Play KU, get Big 12 honor

By Ryan Wood     Oct 24, 2006

It’s like any wise investment – if you’re making bets as to who will win the Big 12 Conference offensive football player-of-the-week award, just look at the increasingly obvious trend.

Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell was honored Monday, and he’s just adding to the evidence. Winning the award before him was Oklahoma State receiver Adarius Bowman. Before Bowman was Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee.

See the common thread here?

All three of those players earned the honor playing against Kansas University. McGee led the Aggies on a fourth-quarter drive that fueled a 21-18 victory over the Jayhawks on Oct. 7. Bowman, a wide receiver, had 13 catches for a conference-record 300 yards and four touchdowns the next week in Lawrence. And Bell had 395 yards passing and five touchdowns Saturday in the Bears’ 36-35 victory over the Jayhawks.

All three players propelled their teams from behind against KU, but none quite like Bell, whose team had its back firmly against the wall. Bell threw 55 passes, completing 33 of them. Down 35-17, he had 236 yards and three scores in the fourth quarter alone, erasing the deficit.

“Shawn has played great since I have been here, and I did not want anybody else behind center,” Baylor receiver Trent Shelton said. “We believed the entire time.”

No Kansas player has won any player-of-the-week honors yet this season. Three are passed out per week – one each for offense, defense and special teams.

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Doing well: KU coach Mark Mangino was unavailable for Monday’s Big 12 coaches conference call because his son, Tommy, had an emergency appendectomy Monday morning.

Tommy Mangino, a former standout football and baseball player at Lawrence High, currently is a backup quarterback for the Washburn University football team. He also is the starting catcher for the Ichabod baseball team.

A team spokesperson said Monday afternoon the younger Mangino was doing fine. Offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro filled in for the head coach on the conference call with media members Monday morning.

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Well done: Though Kerry Meier had just 62 yards passing and 62 yards rushing, Quartaro was pleased with Meier’s performance before the freshman QB left at the end of the third quarter because of a shoulder injury.

“Kerry probably played his best game of the year, without question, until he went out there in the second half,” Quartaro said.

Meier practiced Sunday and is expected to be OK for Saturday’s game against Colorado, though he will continue to be monitored.

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No TV: As expected, KU’s game at Iowa State on Nov. 4 will not be televised. In fact, it’s the only one of the six league games that week not on television.

As of Monday night, kickoff time had not yet been announced.

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