Sunday, September 16, 2007

Keegan

Keegan: Jayhawks better than beer

By Tom Keegan

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KU vs. Toledo

KU routs Toledo, 45-13

The Kansas Jayhawks got revenge for last year's loss by defeating Toledo by a final score of 45-13.

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2007 KU-Toledo Football

KU Football

Note to the thirsty fools who left Memorial Stadium at halftime Saturday night to find entertainment elsewhere: This is not another deadly dull Kansas University football team. It has too many playmakers this season to bore audiences.

Even on nights when the Jayhawks trip all over themselves, as they did Saturday in a 45-13 victory against Toledo, they have too many players with a blinding second gear to make heading for the bars a more entertaining option than watching the final two quarters.

When Marcus Henry saw the end zone in the distance, he reached a speed the defenders near him simply didn't have. No way Aqib Talib could break the plane of the goal line on the ground for the fourth time on his fifth career reception, not with the sideline and a defender hemming him in. So he took to the air and covered the final five yards from there.

Jake Sharp's shiftiness gives him the edge going up the middle. When he turns the corner, he turns on the jets, and it's quite a sight. So is his postgame outfit. He's pure cowboy with shiny, pointed boots and a rodeo shirt.

What quarterback Todd Reesing - he sometimes wears a suit and tie after the game - might lack in foot speed he more than compensates for with clever feet. He's such a patient scrambler. He waits until the last second to move out of the way of the potential tackler, forever keeping his eyes on the move for a target, usually one far down the field.

Isn't it refreshing to see a quarterback who hasn't been brainwashed into thinking that all passes must be as safe as runs, must be more horizontal than vertical? Not that Reesing hasn't been safe. He has thrown 10 touchdown passes and has not thrown an interception.

Defensive playmakers are emerging as well, although not one who consistently harasses the quarterback.

Safety Darrell Stuckey, brainy as is Reesing, flies around making hard hits and on this night picked off a pass.

It will take the Big 12 schedule to get a better read on just how good Kansas is - an 8-4 record still seems the best guess - but it's not too early to declare already that this is the flashiest KU team in recent years.

"A lot of people on this team have a hunger," Stuckey said. "It's almost like we haven't eaten and we're at dinner waiting for our plate to come. We run around the field like we all want to make plays, but we don't care who gets the glory at the end of the play."

The volume and size of a crowd estimated at 48,112 - at least until the short attention spans in attendance headed for instant gratification elsewhere instead of hanging out during halftime - added to this Kansas football team distancing itself from the days of yawns galore.

A little tweaking to the product could liven things up to another level. More marquee opponents at Memorial Stadium - Nebraska is the only one this season - and one uniform alteration could spice up the football mania.

The Trajan lettering on the jerseys, a subtle change, was a good one. It's the helmet that needs work. Bring back the Jayhawks on the helmets. Now that Kansas has speedier players, let them fly down the sidelines with birds on their heads.

Griping about the helmet design sure beats falling asleep watching a horizontal, plodding product. Consider it progress.

Comments

1977kufan (anonymous) says...

Great article, Tom and you are exactly right. Why would anyone want to leave The Stadium before these Jayhawks finish their job is indeed a mystery (beer? or maybe they want to get to Mancrappin before we do)? Yes, yes, yes talons on those birds flying down the sidelines. rumbling through the opponents wrecked defensive line (great work on the O line), flying through the air or picking the "airballs" thrown by which teams QB (super work D) would add a nice "touch". See you for the entire next game at The Stadium.

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

JJHawq (anonymous) says...

please - Put the jayhawk on the helmet. Keegan is an import - and he gets it.

September 16, 2007 at 9:17 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

It would help if the games started earlier ... we have two children under the age of five, and we're no sticklers about bedtime, but we have the walk to the car & drive home to consider.

We usually leave midway through the third.

I suspect more folks WILL stay longer during conference season when the games usually begin at 11am or 2pm.

***

Talib's dive should have made SportsCenter, too bad this flashy team isn't getting any television coverage - thank you Big XII!

***

I hate to admit it, the Jayhawk on the helmet looks goofy ... the letters are fine. It might be better if the Jayhawk looked meaner, like the previous incarnation.

Beak 'em, Hawks!

September 16, 2007 at 10:18 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

DrJHawk (anonymous) says...

Hey, here's an idea. Get some games on TV! I live in West Texas, and bought sat. package to see my beloved Jayhawks. I've missed a half dozen (maybe) basketball games in the ten years I've had DirecTV. And maybe a half dozen football games are all that I've seen offered in that time. The Big 10 has their own channels. Notre Dame hasn't scored an offensive touchdown, but their contract with NBC is ironclad. Even Central Michigan made it on the dish this week with a game against Purdue. We can't even get the Nebraska game televized?

September 16, 2007 at 11:32 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Nice article.

While the jayhawk is defnitely a defining symbol for our KU, so are the block letters. IMHO, "KU" is more fitting representation for the football helmet. It wouldn't seem like a tremendous stretch though to figure out another way to incorporate the Jayhawk into the uniform.

What is the chance of Coach Mangino starting a tradition of recognizing individual achievement leading to team victories in the form of a symbol (Jayhawk) on the helmet similar to other schools (The Buckeye at Ohio State, the Boilermaker Special at Purdue, ...)

Maybe, this is contrary to some of the team philosophies of Coach Mangino, but maybe it is just an incentive to the individuals within the context of the team that also encourages school pride.

It is also encouraging to see the continued development of the football program, so that maybe someday we will get to watch the 'Hawks outside of the state of Kansas. I'm not expecting ND's tradition of Heismans and NC's, but just to be able to see a few games a year. I'm guessing that even the more quality opponents during Big XII season will help.

September 16, 2007 at 2:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

Dropped passes, fumbles, sacks and they still win big. I wonder if this team is getting bored with the competition.

Two muffed punts by Pendleton, that's the difference between winning and losing in conference play.

As for the helmet, I vote for KU over the Jayhawk.

September 16, 2007 at 2:31 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

BCoburnHull (anonymous) says...

Give it time. This team still has a bit to prove to get the air time. I have no doubt they will do well this year and get a couple of games next year...or maybe an added spot this year.
I like the idea of the Jayhawk on the helmet. Make it the angry one from the 40's. I have always liked that version.

September 16, 2007 at 2:48 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

I stayed until about 2 minutes left in the 3d Quarter when we went ahead 45-7. Sorry Keegs, but watching Bama come from behind and get in the end zone with 7 seconds left was a little more exciting than watching the 4th Quarter last night. Im a Hawk fan, but Im also a college football fan. If we get a game that is still in doubt when the 4th Qtr rolls around, rest assured, I will be there and that includes our 4 road games.

September 16, 2007 at 3:40 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

truefan (anonymous) says...

I stayed until the very end of that game, but I can definately see where you are coming from fabio. I really only care about how KU does, so staying was my decision, but in the eyes of many football fans that really want to see a "game" I understand why they would leave at half. The game wasn't ever really in question and if we had a better opponent, no one would have left. My only concern is how that looked to the recruits that were visiting for the game and watched nearly all of the fans trickle out of the stadium from half time on until there was only a few left at the final whistle. If we are going to get recruits then we need die-hard fans...to get die-hard fans we need to get a bowl game...and to assure a bowl game we need to eat some cupcakes...it's a bitter cycle.

September 16, 2007 at 4:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

DallasHawk (anonymous) says...

I agree DrJHAWK, the Big 12 needs to work on getting better coverage. i can't even stream the games on the internet either. I follow the games online, but it would be great to watch the Hawks in action. All I know is that they better get coverage for the Kitty Cats game or I'll lose it.

September 16, 2007 at 5:01 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

leikness (anonymous) says...

It will be interesting to see next Tuesday if the KSU game gets televised. I believe it will if KU does go ahead and close the deal out at 4-0 preseason. I think you will see the OSU and A&M games on TV as well (but we should all still get off our a$$es and go to the games).

The 1st two games, I would have disagreed with Keegan and would have much rather been out in the parking lots boozing it up than working on the sidelines. Last night was different, it was a much more physical game. I don't care what CMU did to Toledo, this was the best team Kansas has played so far this year. There were battles, the line play was physical, and the hawks won the vast majority of those battles. I think the players enjoyed the fact that it was a little more physical on Saturday night.

From what I see and hear, I don't think you can say that this team is getting bored. I used to think that the '05 team had the best demeanor of any Kansas team I had seen, but even on defense, this team seems to blend serious concentration with having fun doing it. It has the perfect two guys leading the group in McClinton and Talib. McClinton was down there 1/2 way through the 4th quarter begging the coach to go in to play wherever. He was like, "I'll play outside linebacker, cornerback, can i play coach, can I play. (all in a joking around manner, the coach got a laugh out of it)" These kids enjoy playing together and are loose enough to get through adversity when it comes. And they will go straight from having fun and congratulating eachother for a great play to going over a coverage and trying to figure out who has what, or where, or what got messed up on a certain play.

September 16, 2007 at 7:36 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

leikness (anonymous) says...

This is the 1st time in the Mangino era there has been leaders on both sides of the ball. Reesing is a leader. He's tough, but not get yourself hurt tough (ie whittemore); he's constantly positive, but will acknowledge when he makes a mistake and let the guys know that one was on him. He gives direction to his receivers and communicates with them extremely well, listening to them included, and because of that, they are willing to go after every pass he puts out there.

Mangino has instilled in this team an attention to detail, that makes me really think of the Williams b-ball teams. It's systematic, and that's good. There's no confusion or miscommunication and I think you see the results of this in the lack of penalties so far. I haven't heard a KU football team communicate with eachother and constantly be asking questions of their coaches and teammates like these guys. The guy is coaching, he's not picking and choosing his battles or just ripping people apart constantly. He's teaching one guy, yelling at another, praising another....it's really kind of cool to see right now. And I think the kids are on the same page with him and have a ton of respect for him right now. The players are getting the right messages at the right times. Anybody see how fast he was moving with about 1:30 left in the 2nd quarter and the defense forced a 4th down and he needed to get to the lineman to call TO?

September 16, 2007 at 7:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

bmcmich1 (anonymous) says...

As for people in the stands, it's a process. Even with the inflated count of 48 thou and change, we had a pretty darn good showing at the beginning of the game. Rewind the clock to 5-10 years ago and we wouldn't have even come close to that number even showing up at all. If we keep winning like this, people will eventually stay for all four quarters. Unfortunately, it's not going to go from 30k in the stands (if we were lucky) to 50k staying until the final buzzer overnight.

People that used to just show up at tailgate time then head to the bars once the game started are now going in to see what the buzz is all about. You can't expect the average joe KU fan who is indifferent at best toward our football team to sit through a complete blowout YET, but I assure you it will come once this team becomes synonymous with success (which is not far off). Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the way things are shaping up in regards to fan support. Once conference play starts up, expect Memorial to be rockin for four full quarters.

September 16, 2007 at 11:37 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

RckChalkJeff (anonymous) says...

Im all for the KU on the helmet...if its the normal block letter font. Trajan sucks!

http://www.trajansucks.com

September 17, 2007 at 11:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

rtjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Can someone explain how MIZ-POO gets ranked playing no-name teams and we don't? Not that I think we've played anyone with great talent, but come on? Mizzou gets ranked for playing nobodys?

September 18, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

pburgstu (anonymous) says...

A white helment with a jayhawk that would have sort of an old style sweetness to it

September 19, 2007 at 11:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )