4 games, the talking heads are going to come out and point to their schedule as a reason for why they did so well last year.
However, if they do go 11-1 or 10-2, wow, that will be making a huge statement! Having both Texas and Oklahoma on their sked with Mizzou really makes it intriguing!
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BabyTate 11 months ago
Jimson must be on vacation. Otherwise he would be saying Kansas is underrated.
Kansas will make a good contestant for the Sun Bowl in their 75th anniversary game this season. More or less a 7-5 team this time around I would think.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson must be on vacation. Otherwise he would be saying Kansas is underrated.
Kansas will make a good contestant for the Sun Bowl in their 75th anniversary game this season. More or less a 7-5 team this time around I would think."
What are you talking about???
MY Kansas Jayhawks are NOT going 7-5, jerkface... In fact, I predict that my Kansas Jayhawks will go 10-2, and make a good contestant for the Cotton Bowl :)
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David Wunderlich 11 months ago
Kansas last year just feels like Rutgers of '06 - a bad program with a breakout year to usher in an era of being pretty good. They won't go back to 6-6 land, but another win total in the double digits would surprise me greatly.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Kansas last year just feels like Rutgers of '06 - a bad program with a breakout year to usher in an era of being pretty good. They won't go back to 6-6 land, but another win total in the double digits would surprise me greatly."
What are you talking about???
Kansas last year is NOTHING like Rutgers of '06... The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, while the 2006 Rutgers Scarlet Knights did NOT even make a BCS Bowl Game, lolz :)
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Justin Hokanson 11 months ago
Jimson,
You DID NOT WIN A SHARE OF THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. What will it take to get that through your head? NOBODY considers Kansas as a National Champ in 2007. Only a good team with a sorry schedule and an overweight coach. So quit lying to yourself and lying to everyone else.
Do you see me going around claiming Auburn won a national title in 2004? We went undefeated and finished #2 in the nation. That's more than your Jayhawks can say. Get over it and start living in reality.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
A share of the championship? Jimson...I want to let you slide you here, but neither the AP, the BCS nor any other legitimately recognized media outlet awarded them the NC. The last time we had a shared championship was a few years ago with LSU (BCS) and USC (AP).
Where did anyone say Kansas shared a championship? Enlighten me, please. I understand your passion for KU, and good for you. But saying they shared a championship when there was none really makes you lose cred. Just who did Kansas share the championship and who awarded them an NC share?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson,
You DID NOT WIN A SHARE OF THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. What will it take to get that through your head? NOBODY considers Kansas as a National Champ in 2007. Only a good team with a sorry schedule and an overweight coach. So quit lying to yourself and lying to everyone else."
Actually, the Kansas DID WIN A SHARE OF THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP... by finishing #1 in the Jimson Poll, lolz :)
Therefore, I am NOT lying to myself... and to everyone else, lol :)
"Do you see me going around claiming Auburn won a national title in 2004? We went undefeated and finished #2 in the nation. That's more than your Jayhawks can say. Get over it and start living in reality."
NO, I do NOT see you going around claiming Auburn won a National Title in 2004... And I am so sorry, that the Jimson Poll did NOT exist in 2004, lolz :)
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Where did anyone say Kansas shared a championship? Enlighten me, please. I understand your passion for KU, and good for you. But saying they shared a championship when there was none really makes you lose cred. Just who did Kansas share the championship and who awarded them an NC share?"
The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks SHARED the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, with the LSU Tigers... And I awarded the Jayhawks a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, by ranking the Jayhawks #1, on the FINAL Jimson Poll, lolz :)
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David Smith 11 months ago
All the talk leading up to the Orange Bowl last year was that Virginia Tech would drill KU and expose them as frauds. How'd that game turn out?
KU certainly benefitted from avoiding OU last year. But how was it an advantage for KU to avoid UT and Tech? Neither of those teams was all that great.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"All the talk leading up to the Orange Bowl last year was that Virginia Tech would drill KU and expose them as frauds. How'd that game turn out?
KU certainly benefitted from avoiding OU last year. But how was it an advantage for KU to avoid UT and Tech? Neither of those teams was all that great."
omg, I know... That is why MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, while Texas AND Texas Tech did NOT, lolz :)
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
I think if they had played those two teams, they would have gotten more respect from the pollsters. Although you don't have to win your conference to play in the title game, it's understood to be an unwritten rule......what what have happened if they had beaten Tech and Texas? They might have gotten in despite not being the conference champion. I'm just sayin'...
Tech beat Oklahoma last year, losing to Texas, Mizzou and Ok State...that's a pretty good team. Yeah they lost to the Cowboys, but almost all of the top teams last year lost to a team they shouldn't have:
USC-Stanford
Oklahoma-Colorado
Bama-La Monroe
Auburn- USF
Michigan- App St
OSU- Illinois
South Carolina- Vandy
Georgia-South Carolina
Arizona St- Arizona
see what I mean?
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David Smith 11 months ago
Texas Tech also lost at home to CU. KU won in Boulder. Tech's lone impressive win came over a manic depressive OU team.
Texas lost by 20 to KSU. In AUSTIN. KU beat KSU the following week in Manhattan. UT lost in College Station. KU won in College Station. UT trailed NU at home before coming back to win. The following week KU rolled up 76 points on that same Cornhusker team.
I'll ask again, why was KU fortunate to avoid UT and Tech? It would appear that those teams were fortunate to avoid KU.
Lisa, you just listed 9 games of upsets from last season and you could have listed many more. KU didn't lose any games they shouldn't have. Why don't they get any credit for that?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Lisa, you just listed 9 games of upsets from last season and you could have listed many more. KU didn't lose any games they shouldn't have. Why don't they get any credit for that?"
omg, I know... This is PROOF that MY Kansas Jayhawks TOOK GOOD CARE OF THEIR OWN BUSINESS, during the 2007 College Football season, UNLIKE Tommy Bowden (who seems to NEVER take good care of his own business, during his tenure at Clemson)!!!
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Tim McGhee 11 months ago
The KU and the West Virginia fan shared the angst in 2007: creampuff non-con spineless AD scheduling makes for many disbelievers and really puts the fat glass shining on the conference battles that mean something (Mizzou for KU, South Florida for WVU). Nice analysis on '08 KU.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"The KU and the West Virginia fan shared the angst in 2007: creampuff non-con spineless AD scheduling makes for many disbelievers and really puts the fat glass shining on the conference battles that mean something (Mizzou for KU, South Florida for WVU). Nice analysis on '08 KU."
What are you talking about???
The KU and the West Virginia fan shared NOTHING IN COMMON... during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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Donald Fincher 11 months ago
Kansas got a complete pass last year. They played creampuffs, didn't play Texas, didn't play Oklahoma, Nebraska was down, and got an Virginia Tech as their bowl opponent. I couldn't understand why Virginia Tech was considered a good team last year. They won a weak ACC (which may I remind you the ACC hasn't won a BCS bowl game since their expansion) and the only real good team Virginia Tech played last year was LSU who thrashed them. THE ONLY good team that Kansas really played, they lost to. Problem is, they do have to play more of those teams this year and Nebraska should be on the road to recovery unless everyone is overestimating Bo Pelini. Kansas loses 3 or 4 this year.
And then, Kansas is going to feel pretty dumb when they realize that they gave a contract extension and raise to a guy who didn't deserve it. And, after this year, they will realize that they didn't need to because no one else is going to want to pay up to poach him away. There was (and will remain) zero threat of him leaving for greener pastures because other schools realize that last season's record was based on playing nobody. Yet Kansas vomited up more money. It really is quite disgusting.
And as far as the comment about Mangino's weight, I agree completely. How could he possibly call a linebacker into his office that got a little out of shape over the summer and tell him to drop 20 pounds or else. The man coaches a game built on fitness. What a hypocrite.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Kansas got a complete pass last year. They played creampuffs, didn't play Texas, didn't play Oklahoma, Nebraska was down, and got an Virginia Tech as their bowl opponent. I couldn't understand why Virginia Tech was considered a good team last year. They won a weak ACC (which may I remind you the ACC hasn't won a BCS bowl game since their expansion) and the only real good team Virginia Tech played last year was LSU who thrashed them. THE ONLY good team that Kansas really played, they lost to. Problem is, they do have to play more of those teams this year and Nebraska should be on the road to recovery unless everyone is overestimating Bo Pelini. Kansas loses 3 or 4 this year."
Actually, I think that MY Kansas Jayhawks will go 10-2 THIS SEASON, lol :)
"And then, Kansas is going to feel pretty dumb when they realize that they gave a contract extension and raise to a guy who didn't deserve it. And, after this year, they will realize that they didn't need to because no one else is going to want to pay up to poach him away. There was (and will remain) zero threat of him leaving for greener pastures because other schools realize that last season's record was based on playing nobody. Yet Kansas vomited up more money. It really is quite disgusting."
What are you talking about???
Mark Mangino DEFINITELY DESERVED his raise... I mean, he led the Kansas Jayhawks to a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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Ben White 11 months ago
Good article. I enjoyed watching Kansas' tag team duo of white running back and overweight guy that was surprisingly agile. I do agree they will have a hard time duplicating last season.
I say the over/under on Jimson appearing and exploding at an hour.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Good article. I enjoyed watching Kansas' tag team duo of white running back and overweight guy that was surprisingly agile. I do agree they will have a hard time duplicating last season.
I say the over/under on Jimson appearing and exploding at an hour."
And this is coming from a BIASED Auburn fan... who predicted (earlier today), that Alabama would finish 5th, in the SEC West :)
Let me give you a reality check:
MY Kansas Jayhawks will be ranked HIGHER THAN YOUR Auburn Tigers... when the Preseason polls are released :)
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Ben White 11 months ago
Of course I am biased. Everyone here is biased, whether they want to admit it or not. And preseason polls are irrelevant (or should be.)
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Of course I am biased. Everyone here is biased, whether they want to admit it or not. And preseason polls are irrelevant (or should be.)"
And I agree, preseason polls should be irrelevant... In fact, I think that rankings SHOULD be thrown out the door (well, except for the Jimson Poll), lolz :)
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Thanks Ben....and I do believe Jimson is in the house!
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Thanks Ben....and I do believe Jimson is in the house!"
And yes, Jimson Cuenta is in the house, lolz :)
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
It's interesting that everyone looks at that KSU game and what they were ranked then. They lost their starting center and defensive tackle during that game and fell off the map. They lost to ISU and Nebraska last year. People say that Prince's team "quit" on him towards the end of last season and many pundits point to that game as the start of the fall. "Beating #24 KSU 30-24" is not that good of a performance for a team that thinks they are going 10-2.
*Sidenote*-I doubt Jimson is quite old enough to have attended KU yet(see: lolz :) ) and still doesn't quite understand what significantly upgrading the difficulty of your schedule means to your W-L totals. Couple the tougher schedule with the loss of their best offensive tackle, their best running back, their two of their best wide receivers, their human wall of a defensive tackle, and their dazzling star cornerback and you have a record of 8-4 at best, if not worse.
But hey, that's just my opinion from a outsider perspective.
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BabyTate 11 months ago
Jimson is one of the most consistent writers in the B/R. Everything evolves around Kansas. Why not an article on the greatest Kansan of them all, Gale Sayers?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson is one of the most consistent writers in the B/R. Everything evolves around Kansas."
omg, I know... That is why I am ranked #1, on the list of Kansas Jayhawks Football Top Writers:
http://bleacherreport.com/kansas-jayhawks-football/top-writers
"Why not an article on the greatest Kansan of them all, Gale Sayers?"
Actually, I really think that Todd Reesing is the greatest Kansan of them all, lolz :)
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BabyTate 11 months ago
Who?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Who?"
What are you talking about???
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Garrett 11 months ago
The argument about KU's schedule is ridiculous. First of all, KU has struggled to compete in the Big XII for the past 12+ years. They are trying to build a program. Not lose in the opening weeks and enter the Big XII conference schedule under .500 and 3 or 4 losses from being out of bowl contention. Why would they schedule Arizona, Purdue or Ole Miss (decent teams from major BCS conferences) in their non-con who could beat them and send them into the Big XII with a sub .500 record? If you can schedule lesser opponents that give you a chance to enter conference play undefeated, why not? All the other "Big Time" programs do it. USC's non-con games were against: Idaho (1-11) and Nebraska (5-7) which KU happened to feed the Bug Eaters their lunch when they played by winning 76-39! *Side note: I was at this epic butt kicking and the game got boring. Waving the wheat became repetitive and tiring. You try waving your arms over your head for 15 or 20 seconds, 11 times! Also, it was awesome. Todd Reesing for Heisman '08! Who's with me?* Or how about THEE (I hate the, THEE part. You are telling me Ohio State is so important that they get to pronounce the as thee as if Shakespeare played safety?) Ohio State's terrifying non-con schedule: Youngstown State (7-4 but remember they are a Championship Subdivision team); Akron (4-8); and Washington (4-9). WOW! KU’s non-con doesn’t look so weak now. Those are just two "powerhouse" programs that easily lock up early season victories by playing joke teams. Look around. The big programs are doing it too. They schedule weaker teams that are beatable which allows them to enter conference play undefeated. And it's not like KU can just call up Stanford or Mississippi State and put them on their schedule. Those programs don't want a home-and-home series against an up and coming program such as KU. Also, no one expected KU to win the Orange Bowl and go 12-1. Not even myself who has been a die hard fan of KU football since birth and someone who has lived through the worst of KU football (late 90's, early 00's when Brian Luke and Adam Barmann played QB as poorly as Brodie Croyle in a Kansas City Chiefs uniform). Heck the program itself wasn't expecting this success which is why KU scheduled Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo and FIU. Many thought KU was still a few years out from contending in the Big XII so they paid these terrible teams to come to Memorial Stadium and be abused by KU. These thrashing gave KU a chance to fix the kinks in Ed Warriner's (KU's new O Coordinator) spread offense and go into conference play undefeated and confident. I'd rather be in KU's non-con position than Michigan's fiasco last year. If it wasn't for a soft Big Ten aka Eleven conference, they would've never made a bowl after losing at home to Appalachian State and Oregon. Plus, losing non-con games leaves a bigger blemish in the eyes of BCS Bowl reps than losing conference match-ups. Ex: Michigan. Thirdly, KU can't control their Big XII schedule. Don't criticize them for playing Baylor, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. The conference determines which 3 Big XII South opponents they face. If you have a problem with the conference scheduling, take it up with Big XII commish, Dan Beebe. 2007 happened to be the year that they drew BU, OSU and A&M. KU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SCHEDULING! They also had no control of Guy Morriss' lack of coaching ability and Baylor being awful; Mike Gundy's lack of coaching ability, poor media relation skills and Oklahoma State's joke of a defense; and Dennis Franchione's lack of everything involving football and how it should be coached along with A&M's fall from football dominance. All and all, I'll be the first one to admit that they're non-con last year was a joke but KU for the past 12+ years has been as big of a college football joke as FIU and SE Louisiana are today. They didn't schedule Purdue or Arizona because by playing these lesser programs they at least have a shot at winning before the real (conference) season starts. Now that KU has proven they can win, I expect them to improve their non-con schedule to include more challenging opponents. Ex: 2008 and South Florida. Finally, everyone just needs to shut up about their schedule. Granted they lost to Mizzou but the Orange Bowl committee selected KU and when they played Virginia Tech on the biggest stage at the Orange Bowl, they WON! 24-21! SCOREBOARD! If I remember correctly, KU supposedly didn't stand a chance against this ACC powerhouse. Well my friends, that all changed on January 3, 2008 in Miami-Dade County at the Orange Bowl. KU won in a dominant fashion by popping Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor in the mouth while intercepting their horrible passes and out Beamer-Balling, Frank Beamer and his Beamer-Ball (special teams/defense wins) game plan. KU won. Can't fault them there. South Beach was waving the wheat! In conclusion, KU's non-con could have been more difficult but, in 2007, KU reached their highest ranking (#2 overall) in the history of the program. No one expected this to happen and they are building a football program in Lawrence that rivals the (dominant, national championship winning, powerhouse) basketball program which is why the non-con scheduling has been so weak. AD Lew Perkins and Mark Mangino want to schedule a few easy games while they start up a program because it guarantees a few victories and increases the confidence of a young team/program. In 2007, Mangino's sixth year at KU, he posted his best record, 12-1. But from 2002 to 2006, Mangino's overall record was 25-35. Therefore, the 2007 dream year was somewhat unexpected and KU's brass weren't going to schedule Stanford, Arizona, Purdue or some other mediocre team from a major BCS conference when KU's overall record from the previous 5 seasons was 25-35. They are in the process of re-establishing a winning tradition. Something that has been missing from Mt. Oread on Saturday afternoons since the days of John Hadl, Gale Sayers and John Riggins (just some of the greats to where crimson and blue). College football fans need to get used to KU. This program will continue to strengthen and improve under the guidance of Lew Perkins and National Coach of the Year, Mark Mangino. Winning helps recruiting. Kids want to play at a school that wins and is in the national spotlight. If Mangino can win an Orange Bowl with 2/3 star Rivals.com players, imagine what he'll be able to do with 4/5 star athletes. Todd Reesing, a 3 star out of high school, sent tape after tape of his games at Lake Travis High School where he broke several Texas state passing records to Mack Brown and Texas. Last time I checked, the state of Texas has pretty good high school football. Reesing's high school statistics were quite impressive. Texas, though, wanted nothing to do with Reesing because he was "too short". Um...I wonder if they regret not offering the Austin native even a preferred walk-on spot. Aqib Talib was a 2 star cornerback out of Richardson, TX. No one thought he could play at the D-I level. Yeah...I think he turned out to be a pretty decent player. I mean going from unwanted to All Big XII 2007/2008 and the 20th player selected by Tampa Bay in the 2008 NFL Draft is amazing. Either he's a magician or he had some great coaching while at KU. I'd say the latter. Todd Reesing > Tim Tebow (maybe that's a stretch) and KU is here to stay! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Garrett-
While I agree USC's sked LY was not very tough, in defense of USC they scheduled Idaho as a favor to former Pac-10 coach Dennis Erickson who was Idaho's HC, to get that school some pub and $$$. When the Trojans actually played Idaho LY, Erickson had already bailed to Arizona State. They did try to cancel the game, but it didn't work out.
Nebraska is always a good team to schedule, even in their down years- they are a Big 12 team. I don't think you can rip USC foe scheduling soft teams....that's just absurd. They are known to travel to some very good teams.
In the last eight years, they have/will have played Auburn twice, Va Tech once, Arkansas twice, Kansas State twice, Idaho once, Ohio State once, Virginia once and ND eight times.
I challenge you to find any team that has a tougher non-conference schedule than that. Furthermore, only five teams have not scheduled a 2A team since the 1970s- USC, UCLA, Washington, Notre Dame and Michigan State.
All of those schools should be commended for not scheduling cupcakes to bloat their records up.
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
Todd Reesing = Not big enough to wear Tim Tebow's jock
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
I would have to say pretty much everyone isn't big enough to wear Superman's jock!
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
Oh, by the way... I STILL think that Todd Reesing DESERVED to WIN the Heisman Trophy LAST SEASON, lolz :)
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
Kansas will go 6-6 this season!
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
What are you talking about???
Kansas will go 10-2 this season, lolz :)
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
AJ- don't know about 6-6, I think 8-4 is a pretty decent outcome considering everything.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"AJ- don't know about 6-6, I think 8-4 is a pretty decent outcome considering everything."
I'll be fine with it... IF MY Kansas Jayhawks go 10-2 THIS SEASON, lolz :)
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Tim Lebow 11 months ago
Have you ironed my shirt yet?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
What are you talking about???
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Andres Spivey 11 months ago
USC is weak...They're schedule is weak and I'm not going to waste anymore time typing about them. Look it up...they don't have the toughest schedule around as some here are claiming.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Andres-
You're certainly welcome to air your opinion. "Weak" is a pretty strong word to describe a team that has gone to 6 straight BCS bowls, won five of them as well as two National championships back-to-back.
I agree, they don't have the toughest schedule...Washington does, for the second or third straight year. However, USC plays among the toughest non-conference schedules of anyone in the country. Virginia, Ohio State and Notre Dame will be near the top of any non-conf schedule, and would like to see one that is better. :)
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Brett Lissenden 11 months ago
Kansas won't be a national title contender every year - but no team is. Even USC always manages to lose some games every once in a while. Last year was no fluke though - they will be a good team for a while to come.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Kansas won't be a national title contender every year - but no team is. Even USC always manages to lose some games every once in a while. Last year was no fluke though - they will be a good team for a while to come."
I couldn't agree more with your comment... In fact, I really think that MY Kansas Jayhawks will be a LEGITIMATE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER, during the 2009 College Football season, lolz :)
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Brett-
No one is saying they aren't good. I think they are a very good team. But their sked last year pales in comparison to this year's sked. I think it will give them four losses. If they can get away with 2-3 losses, then that would be impressive!
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"No one is saying they aren't good. I think they are a very good team. But their sked last year pales in comparison to this year's sked. I think it will give them four losses. If they can get away with 2-3 losses, then that would be impressive!"
Actually, I think that MY Kansas Jayhawks will go 10-2 THIS SEASON... and then, go on to WIN the Cotton Bowl :)
After this happens, MY Kansas Jayhawks will be the preseason #1... heading into the 2009 College Football season, lolz :)
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BabyTate 11 months ago
I thank Kansas for shutting up the Va Tech crowd in the Orange Bowl. It might be a while before Kansas can make it back to the Orange Bowl but they should be a good team that goes to a Bowl this season. Just wondering, can anyone pinpoint the day Va Tech went from being the happiness boys of the Blue Ridge Mountains to Thug University? Was it when Michael Vick came there in the late 90s? I don't really remember him being a problem until he went to Atlanta. Whatever it is, they've replaced Miami and Fla St as the loudmouths of college football.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"I thank Kansas for shutting up the Va Tech crowd in the Orange Bowl. It might be a while before Kansas can make it back to the Orange Bowl but they should be a good team that goes to a Bowl this season."
Actually, I think that the Kansas Jayhawks will WIN the BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME... during the 2009 College Football season, lol :)
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Garrett 11 months ago
Lisa -
First off, may ask how many games you actually saw KU play last year? Did you go to every home game and to Manhattan for the Sunflower Showdown vs. K-State? Or did you just conveniently start watching on TV when KU started to receive their much deserved attention from the national media? Not sure what makes you a KU football guru. You obvisiously didn't watch the KU vs. KSU which was on TV. Your statement, "they squeaked by K-State" is completely false. KU turned the ball over late in the third quarter when Todd Reesing's pass bounced off of the helmet of Dexton Fields and into the hands of a KSU defender. This turnover put K-State on KU's 10. Strange blunders put K-State in position to score but KU's defense held. In the end, KU controlled the game for 3 quarters. Plus, K-State was just coming off a dominating win at Texas so they were full of confidence. Therefore the didn't squeak by.
Secondly, Idaho was still 1-11 and a weak opponent. FIU weak. Of course USC will say they did that to help out a struggling program in Idaho but when it comes down to it they scheduled Idaho to play a joke team just like any other major program does. USC usually only has 2 non-con game because the Pac-10 conference schedule starts 2 or 3 more games before other conferences' games. If they had openings to have 4 non-con games I guarantee they would include more teams like Idaho than teams like Auburn or Ohio State. Every major program usually has at least one difficult non-con game. But most major programs have more weak non-con opponents than elite BCS teams. Props to USC for scheduling Nebraska. Yes, they are Nebraska from the Big XII. But last year's team wasn't the Nebraska of old. Nebraska was absolutely awful. KU showed that. If you go on tradition alone USC's schedule would have been amazing. But you don't. Each year changes and USC played an awful Nebraska team. A horrific Notre Dame team. They weren't playing the programs' tradition. It's not like USC doesn't schedule weaker teams. They do.
You are missing my argument completely though. What I am contending is that KU scheduled these teams because they are building a program. Why not let them establish a contender year after year and then you'll see an improved non-con schedule? They are trying to build a program. Not lose in the opening weeks and enter the Big XII conference schedule under .500 and 3 or 4 losses from being out of bowl contention. KU isn't USC. They just started winning. It'd be different if KU had been winning for the past 10 years. But they haven't. The complete opposite. This program just started walking. In 5 more years when it is off and running look for a more difficult non-con. They aren't going to schedule Florida or even Virginia when KU is just starting to build a winning tradition.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Garrett-
First off, who said I was a Kansas guru? Secondly, for your benefit, I coped and pasted off the Kansas Jayhawks website, the opening two paragraphs of that game:
"Dexton Fields hauled in the game-winning fourth-quarter touchdown for the University of Kansas, as the Jayhawks survived a wild football game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday afternoon, defeating Kansas State, 30-24.
In its Big 12 Conference opener, Kansas remained undefeated at 5-0 and moved to 1-0 in the league play. Kansas State dropped its second game of the season and fell to 3-2, 1-1 in the conference.
Fields' 30-yard touchdown reception with 6:27 remaining put the Jayhawks up 27-24 just over a minute after Kansas State had taken a 24-21 lead."
Now, until that last TD, K-State was leading 24-21. To win with less than six minutes left in the game, is squeaking by, or in the words of the Kansas write, "wild" and "surviving."
Moreover, there were several lead changes in the game, so for you to say Kansas "controlled the game for three quarters", I believe, is a bit inaccurate. Here is the link to the article:
http://kuathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/100607aaa.html
As far as the Idaho game, the Trojans did schedule the game as a favor for a former
Pac-10 coach who was the Vandals head coach. Rumor was it was Dennis Erickson, but it turns out Nick Holt may have had a play in it as well. He was the head coach when it was actually scheduled.
Here is the link:
http://www.trojanwire.com/football/game-1-usc-vs-idawho.php
Finally, no one is knocking KU. All I was implying was that KU might have been the beneficiary of some soft-scheduling, and looking at their sked last year, that seems to be a reasonable assumption.
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Garrett 11 months ago
Lisa -
Well thanks for that... Yes I've been to that website a few times seeing how I'm a KU fan. Thanks for those two pointless paragraphs. They prove two things: 1) You didn't watch the game because you had to rely on the article to write about the game. Squeaking by and surviving a wild finish are two different things. 2) KU didn't squeak by as you said. It is apparent again that you didn't watch the game because if you did you would have realized that KU controlled the momentum for 3 quarters. This was their first road game of the season and for the first quarter they were a little flustered due to the crowd and atmosphere. Once they settled down, though, they controlled the game for 3 quarters. I was able to sense this momentum change seeing how I was at the game decked out in crimson and blue. Also, you claim the game had several lead changes. Again, you obviously didn't watch the game. There were only 3! That's not several but maybe your perception of words and phrases is different from mine.
You have no knowledge of this topic. A good writer would observe what they are writing about. Therefore, you should have watched the games. You just want to be a East/West Coast homer and cover the big time programs. Any other "lesser" schools are pointless because they are not Florida or USC. Right? You should have watched KU last year. You could have seen how a spread offense is run to perfection, how a defense can dominate and how Mark Mangino completely changed the sports culture in Lawrence, KS from an all basketball, all the time school to basketball can wait, it's KU football time.
Thanks for the pointless link about Idaho's coach. I don't care what USC was trying to do or what coach they were trying to help. IT IS STILL IDAHO! They went 1-11. They were awful.
Just admit that you never watched KU until they started to receive national attention from the media. Heck, I'm not sure if you watched any KU games until Mizzou or Va Tech. You just want to disregard an amazing story and completely tarnish what KU did. That's sad. How about applauding Mark Mangino for completely changing KU football? How about writing an article that covers the positive? KU may not have played the best teams in their non-con but they won every game and won in a dominating fashion. They could have "squeaked by" as you like to say but KU crushed: Central Michigan, 52 to 7; SE Louisiana, 62 to 0; Toledo, 45 to 13; and FIU, 55 to 3. These teams are still D-I. It's not like they are playing Youngstown State. They played these weaker opponents and demolished them. Then, once they got to the Big XII schedule, KU continued to roll. But if that doesn't convince you of what kind of team they were then maybe this will: THEY WON THE ORANGE BOWL. Scoreboard!
Maybe you should watch all of KU games in 2008 and then you can write an article about what kind of team they were. Then, you can say you truly covered them instead of watching highlights and using articles to write about a topic you aren't familiar with.
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David Smith 11 months ago
Very well said Garrett. I agree completely.
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Garrett 11 months ago
All I'm asking is for people to give KU more credit. They went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. Their #2 ranking was the highest in the programs history. Let's applaud Mark Mangino and his unbelievable turn around. Their non-con was weak because in previous years the program itself was weak. KU had a historical year and anyone who focuses on their non-con schedule and says they were a joke is ignorant. They played the non-con and won. They played the Big XII and won. They played in the Orange Bowl and won. Just show some respect. If you don't think they are legit, go ask Frank Beamer or any Va Tech player who played against KU on January 3rd what they think of the 785 Hard Hitters who rep the Midwest and put KU football back on the map.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"All I'm asking is for people to give KU more credit. They went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl. Their #2 ranking was the highest in the programs history. Let's applaud Mark Mangino and his unbelievable turn around. Their non-con was weak because in previous years the program itself was weak. KU had a historical year and anyone who focuses on their non-con schedule and says they were a joke is ignorant. They played the non-con and won. They played the Big XII and won. They played in the Orange Bowl and won. Just show some respect. If you don't think they are legit, go ask Frank Beamer or any Va Tech player who played against KU on January 3rd what they think of the 785 Hard Hitters who rep the Midwest and put KU football back on the map."
omg, I know... That is why MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
Yeah man that was one heck of a football team Kansas put together last year. 1-1 against ranked opponents. Greatest team of the century right there. I mean I know it was a big deal to beat the 8-5 MAC champs.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Yeah man that was one heck of a football team Kansas put together last year. 1-1 against ranked opponents. Greatest team of the century right there. I mean I know it was a big deal to beat the 8-5 MAC champs."
omg, I know... That is why MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
Kansas WILL go 6-6 because Ressing and their defense are overrated. Thats what you get though when you play a bunch of chumps to get an inflated record.
They will lose to @ South Florida, @ Oklahoma, Texas Tech, @ Nebraska, Texas, and Missouri (Arrowhead).
They trade in the chumps of the South Division for the big dogs, and they will get it handed to them in each of their games.
Hey Jimson, if you want to see a real QB watch when Oklahoma and Missouri rack up the yards on your Jayhawks this season. Oh wait, Mizzou did that last year.
Hope you enjoy the Independence Bowl.
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David Smith 11 months ago
What was the difference last year between UT, aTm, Tech and OSU? Very, very little. OU was clearly the "big dog" and Baylor was clearly the weakest. Not much seperation amongst the other four.
KU should be favored to beat Texas and Texas Tech next year. They will be better than USF and Nebraska but those are road games so who knows. And you know MU will fall flat on their face with all the preseason hype so I like KU's chances in that game as well.
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
I love how everyone thinks that players will just stop playing because they are being hyped before the season. I think there was a lot of hype on the KU-Mizzou game last year and oh yeah Mizzou won. Also, its a rivalry game and at the end of the season when preseason hype doesn't even matter anymore.
"What was the difference last year between UT, aTm, Tech and OSU? Very, very little. OU was clearly the "big dog" and Baylor was clearly the weakest. Not much seperation amongst the other four."
Hey moron, sorry I'm tired of idiots getting on here thinking they know something about sports when they don't even know who the team played last season, the least you could do is look it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KU played 3-8 Baylor, 7-5 Texas A&M, and 6-6 Oklahoma St. last season. I would say by playing Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma there is a slight difference in separation between this year and last year's opponents.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Kansas WILL go 6-6 because Ressing and their defense are overrated. Thats what you get though when you play a bunch of chumps to get an inflated record.
They will lose to @ South Florida, @ Oklahoma, Texas Tech, @ Nebraska, Texas, and Missouri (Arrowhead).
They trade in the chumps of the South Division for the big dogs, and they will get it handed to them in each of their games.
Hey Jimson, if you want to see a real QB watch when Oklahoma and Missouri rack up the yards on your Jayhawks this season. Oh wait, Mizzou did that last year.
Hope you enjoy the Independence Bowl."
What are you talking about???
I am VERY CONFIDENT that MY Kansas Jayhawks will go 10-2 THIS SEASON... and play in the Cotton Bowl, lolz :)
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David Smith 11 months ago
Are you an MU fan AJ? If so, you must be aware of their historical achievements, or lackthereof. MU doesn't win conference titles, they don't play in Final Fours and they certainly don't play in BCS Bowl games. They leave that to KU.
MU is even more inept when there are high expectations. Their 2004 basketball team was ranked in the top 5 preseason. That team didn't even make the Tournament. Just this last year their baseball team was ranked in the top 10 preseason. At the end of the season, they weren't even one of the top 32 teams. There are other examples too numerous to list here.
aTm beat UT. OSU beat Tech. Texas was 5-3 in the Big XII. The other three were all 4-4. Again, where is the huge difference between those four schools?
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
TO be honest I don't give a crap about the Big 12. You're comparing this year's schedule to a schedule that last year included Baylor! BAYLOR FOR GOD'S SAKE!
This is not a column about MU basketball or baseball, this is football. I believe there are other sections of this site geared toward those programs. Again, you pick up OU, Texas, and Texas Tech. All three teams will be improved from last season. Kansas on the other hand will suck. They will not thrive under the pressure they are not returning their "great" CB, among other players. You will not be favored in of the three games I have mentioned. You will go to Lincoln and lose, payback is an (explicative). I hear those Nebraska boys don't take kindly to teams running up the score on them.
Kansas a football tradition since halfway through the 2007 season.
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David Smith 11 months ago
I don't blame you AJ. If I was an MU fan I wouldn't admit it either.
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
David, actually I'm a Georgia fan. You know in the SEC where everyone plays a tough schedule, and we beat the crap out of overrated teams like Kansas.
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David fisk 11 months ago
The SEC is certainly a nice conference but as a Georgia fan aren't you hitching your wagon to the tradition rich SEC teams like Florida, Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, etc? Tired of being "little brother" in that conference? Maybe that's why you reminded me of an MU fan.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"TO be honest I don't give a crap about the Big 12. You're comparing this year's schedule to a schedule that last year included Baylor! BAYLOR FOR GOD'S SAKE!
This is not a column about MU basketball or baseball, this is football. I believe there are other sections of this site geared toward those programs. Again, you pick up OU, Texas, and Texas Tech. All three teams will be improved from last season. Kansas on the other hand will suck. They will not thrive under the pressure they are not returning their "great" CB, among other players. You will not be favored in of the three games I have mentioned. You will go to Lincoln and lose, payback is an (explicative). I hear those Nebraska boys don't take kindly to teams running up the score on them.
Kansas a football tradition since halfway through the 2007 season."
Who really cares if KU Football is a tradition since 2007, lol?
I am a Kansas Jayhawks fan... and I could CARE LESS about the fact that the tradition of Kansas Football began in 2007, lolz :)
The most important thing is that MY Kansas Jayhawks Jayhawks WON the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in BOTH College Football AND College Basketball, during the 2007-2008 ACADEMIC year :)
In fact, the Kansas Jayhawks became only the SECOND school to win the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in BOTH College Football AND College Basketball in the SAME ACADEMIC year :)
As you may recall, the Florida Gators accomplished this feat only ONE ACADEMIC YEAR EARLIER than my Kansas Jayhawks did... as the Florida Gators WON the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP in BOTH College Football and College Basketball during the 2006-2007 ACADEMIC year :)
Oh, by the way... let's not forget that:
FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991
Anyways, Mark Mangino DEFINITELY deserves the raise that he is getting!
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
Jamison, I am tired of your ranting, so you have successfully run me off ever reading anything you write anymore.
David, as a Georgia fan I know that the University of Georgia owns more national championships in this decade than any other school in the nation. As a Georgia fan I recognize that my team has won 12 SEC titles, more than LSU and Florida. Georgia has won 2 nationally recognized National Championships, and 3 others. Georgia has won 2 Heisman trophies (one 20 years before Spurrier). As a Georgia fan I know that my team holds a winning record against Florida. Georgia also has more Super Bowl MVPs than any other college team.
I think Georgia football speaks for itself, unlike Kansas football which has ridden the coattails of its basketball team for last 100 years.
Georgia has won a total of 31 National championships and 127 SEC Championships. Georgia has won more national championships in the last decade than Kansas has won total.
Read some stats before typing your next comment.
I'm sorry what's KU's football tradition? Oh yeah, none.
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David Smith 11 months ago
Georgia certainly has had a lot of success in their overall athletic department. Why are you so angry then? Is it because Georgia has been pretty pedestrian in the major sports in college athletics: football and college basketball?
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Georgia has won a total of 31 National championships and 127 SEC Championships."
Fine, I'll ADMIT that this is MORE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS... than my Kansas Jayhawks have won, lolz :)
The rest of this comment is going to be totally OFF TOPIC... but at the same time, it can be very EDUCATIONAL:
I get very curious... when I see the numbers 31 and 127, in the same sentence! Here is why:
Has anyone noticed that:
31 and 127 are both Mersenne primes (prime numbers that are also 1 less than a power of 2)???
31 = (2 ^ 5) - 1
127 = (2 ^ 7) - 1
127 is the 31st prime number???
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113, 127
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Joe D. 11 months ago
KANSAS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION. . . . since uhhh.....
Sorry, had to do it!
Anyway, I think KU is on the road to being a solid team but they have to do more work. Reesing is a solid QB, who can be very good, but what do they have after him? Mangino is a solid coach and I do worry about him because college coaching is a year-round job but that's not important. He can bring in a couple nice recruiting classes, I think they have a shot.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Of course they have a shot, and I like Reesing a lot. But I wonder what their season would have been like if they had played some of those Big 12 South teams.
Then again, history has shown that it's those "other" teams that cause problems...the ones you don't think of as a loss, but rather a guaranteed win. Like USC thought of Stanford.
I am very impressed KU showed up....I will be even more impressed if they do the same (or roughly the same) this year. People keep saying that they are building a program. That's true, but when you go 12-1, people have a bullseye in their sights.
If they are as good as fans say they are, then playing Texas and Oklahoma shouldn't be an issue this year. If they lose to both, then I guess we can say KU is a very good team that will be playing good football in the future, and a lot more competitive than they used to be, but.....their standings in the Big 12 LY were likely due to a very soft sked last year.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Of course they have a shot, and I like Reesing a lot. But I wonder what their season would have been like if they had played some of those Big 12 South teams."
omg, I know... That is why Todd Reesing is going to be Heisman FRONT-RUNNER THIS SEASON, lolz :)
"Then again, history has shown that it's those "other" teams that cause problems...the ones you don't think of as a loss, but rather a guaranteed win. Like USC thought of Stanford.
I am very impressed KU showed up....I will be even more impressed if they do the same (or roughly the same) this year. People keep saying that they are building a program. That's true, but when you go 12-1, people have a bullseye in their sights."
Once again, this is PROOF that MY Kansas Jayhawks TOOK GOOD CARE OF BUSINESS, during the 2007 College Football season, lol :)
"If they are as good as fans say they are, then playing Texas and Oklahoma shouldn't be an issue this year. If they lose to both, then I guess we can say KU is a very good team that will be playing good football in the future, and a lot more competitive than they used to be, but.....their standings in the Big 12 LY were likely due to a very soft sked last year."
But still, NOTHING can ever change the FACT that MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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David Smith 11 months ago
If USC loses to Ohio State does it prove that their 11-2 record in 2007 was a function of their schedule?
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A.J. Mealor 11 months ago
Jimson, I hear Florida football has been kind of a big deal for a while now. I hear they won a Heisman back in the day, guy named Spurrier.
I'm sure you're going to retort with Georgia Football a tradition since 2002. Ummmmmmm, no. Maybe 1942.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson, I hear Florida football has been kind of a big deal for a while now. I hear they won a Heisman back in the day, guy named Spurrier."
Actually, that's kind of true... because Florida Football has been kind of big deal, for nearly 17 years :)
In fact, I remember the EXACT date of when the TRADITION of Florida Football began:
Saturday, September 7, 1991
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Joe D. 11 months ago
I'm not a Gator fan; so I don't find the relevancy there.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"I'm not a Gator fan; so I don't find the relevancy there."
But hey, you said:
"KANSAS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION. . . . since uhhh.....
Sorry, had to do it!"
So, I had to say:
FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Jimson....
haha! You just won't let go. But I love your passion. You are a great fan! :)
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson....
haha! You just won't let go. But I love your passion. You are a great fan! :)"
omg, I know... MY Kansas Jayhawks WON a SHARE of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, during the 2007 College Football season, lolz :)
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
David-
Maybe! Their non-conference sked was not ideal, and they lost to Stanford.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
AJ-
"Kansas a football tradition since halfway through the 2007 season."
Brutal, but absolutely hilarious. I mean that was a side-splitter. LOL! Now that is some serious smack.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
FLORIDA GATORS FOOTBALL
A TRADITION . . . SINCE SEPTEMBER 7, 1991
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David Smith 11 months ago
If Arizona State loses to Georgia this year does that prove that their 10-3 record in 2007 was a function of their schedule?
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Are you done yet? ;P
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David as 11 months ago
I could provide many more examples if necessary. Just trying to show how silly it is to validate (or invalidate in this case) success in one year with wins or losses in the following year.
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Tim Lebow 11 months ago
Seriously, quit your senseless jabbering and iron my shirt. I've been waiting all day.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
What are you talking about???
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Timmy-
You joined this site 30 minutes ago and already talking smack! I like that!
Get yourself a girlfriend who has a driver's license and can GPS a local drycleaners, unless all of your shirts are "wash-n-wear." If that's the case, take her to Chuck-E-Cheese as a reward for doing your laundry. Capiche?
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
David-
I don't think it's silly. SC and Georgia had all tougher schedules than KU last year. This year, KU has a legit schedule. Look, KU had a great year last year, but their schedule was a cream puff.
In regular season they played one top 20 team and lost. Sure they beat Va Tech post season, but that's it. I would be for more impressed if KU would be able to do the same thing TY with this schedule.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"I don't think it's silly. SC and Georgia had all tougher schedules than KU last year. This year, KU has a legit schedule. Look, KU had a great year last year, but their schedule was a cream puff."
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
SC did NOT have a tougher schedule that KU last season, lolz :)
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"I don't think it's silly. SC and Georgia had all tougher schedules than KU last year. This year, KU has a legit schedule. Look, KU had a great year last year, but their schedule was a cream puff."
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
SC did NOT have a tougher schedule than KU last season, lolz :)
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David s 11 months ago
If KU loses to UT this year does it mean that they would have lost to Texas last year? If USC loses to OSU this year, it must mean they would have lost to them last season as well. Right?
And Lisa, I'm still waiting for you to explain to me how UT was so much better than aTm and Tech was so much better than OSU last year.
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James Fatari 11 months ago
last year was definately a huge fluke but i think they'll build up on that Virginia Tech win and they'll atleast win 9 games this season....the predicted losses are against Texas, Oklahoma & Missouri
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"last year was definately a huge fluke but i think they'll build up on that Virginia Tech win and they'll atleast win 9 games this season....the predicted losses are against Texas, Oklahoma & Missouri"
Actually, I predict that MY Kansas Jayhawks will win AT LEAST 10 games this season, lol :)
Oh, by the way, this is the 100th comment on this message thread!!! Congratulations to you, Lisa :)
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
So do KU fans really not feel that the loss of possibly their best-ever CB Talib, and their All-American LT and their best DT are a big deal? I think these are huge losses for a team that got used to a guy like Aqib making plays on both sides of the ball.....man, I hope Jimson responds and leaves me with a heavily CAPS locked response that emphasises his unrelenting (I'm guessing new-found) homerdom for KU
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"So do KU fans really not feel that the loss of possibly their best-ever CB Talib, and their All-American LT and their best DT are a big deal? I think these are huge losses for a team that got used to a guy like Aqib making plays on both sides of the ball.....man, I hope Jimson responds and leaves me with a heavily CAPS locked response that emphasises his unrelenting (I'm guessing new-found) homerdom for KU"
Actually, I do NOT feel that the loss of Talib... is a BIG DEAL, lolz :)
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Donald Fincher 11 months ago
Jimson,
You have said repeatedly that KU will be 10-2 this year. Will you please state which 10 teams you believe the beat and which 2 you think they lose to. Thanks...
Also, you've probably been told this before but, just in case you haven't, you really don't do much to add to any credibility you might be trying to either achieve or retain by saying that KU won the football national championship. Like many people, I don't necessarily like the BCS system that we have but it is the current system and KU did not win it. Moreover, KU didn't even win the Big 12 championship. As I recall, KU didn't even win the North Division of the Big 12. So saying a team that was the second best team in what has historically been the second best division of probably the 3rd or 4th best conference won the national championship is complete nonsense.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Jimson,
You have said repeatedly that KU will be 10-2 this year. Will you please state which 10 teams you believe the beat and which 2 you think they lose to. Thanks..."
Okay, the 10 teams that I think Kansas will beat, are as follows:
Florida International
Louisiana Tech
South Florida
Sam Houston State
Iowa State
Colorado
Oklahoma
Kansas State
Nebraska
Texas
And these are the 2 teams that I think Kansas will lose to:
Texas Tech
Missouri
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
I think Jimson is drunk on KU kool-aid if he thinks they will only lose to tech and mizzou. Those two will probably be closer than the UT and OU games will be. OU will blow Kansas out and I think Texas will do the same.
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Donald Fincher 11 months ago
KU will not beat Oklahoma. OU would have beaten KU last year had they played. And the problem for KU is that KU will not be as good and OU will be better than last year.
As for Texas, everyone seems to be thinking the Longhorns will be down but they are not yet factoring in something very important. The new defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, came from the SEC (Auburn). And the reason that the SEC wins championships is defense. You may have heard somewhere along the way the famous saying that "Defense wins championships." It's true. They play better defense in the SEC than anywhere else and that is why the league is superior. And Muschamp was one of the best defensive coordinators in the SEC. Texas will be better than everyone says this year and will beat Texas Tech, probably Missouri, and definitely KU.
As far as Nebraska, the jury is still out on them. However, given the lopsidedness of this series (which continued even through most of the Callahan years) and the fact that, if nothing else, Pelini improves the defense by leaps and bounds, Nebraska is far from being penciled in as a win for KU. In fact, it is more than likely a loss since KU has the added disadvantage of playing in Lincoln.
For the record, I do agree with the other wins you mention as well as the teams you think KU loses too. I will predict that KU goes 7-5 (plus or minus 1). I'll be looking for you lurking these boards at the end of the season. If I'm wrong, I'll find you and fess up. If I'm right, I expect you to do the same.
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David Smith 11 months ago
"OU would have beaten KU last year had they played."
Which OU team are you talking about. The one that drilled MU to win the Big XII or the one that lost in Boulder and got embarassed by West Virginia? I would have liked KU's chances against that 2nd OU team.
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Kyle Meadows 11 months ago
Does nobody remember that Mizzou beat KU in that "Game of the Century" that the media was calling it?
That propelled Mizzou to the #1 spot in the nation, and a week later, Mizzou, finds themselves out of the BCS Bowl games while KU got the nod. I'm pretty sure no team has been #1 and just a week later finds themselves left out of the party. So Mizzou beating KU meant absolutely nothing the week before if KU was going to get the nod anyways.
KU didn't even play Oklahoma, which Mizzou played twice. Mizzou had a tougher schedule than KU also.
KU and Mizzou were both measured against each other, and Mizzou was clearly the better team. The BCS dropped the ball by not selecting Mizzou instead of KU.
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David Smith 11 months ago
"KU and Mizzou were both measured against each other, and Mizzou was clearly the better team."
Was Stanford a clearly better team than USC?
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Kyle Meadows 11 months ago
Mizzou over KU was not an upset
Stanford over USC was
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Donald Fincher 11 months ago
David,
Bob Stoops and OU are currently on a 4 game bowl losing streak. Obviously, OU doesn't do well when they have a lot of time on their hands. But had KU played them, it would have been during the season (the same time that OU beat Texas and Missouri). Besides, that WVU game with all that had happened with Rodriguez and the "chip on their shoulder" attitude WVU played with that day, it was like they were possessed. Remember, this was the same WVU that lost to Pitt (who had won 4 games) the game before. That WVU team was in an unusual situation and played in an unusual way. So, given that KU's game would have been in the season, I would still have taken OU. But, as I mentioned before, OU will be better this year and KU will probably not be as good.
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David Smith 11 months ago
At what point in the season did OU lose to Colorado and Texas Tech? Was that in the regular season or the post season?
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
I think Colorado may give KU a run for their money this year.
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Justin Hume 11 months ago
Hear me out, but this article is garbage. You cherry pick "regular season" to exclude Kansas's best win of the season (over a team that was top 5 at the time). There's no level-headed explanation for that.
You refer to "ranked teams" with no regard for the fact that many of the opponents were top 30-40 according to Sagarin and other reputable rating systems. You make absolutely no mention of victory margin (KU absolutely demolished these "cupcakes") which has been proven to be much better correlated to ability than pure W/L records.
You've basically taken all the facts in front of you, chosen a handful that suit you and then drawn a nonsense conclusion from the select few facts that you gave any regard to.
To quote firejoemorgan.com:
you should take no joy in being so wrong about something that throngs of people rise up as one to denounce you. This should not be what it means to be a writer. When thousands of people write you angry emails about something you said or wrote that was wrong, you should not shrug your shoulders and say, "I must be doing something right if I got so many people interested!" No, sir. Sir, no. You were wrong. That is the end of the story. You were so wrong you made people angry. There is no glory in your profound wrongitude. Please stop doing this.
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Lisa Horne 11 months ago
Hmm Justin...a lot of people agree with my assessment. And while many disagree with it, a lot of them don't like hearing an honest assessment. Especially if they are a Jayhawks fan. You seem to fall in the latter.
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Mike Siebert 11 months ago
Justin obviously skipped over the 85 posts detailing the lack of difficulty in their entire schedule. It was the perfect storm for KU and they should've capitalized on it more.
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Jimson Cuenta 11 months ago
"Justin obviously skipped over the 85 posts detailing the lack of difficulty in their entire schedule. It was the perfect storm for KU and they should've capitalized on it more."
What are you talking about???
If any team should have capitalized on their schedule MORE, LAST SEASON... that team was the Clemson Tigers :)
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Dale Stringer 11 months ago
Everyone keeps talking about KU's three big personnel losses at LT, CB and RB. Way I see it, there is only one big loss - at LT. KU has plenty of players waiting for their shot at CB. Granted, none as good as Talib, but not far off. As for RB, wasn't it just a year ago (about this time before last season) that everyone was wondering how KU was going to replace the 1600 all purpose yards from Jon Cornish? They did it, they can do it again.
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