Waning Moments of Border Showdown Symbolic of Two Different Big 12 Programs

In a matter of 18 seconds at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday, a pair of decisions were made by two coaches leading different programs seemingly heading in completely opposite directions.

His team trailing by three with 3:18 left in a game utterly void of defense, Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel took a calculated risk.

Rather than trusting his offense—which had amassed more than 500 yards and scored 23 second-half points to squash rival Kansas' once-commanding lead—to convert a delicate fourth-and-4 at the MU 39, Pinkel called on punter Jake Harry.

MU fans shuddered and cringed. KU fans giggled with devilish delight.

Harry, a rugby-style kicker who has become one of the many unsung heroes of Missouri's topsy-turvy season, rolled his kick inside the KU three-yard line. But the backfire potential of Pinkel's bold decision was still high.

"You look at percentages," Pinkel told reporters later, in defense of his gamble . "And you look at odds."

Nevertheless, after stating his surprise with the attention his decision was receiving, Pinkel admitted relief that everything worked out for the better.

"Wow," he said, "I'm just so glad we won the game."

But the odds Pinkel spoke of weren't exactly in Missouri's favor.

Kansas had already drug MU's defense up and down the field for nearly 600 yards, but it needed only 10 more to seal a second-consecutive win over its rival—and emerge as the victor in what was arguably the most entertaining game between the two sides in the 118-year history of the series.

With 2:45 left on the game clock, and Missouri armed with one harmless timeout, Kansas head coach Mark Mangino countered Pinkel's move with a calculated risk—or three—of his own.

Choosing to pass in the gleam of their own goalpost on first, second, and third down, Mangino and the Jayhawks failed to move the chains and, worse yet, did absolutely nothing to make friends with the clock.

By the time KU quarterback Todd Reesing was taken down in the end zone by two Missouri defenders for a momentum-swinging safety, only 14 seconds had transpired.

What happened next wasn't necessarily unexpected. Given favorable field position off the free kick following the safety, Missouri moved down a short field to set up kicker Grant Ressel 's game-winning chip shot to give the Tigers the 41-39 win .

Afterward, Mangino was as silent about his game management as Pinkel was relieved that his paid off, leaving only his players to give the rest of us a glimpse into what exactly happened .

“We checked out of a run. We definitely saw something,” Kansas right tackle Brad Thorson said, referring to offensive coordinator Ed Warinner's decision to pass on first down. “Our offensive coordinator, he’s spot-on. He knows what the defense is doing, and we took a couple shots.”

Wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe , who compensated for two crucial fumbles by racking up a career-high 242 yards and two touchdowns, seemed surprised by the play-calling but nonetheless reluctant to question the decisions that were made.

“In my mind-set, I just thought we’d run the ball, get what we could get, run some clock, make them use their timeouts,” Briscoe said. “But the coaches thought different, so I can’t argue. I’m just a player. I just go out there and run what they tell me to.”

Saturday's Border Showdown was one for the ages. It was a game that wasn't supposed to exceed the excitement of the two previous meetings between the two teams, but it did.

It did so with reckless abandon, as the two offenses, each carried by its superstars, traded blows in an epic battle that highlighted Saturday's full slate of rivalry matchups across the nation.

What's more, not many people expected Kansas (5-7, 1-7) to show up. Many were under the assumption that Missouri (8-4, 4-4), winner of its last three games, would register a double-digit win, blow out of town, and pound the coveted War Drum with ear-to-ear grins all the way back to Columbia.

Well, the latter two parts of that scenario are true. And now the state of the two respective programs, particularly the two head coaches, couldn't be more different.

Thought to have been receding back into also-ran status prior to the season, Missouri dismissed the notion of 2009 being the first phase in a rebuilding project.

Despite inconsistency on both sides of the ball, a gimpy and inexperienced quarterback, and a devastating midseason, three-game losing streak, the young Tigers are going to a bowl game for a school-record fifth season in a row.

With a chance to win nine games—presumably in the Insight Bowl against Minnesota—the Tigers should reap benefits on the recruiting trail.

Talent is beginning to pile up in Columbia, the roster features underclassmen galore, and Pinkel will be the program's guiding force for the foreseeable future, having signed an extension through the 2015 season last November.

In all, the MU program appears to be erected on pillars of strength. On the other hand, in Lawrence, an already shaky foundation may have crumbled on Saturday along with Mangino's last-minute tactics.

Their bowl dreams dashed against the Tigers, the Jayhawks are now officially in a state of flux.

The school's all-time passing leader, Reesing, is now an alum of the program, as is receiver Kerry Meier , Kansas' record-holder for receptions in a single season.

Joining them is fellow cornerstone and senior defensive back Darrell Stuckey , and Briscoe, a junior, is strongly considering entering his name in the NFL draft.

Granted, Kansas has developing talent to act as replacements, but who exactly will coach them?

Fans will call for Mangino's head based on the Jayhawks' final possession on Saturday, but it's likely his fate has been decided for some time now.

The sticky situation involving him and athletic director Lew Perkins over allegations that Mangino mistreated players is not bound to simmer down any time soon, which spells trouble not only for the immediate future of Kansas football but also its long-term reputation.

If suspect play-calling were plausible grounds for termination, Mangino would be on the unemployment line by now.

But because KU owes him nearly $7 million if he's fired without cause, pending a settlement between the two sides, a lawsuit may very well be forthcoming if there's insufficient evidence to validate the allegations.

That scenario would be enough to make any candidate shy away from taking over the reins. And, as a result, recruits will be tentative about considering Kansas.

After the loss, Mangino took to the podium to field questions that targeted on one subject and one subject only.

For KU fans, the postgame press conference was a bittersweet moment that may have signaled the beginning of a transitional period for the program, which is something MU fans likely won't have to experience for a long time.

"I don't have anything to say to any decision-makers or anything," Mangino said. "A friend of mine told me something one time I think is a very good way to go about life. That is: I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees."

Photo credit: Parker Eshelman/Columbia Daily Tribune