Thursday, December 27, 2007

Woodling

Woodling: Miami unkind to KU

By Chuck Woodling

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KU gearing up for Miami

The Kansas offense has been fantastic all season long, but the Jayhawks' stiffest test of the year comes in just over a week against Virginia Tech.

Jayhawks leave for Miami Thursday morning

The day the Kansas football team plays in a BCS bowl game for the first time ever is fast approaching - in fact, Thursday morning the Jayhawks leave for Miami.

Yes, I know Virginia Tech is favored over Kansas in the Orange Bowl. The Gobblers aren't turkeys, and the combined record of the 11 teams KU defeated was a lackluster 50-80.

Fortune may or may not need to smile on the Jayhawks next week, but a grin or two sure wouldn't hurt. From a historical standpoint, however, KU fans already have one reason to jump for joy.

As you know, the Orange Bowl is now staged at Dolphin Stadium, not in the Orange Bowl itself, a rust-encrusted, 70-year-old relic scheduled for demolition sometime in 2008.

That's good news because the Orange Bowl stadium has been a chamber of horrors for Kansas, and not just during its 1948 and 1969 post-season appearances. KU actually has played in the Orange Bowl stadium three times. Back in 1990, the Jayhawks met Miami University in a regular-season nonconference game inside the decaying steel structure.

In all three games, strange things happened to the Jayhawks, none of them serendipitous.

In the '48 Orange Bowl, KU appeared headed for a late tying touchdown when quarterback Lynne McNutt attempted a quarterback sneak a mere two feet from the end zone and lost the ball. Controversy raged as to whether McNutt fumbled or was stripped after the whistle. Georgia Tech won, 20-14.

In the '69 Orange Bowl, the Jayhawks appeared to have stopped a Penn State two-point conversion attempt in the waning seconds to preserve a 14-13 victory. But KU was whistled for having 12 men on the field. The Nittany Lions tried again, succeeded and won, 15-14.

Then there was the Jayhawks' third and last appearance in the decrepit stadium - a game that featured an unusual pregame incident as well as a phantom touchdown.

That Kansas-Miami game in '90 wasn't close. The Hurricanes, 35-point favorites, won 34-0 (at least the Jayhawks beat the spread) after their customary pregame intimidation tactic of disrupting the opposing team's warmups by running through them on their way out from the locker room.

Unthrilled by this unsportsmanlike display, several KU players bumped and jostled a few of the Hurricanes' players in a surreal spectacle about half an hour before kickoff. The scuffling lasted for a minute or so.

Then there was the touchdown that wasn't.

Kansas was inside Miami's five-yard line, facing a fourth-and-goal, while trailing 20-0, when KU coach Glen Mason rejected a short field-goal attempt.

Most coaches probably would have attempted a pass in this situation, but Mason, who usually considered a pass nothing more than a short cut through the mountains, sent tailback Tony Sands into the Miami line. Sands was stopped about the two. Worse, he fumbled.

Mason looked like an idiot. But wait. KU center Chip Budde had covered the loose ball in the end zone. Kansas had scored, after all. Mason looked like a genius.

For a minute or so, anyway. Or until the officials waved off the apparent touchdown. What the :???

Well, as it turned out, just a few months earlier college football poobahs had adopted a new rule stipulating that if a ball was fumbled inside the five-yard line on fourth down, the ball could be recovered only by the fumbler. That rule, incidentally, is still in effect.

Now all KU football fans can do is hope a change in venue will mean an end to the Jayhawks' misfortunes in Miami.

Comments

JBurtin (anonymous) says...

We're due for a lot of things here in Kansas. This would just be one of dozens of imaginary barriers that have been passed by in the last few years.

December 27, 2007 at 3:24 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

History means nothing in sports, especially in bowl games, where you have good teams playing good teams. This is a different team, a different year. The Hawks have not been underrated in the poles but continue to be underrated by the media and the so-called gurus. We'll see.

December 27, 2007 at 8:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

hawkman1031 (anonymous) says...

Hawks rule

December 27, 2007 at 9:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...

I think with all of the history made by this group of Jayhawks, overcoming fumbles poor coaching decisions and other self-destruct mechanisms should be expected.

As to whether the ghosts of the Orange Bowls past will haunt KU or not I say look at what we did winning in Colorado for the first time in 12 years, or at K-State for the first time in 19 years, or in College Station for the first time ever.

I expect some early game jitters, but hopefully the boys won't surrender an early lead. Coach will have the guys ready to play without turnovers and penalties. It oughtta be a heck of a game and I expect that if the Hokies win it will be because they are better not because we did something dumb.

December 27, 2007 at 10:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

Its Hokie week. Time to put on the game face.

December 27, 2007 at 10:55 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kcmostwanted (anonymous) says...

Central Mich. the team that KU beat 1000 to 7 almost beat Purdue last night, but lost because of bad clock management... anyways, Purdue is not great but they do have some NFL talent on that team and Central Mich played them down to the wire...

The wierd thing is i still don't know exactly how good KU is... I feel we should have been in the Big 12 title game w/ Oklahoma (we definately had a chance to win MO and still feel like we should have won even though KU only showed up 1 half)...

We struggled against CO (which has a pretty good D) and came back on MO (which has a good D too)... I think if our players play like they have something to prove then we should be fine against that stingy V-tech Defense...

things to note...
1. Todd has to play the best game of his career (up to this point)
2. We have to establish the run game effectively and early
3. Our receivers need to make all their catches (no dropped balls due to the stage/bright lights)
4. Our O-line has to give Todd time / D-line has to constantly be in the backfield....also match the opponents physicality
5. Discipline and No more missed tackles please!!! ( i was ready to pull out my hair that MO game)
6. Hopefully the guys are humble and don't walk on the field over-confident (Was it only me or did it seem like they were surprised by MO)....hopefully this doesn't happen against V-tech...

Can't wait till Jan 3rd

December 27, 2007 at 11:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

I think the biggest key will be this:

Our defense must step up and keep their mediocre offense from scoring until our offense gets truckin'.

Our offense has proved that while highly effective, it's a little slow to start, generally. If the defense can hold them down long enough for us to begin moving the ball, goodnight VT!

December 27, 2007 at 11:42 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kickazzkurtz (anonymous) says...

Jayviking,

I agree. I don't see VTECH's Offense scoring big points. We hold them down, don't turn it over and can win by 2 scores I think.

December 27, 2007 at 12:05 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

WisconsinJayhawk (anonymous) says...

I think the defense needs to prevent any significant number of touchdowns or field goals, and not give up any two point conversions; the offense needs to matriculate the ball down the field regularly, culminating in moving said pigskin across the fat line between the one yard line and the big block letters spelling the teams' names and/or kick the ball over the horizontal bar and between the vertical ones; and on the balance, the matriculation of the ball across the VT goal line in combanation with field goals must equal or exceed the same activities by the Hokies against our defense.

I feel the above strategy, if KU follws my well-crafted game plan, will result in victory.

December 27, 2007 at 12:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jawk1 (anonymous) says...

"I think the defense needs to prevent any significant number of touchdowns or field goals, and not give up any two point conversions; the offense needs to matriculate the ball down the field regularly, culminating in moving said pigskin across the fat line between the one yard line and the big block letters spelling the teams' names and/or kick the ball over the horizontal bar and between the vertical ones; and on the balance, the matriculation of the ball across the VT goal line in combanation with field goals must equal or exceed the same activities by the Hokies against our defense.

I feel the above strategy, if KU follws my well-crafted game plan, will result in victory."
____________________________________

Sheer genius. This has to be coach Tressel in disguise. If WiskyHawk isn't coaching at the DI level or above I will be shocked!!

P.S. Coach, can you get my wife one of those cool sweater vests, but in KU Crimson and Blue.

Just bustin your cahones WiscHawk. It's Christmas and bored waiting til departing flight 12/31/07. Destination: Miami, Florida, USA

December 27, 2007 at 1:13 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

They've been counting us out all season and we keep winning so what do the experts know. Truth is, there is not enough inter-conference play in college that enables analysts to match up opponents and determine the outcome. Bottom line, football analysts don't really know. Even though they speak with great conviction they are frequently wrong.

Addendum to above list.
7. Make our field goals.

December 27, 2007 at 2:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

"Was it only me or did it seem like they were surprised by MO"

I don't think they were surprised. I think it was a combination of early jitters and injuries. With their best lineman on each side of the ball and their starting QB at less than 100% (not to mention not having a starting CB), KU couldn't possibly play as well as they had in other games. And even with all of that, KU almost pulled it out.

December 28, 2007 at 1:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

actorman (anonymous) says...

"We hold them down, don't turn it over and can win by 2 scores I think."

I don't buy it. Remember, with VT it's not just about their defense but about their special teams. The number of kicks they block is beyond incredible. I still think KU will win, but I think it will be close. I'll say 23-21.

December 28, 2007 at 1:50 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

RedJay (anonymous) says...

Woodling, why do you hate us so much? Are you just cautiously pessimistic so you don't get hurt if we lose? Or are you this negative in all things?

Thanks for the bode of confidence in our guys. And when we beat VaTech, I don't want to read in the Urinal World any article from you about how proud you are of the guys. If you really want to show your Jayhawk spirit you should just not write anything for 365 days. We'd all appreciate it.

December 30, 2007 at 7:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )