Let the hype begin

Pat Wicke, Lenexa, claps her hands as the Jayhawk lineup is announced at Memorial Stadium. KU went on to beat Iowa State, 45-7, on Saturday in the Jayhawks' home finale. Sunday, the Jayhawks ascended to No. 2 in all the major national polls and the BCS standings.

KU defeats ISU, 45-7

KU's dream season lived on after a victory over Iowa St. on Saturday. The win helped put the Jayhawks at number two in the BCS rankings.

Jayhawks keep streak alive

With the victory over Iowa St., the Jayhawks continued their unbeaten season and are now only one game away from a date with the Big 12 Championship in San Antonio.

Reader poll

Personnel-wise, who do you think creates the the biggest matchup problem for KU's defense?

QB Chase Daniel 35% 1656 votes
RB Tony Temple 1% 72 votes
TE Martin Rucker 9% 463 votes
TE Chase Coffman 6% 289 votes
Do-it-all Jeremy Maclin 44% 2045 votes
Someone else 2% 114 votes

4639 total votes.

chat

Chat Tuesday with MU beat writer Graham Watson

Read transcript

Swimming to the top was tough enough. Now, Kansas University's football team has to tread the dangerous currents to reach the ultimate prize.

That's setting up to be even tougher.

Kansas has ascended to the No. 2 ranking in the Bowl Championship Series standings, as well as all three major polls - the Associated Press, the USA Today coaches and the Harris Interactive - after beating Iowa State, 45-7, on Saturday.

Losses by Oregon and Oklahoma allowed the rise, and the Jayhawks are now behind only LSU in all the rankings. A date with Missouri - No. 4 in the BCS standings and No. 3 in the AP poll - looms as KU's first test in the driver's seat.

The top two teams in the final BCS standings on Dec. 2 will play in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.

KU's ascension was expected after how last week's games played out. Still, like always, don't expect anybody within KU's football program to have a celebratory pizza party.

"We still have another week to go," quarterback Todd Reesing said. "Those rankings don't mean anything until the season's said and done."

True, but the Jayhawks' 11-0 record has put them in great position to have a very meaningful ranking once it's said and once it's done. The No. 2 BCS ranking is in part because of that, but it also has been fueled by losses across college football, be it Oregon, Oklahoma or Ohio State recently.

As for the AP poll, the Jayhawks are ranked higher than they've ever been before. The 1968 team peaked at No. 3 en route to its Orange Bowl berth.

So far, everything has worked out for the Jayhawks from a national perspective, though coach Mark Mangino has kept a one-track mind on what he can control.

"We're not sitting in front of the TV praying people out," Mangino said. "We believe your ship doesn't come in. You have to swim out to your ship."

Kansas has been paddling like crazy this season, and now it appears it's in control of any aspiration it may have. A victory over Missouri on Saturday, followed by a victory in the Big 12 championship game, should be enough for Kansas to play for the national title.

But true to the creed of the team, KU's players are thinking nothing of the possibilities.

"Not yet," linebacker Joe Mortensen said.

¢ Injury update: Mangino said Sunday that the status of KU's three injured starters - left tackle Anthony Collins, cornerback Kendrick Harper and strong safety Patrick Resby - remains uncertain heading into the Missouri game.

"We just don't know," Mangino said. "We've got to progress through the week, and we'll see. At this point in time, medically, nobody has been ruled out."

Kansas obviously is a banged-up team right now, 11 games into the season. But practices have stayed intense in terms of contact and will continue to.

"We pretty much keep a normal routine," Mangino said. "We keep an eye on guys that aren't as healthy as they should be. : But we've got to keep the team moving and keep practicing at the same tempo we normally do."

¢ Work to do: Reesing hasn't thrown an interception in his last 205 pass attempts, a remarkable feat dating back to the Oct. 6 game at Kansas State.

Reesing, in fact, now is starting to catch a whiff of the NCAA Division-I record. That was compiled by Fresno State's Trent Dilfer, who had 271 consecutive pass attempts without an interception in 1993.

¢ Circus coming: ESPN's Web site confirmed Saturday night that its weekly College Gameday show will be aired live from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Saturday.

The show airs from 9 to 11 a.m. before the day's college football games begin. In addition, the crew will make an appearance on SportsCenter between 8 and 9 a.m.

The Kansas-Missouri game is slated for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised by ABC.

¢ Vegas opening line: Kansas opened as a 2 1/2-point favorite over the Tigers for Saturday's game.

The Jayhawks could make a little history Saturday if they win by three or more points. At this stage, Kansas is 10-0 against the Vegas spread, and no college football team has gone through the regular season undefeated against the spread this decade.

¢ New commitments: Kansas received an oral commitment Sunday from an in-state target it has been pursuing for a while: defensive end Duane Zlatnik.

Zlatnik, a 6-foot-4, 260-pounder out of Rossville, committed to Kansas over Kansas State and Wisconsin, according to Rivals.com.

"The coaches (at KU) have always said I'll play defensive end," Zlatnik told Rivals. "Hopefully that is where I will stay."

Kansas also received a commitment Sunday from Nicholas Plato, a 6-6, 230-pound tight end/defensive end out of Edwardsville, Ill. Plato originally had committed to Boston College, but changed his mind and chose Kansas over Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Colorado.

More like this

Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 39 comments / November 26, 2007
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 7 comments / November 5, 2007
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 17 comments / December 3, 2007
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 34 comments / October 29, 2007
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 25 comments / October 22, 2007

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kltbadboyz (anonymous) says...

Thats funny the poll says Carson Coffman, isnt it Chase Coffman that plays for the tigers and Carson plays for the wildcats

November 19, 2007 at 4:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

moveforward (anonymous) says...

How cool would it have been for KU to have Game Day at the Hawk or the Wheel?

November 19, 2007 at 5:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

Todd Reesing: ... you must be Daniel. Look, darling, Chase Daniel. The best QB from Texas since Vince Young, they say. What do you think, darling? Should I hate him?

Fans: You don't even know him.

Reesing: Yes, but there's just something about him. Something around the eyes, I don't know, reminds me of... me. No. I'm sure of it, I hate him.

Ryan Cantrell: [to Daniel] He's been celebrating.

*dialogue exchanged in Latin*

Reesing: Evidently Mr. Daniel's an educated man. Now I really hate him.

November 19, 2007 at 5:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Mangino_Maniac (anonymous) says...

I hope Anthony, Kendrick and Patrick can play in the big game on Saturday, as I'm sure they want to be part of this huge contest. Has anyone heard anything on Todd's ankle? I'm sure he'll be starting regardless, but was just wondering...

November 19, 2007 at 6:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

Daniel: Don't any of ya have the guts to play for blood?

Reesing: I'm your huckleberry.

November 19, 2007 at 7:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

Daniel: What is that now? Twelve games in a row? Reesing, son of a bit**, nobody's that lucky.

Reesing: Why Chase, whatever do you mean? Maybe football's just not your game Chase. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!

November 19, 2007 at 7:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

Man, I could do this all day.

November 19, 2007 at 7:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

Tony Temple: Listen, Mr. Kansas Law Dog. Law don't go around here. Savvy?

Kelly Meier: I'm retired.

Martin Rucker: Good. That's real good.

Tony Temple: Yeah, that's good, Mr. Law Dog, 'cause law don't go around here.

Kerry Meier: I heard you the first time.
- Winner to the King, five hundred dollars.

Martin Rucker: Shut up, Tony.

Chase Daniel: And you must be Todd Reesing.

Todd Reesing: That's the rumor.

Chase Daniel: You retired too?

Todd Reesing: Not me. I'm in my prime.

November 19, 2007 at 7:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

How about this one:

Coach Mangino: Now remember, things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.

November 19, 2007 at 8:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

Ha Ha! We are back to Tombstone quotes!

Why Chase Daniel! You look like someone just walked over your grave.

Fights not with you Reesing!

I beg to differ sir. We started a game we never got to finish. Play for blood remember?

November 19, 2007 at 8:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

aeroku (anonymous) says...

Chase Daniel: My fight's not with you, Reesing.

Reesing: I beg to differ, sir. We started a game we never got to finish. "Play for Blood," remember?

Chase Daniel: Oh that. I was just foolin' about.

Reesing: I wasn't.

November 19, 2007 at 8:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

aeroku (anonymous) says...

Dang, Klong - You stole my quote!

November 19, 2007 at 8:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

ttoulouse (anonymous) says...

My favorite is still the line from Good, Bad, and Ugly by the old lady that says something to the effect that "Nothing good ever came out of Missouri. We're Jayhawks." There's a You Tube video on it that I can't send from work. Feel free to search "Kansas Jayhawks," you'll see it.

Here are some stats for you to work with. Don't know why we aren't more of a favorite. collegefootballnews.com still is picking us to lose this game but this is evidence to the contrary:

rankings among div-1a teams
Rushing Offense:
ku - 15
mu - 37(!!!)
big Advantage: KU

Passing Offense:
KU - 16
MU - 5
Advantage: MU

Total Offense:
KU - 4
MU - 7
Slight Advantage: KU

Scoring Offense:
KU - 2
MU - 6
Slight Advantage: KU

Here's where the Stats don't lie baby!!

Rush Defense:
KU - 7 (against REAL competition)
MU - 29 (against basically the same compettition)
Advantage: KU

Passing Defense:
KU - 41
MU - 96(!!!)
Advantage: KU (we suck, but not as bad as them!)

Total Defense:
ku - 8
mu - 57
huge Advantage: KU

Scoring Defense:
ku - 2
mu - 33
huge Advantage: KU

Turnover Margin:
KU - +21 (leads the nation)
MU - +10
Advantage: KU

Bottom Line:
Both teams out-score people
But we STOP people, they don't

There's no way any "on paper" national pundits pick MU over us

Rock Chalk!!!

November 19, 2007 at 8:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Displayhawk (anonymous) says...

Thanks everyone for voting for Sparky (Todd Reesing) for the Davey O'Brien Quarterback award! He finished first, and is now a finalist for this award. Voting for the finalists will start today! so keep voting!
The website is www.daveyobrien.com! You have to register to vote.
BTW, the national media is touting Tim Tebow (Florida) and Chase Daniel (Mizboo) as a two-horse race for the Heisman. Let's show them that we think otherwise!
Please also vote for Coach Mangino for Coach of the Year at www.coachoftheyear.com!
Thanks again Jayhawkers!

November 19, 2007 at 8:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

Sorry buddy! I had to move quick! They were going fast! lol I only beat ya by two min.

November 19, 2007 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

klong (anonymous) says...

Hey Display, I don't think we need to worry about Mangino getting coach of the year. If he doesn't win with what he has done already then there is something very wrong with this country.

November 19, 2007 at 8:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

afilmer (anonymous) says...

right klong -
mangino's had coach of the year locked up for a couple of weeks now. we could puke on ourselves and he'd still deserve and get it.

great stats ttoulouse

i think tebow deserves the heisman this year - but it's never to early to start the conversation for next year.

by the way - my buddy taught me this -

do y'all know how to get a tiger off your front porch?

pay him for the pizza. he'll leave after that. it totally works.

November 19, 2007 at 9:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayharchitect (anonymous) says...

Did I just hear the entire Jayhawk nation knock on wood when they read this,

"Reesing hasn't thrown an interception in his last 205 pass attempts, a remarkable feat dating back to the Oct. 6 game at Kansas State." ?

November 19, 2007 at 9:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

shelleysue (anonymous) says...

I never get tired of "Tombstone".

November 19, 2007 at 9:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

"How cool would it have been for KU to have Game Day at the Hawk or the Wheel?"

Not cool at all.

November 19, 2007 at 10:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

tis4tim (anonymous) says...

jayarchitect,

I believe the record is held by Trent Dilfer (Fresno State) from 1993. I think it's 271 straight w/out an interception or something very close to that.

November 19, 2007 at 10:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

Reesing to Daniel: "You're no daisy! You're no daisy at all. Poor soul, you were just too high strung."

Reesing commenting on Daniel: "It would appear that the strain was more than he could bear..."

November 19, 2007 at 10:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Jayhawk86 (anonymous) says...

Reesing: What makes a man A tiger fan, Kerry? What makes him do the things he does?
Meier: A man thats a Tiger fan has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Reesing: What does he want?
Meier: Revenge.
Reesing: For what?
Meier: Bein' born.

November 19, 2007 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )