Kansas football has work to do

By Bill Mayer     Nov 9, 2002

The Kansas University football situation is even worse than some preseason pessimists figured. As for those of us who dared to dream that the Mark Mangino Jayhawks might win four or five games : boy, are we rubbing our tear-dimmed eyes.

Honestly, some ultra-loyal Pollyannas were speculating the Jayhawks possibly could upset Iowa State in the opener and ambush a couple other league foes down the line. Do that, whip the “sure things” such as UNLV, Bowling Green and Southwest Missouri State’s Mighty Bears, and a six-win mark was in reach. Maybe even a minor bowl, huh?

Oh, the growing migraine that has begun throbbing for Kansas fans since that 1-2 floppola against the non-loop opponents. Schedule some Kansas State-type cupcakes, Dr. Al.

While observers once were talking about visible improvement in “a year or two,” you hear lots of “three and four years” talk now. Even those charitable assessors don’t sound assured. Can an upsurge EVER occur? You keep thinking how Kansas State came from nowhere to somewhere and tend to believe. But optimism doesn’t come easily.

For one thing, and this will draw Purple Rain, many conversant with academics will tell you that Kansas State has an easier time admitting “students” than Kansas, especially junior college products who might get KU off the dime a little sooner.

I already can hear my e-mail clicking and beeping, but that’s common talk among non-Wildcats at several schools. Must admit I still have serious reservations about that KSU mastodon who somehow got 17 hours of credit in SUMMER SCHOOL to gain eligibility.

But enough of the antagonizing of the K-State zealots. I can generate enough hostility among Jayhawk diehards just discussing the glaring lack of big-league personnel and the challenging future here.

There’s currently no quarterback, no running back, no offensive line, and the placekicking and special teams performances are in disarray. As for the defense, things look like the Holland lowlands if that gutsy Dutch kid hadn’t stuck a fat thumb in the leaky dike.

So Greg Heaggans has a school record for kickoff return yardage. Talk about a questionable mark. In 1954 when Kansas was going 0-10 under Chuck Mather, Chuck blew up one night when a reporter asked if that was a positive statistic, since KU was doing so well in that category.

“Hell, no!” exclaimed Chuck. “All that means is that we’re getting a lot of kickoffs to return because the damned opponents are scoring all the time. That’s a statistic you can drop in the toilet as far as I’m concerned!”

Nebraska may be down on its luck, but it has a tendency to kick off to KU an awful lot.

Rebuild and come back?

This is the Big 12, guys, not the old Big Eight. There are Kansas and Baylor; everyone else seems on the other side of the gap. KU couldn’t even beat lowly Baylor this fall.

Now comes Nebraska, which since 1968 has regularly beaten KU by an average of something like 35 points. The outlook is far from brilliant.

When Glen Mason took over after the 3-8 and 1-9-1 Bob Valesente seasons of 1986 and 1987, KU could at least look at foes such as Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma State as reachable conference opponents. KSU, ISU and OSU are clearly out of KU’s league now. That doesn’t even factor in Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Colorado, and even Missouri at this painful stage.

Yet Iowa State and Oklahoma State have gained potency and Mizzou is on the verge of success. Don’t tell me Kansas can’t do that as well.

Coach Mangino keeps trying to sound optimistic about the future and the chances of KU’s becoming at least competitive in the treacherous company it keeps. But with each new flogging :quot; which further exposes just how bare the talent, speed, size and depth bins are here :quot; you have to wonder how long it might take for Kansas to get even near the same neighborhood with the Joneses of the Big 12.

l

Pardon some blatant parochialism.

Every time they release a list of candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I expect to see John Hadl’s name. No, he never won a Super Bowl title ring and tended to throw more interceptions than even he was happy with. But the Lawrence product’s credentials are every bit as good as those of any star quarterback, many of them already in the Canton, Ohio, shrine.

Trouble is, John spent 11 years with the San Diego Chargers that included the early days of the old AFL; then in his five years with old-time NFL teams he wasn’t a headliner. But he led the Chargers to Western Division titles in 1963, ’64 and ’65, and an AFL championship in 1963. He ranks fourth on the charts in pass attempts and touchdown passes and fifth in aerial yardage (33,513). For two years, he was the Chargers’ full-time punter.

After a trade, Hadl led the Los Angeles Rams to the 1973 NFC Western Division crown and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1974.

Thanks to Bernie Kish, John finally was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. His pro career was every bit as scintillating, along with his coaching and his various honors, as many of the guys in the pro hall.

It’s about time some of the researchers did some homework and began to hustle John onto the next candidates’ list.

Kansas football has work to do

By Mark Fagan     Nov 9, 2002

The Kansas University football situation is even worse than some preseason pessimists figured. As for those of us who dared to dream that the Mark Mangino Jayhawks might win four or five games : boy, are we rubbing our tear-dimmed eyes.

Honestly, some ultra-loyal Pollyannas were speculating the Jayhawks possibly could upset Iowa State in the opener and ambush a couple other league foes down the line. Do that, whip the “sure things” such as UNLV, Bowling Green and Southwest Missouri State’s Mighty Bears, and a six-win mark was in reach. Maybe even a minor bowl, huh?

advertisement

Oh, the growing migraine that has begun throbbing for Kansas fans since that 1-2 floppola against the non-loop opponents. Schedule some Kansas State-type cupcakes, Dr. Al.

While observers once were talking about visible improvement in “a year or two,” you hear lots of “three and four years” talk now. Even those charitable assessors don’t sound assured. Can an upsurge EVER occur? You keep thinking how Kansas State came from nowhere to somewhere and tend to believe. But optimism doesn’t come easily.

For one thing, and this will draw Purple Rain, many conversant with academics will tell you that Kansas State has an easier time admitting “students” than Kansas, especially junior college products who might get KU off the dime a little sooner.

I already can hear my e-mail clicking and beeping, but that’s common talk among non-Wildcats at several schools. Must admit I still have serious reservations about that KSU mastodon who somehow got 17 hours of credit in SUMMER SCHOOL to gain eligibility.

But enough of the antagonizing of the K-State zealots. I can generate enough hostility among Jayhawk diehards just discussing the glaring lack of big-league personnel and the challenging future here.

There’s currently no quarterback, no running back, no offensive line, and the placekicking and special teams performances are in disarray. As for the defense, things look like the Holland lowlands if that gutsy Dutch kid hadn’t stuck a fat thumb in the leaky dike.

So Greg Heaggans has a school record for kickoff return yardage. Talk about a questionable mark. In 1954 when Kansas was going 0-10 under Chuck Mather, Chuck blew up one night when a reporter asked if that was a positive statistic, since KU was doing so well in that category.

“Hell, no!” exclaimed Chuck. “All that means is that we’re getting a lot of kickoffs to return because the damned opponents are scoring all the time. That’s a statistic you can drop in the toilet as far as I’m concerned!”

Nebraska may be down on its luck, but it has a tendency to kick off to KU an awful lot.

Rebuild and come back?

This is the Big 12, guys, not the old Big Eight. There are Kansas and Baylor; everyone else seems on the other side of the gap. KU couldn’t even beat lowly Baylor this fall.

Now comes Nebraska, which since 1968 has regularly beaten KU by an average of something like 35 points. The outlook is far from brilliant.

When Glen Mason took over after the 3-8 and 1-9-1 Bob Valesente seasons of 1986 and 1987, KU could at least look at foes such as Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma State as reachable conference opponents. KSU, ISU and OSU are clearly out of KU’s league now. That doesn’t even factor in Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Colorado, and even Missouri at this painful stage.

Yet Iowa State and Oklahoma State have gained potency and Mizzou is on the verge of success. Don’t tell me Kansas can’t do that as well.

Coach Mangino keeps trying to sound optimistic about the future and the chances of KU’s becoming at least competitive in the treacherous company it keeps. But with each new flogging :quot; which further exposes just how bare the talent, speed, size and depth bins are here :quot; you have to wonder how long it might take for Kansas to get even near the same neighborhood with the Joneses of the Big 12.

l
Pardon some blatant parochialism.

Every time they release a list of candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I expect to see John Hadl’s name. No, he never won a Super Bowl title ring and tended to throw more interceptions than even he was happy with. But the Lawrence product’s credentials are every bit as good as those of any star quarterback, many of them already in the Canton, Ohio, shrine.

Trouble is, John spent 11 years with the San Diego Chargers that included the early days of the old AFL; then in his five years with old-time NFL teams he wasn’t a headliner. But he led the Chargers to Western Division titles in 1963, ’64 and ’65, and an AFL championship in 1963. He ranks fourth on the charts in pass attempts and touchdown passes and fifth in aerial yardage (33,513). For two years, he was the Chargers’ full-time punter.

After a trade, Hadl led the Los Angeles Rams to the 1973 NFC Western Division crown and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1974.

Thanks to Bernie Kish, John finally was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. His pro career was every bit as scintillating, along with his coaching and his various honors, as many of the guys in the pro hall.

It’s about time some of the researchers did some homework and began to hustle John onto the next candidates’ list.

Kansas football has work to do

By Mark Fagan     Nov 9, 2002

The Kansas University football situation is even worse than some preseason pessimists figured. As for those of us who dared to dream that the Mark Mangino Jayhawks might win four or five games : boy, are we rubbing our tear-dimmed eyes.

Honestly, some ultra-loyal Pollyannas were speculating the Jayhawks possibly could upset Iowa State in the opener and ambush a couple other league foes down the line. Do that, whip the “sure things” such as UNLV, Bowling Green and Southwest Missouri State’s Mighty Bears, and a six-win mark was in reach. Maybe even a minor bowl, huh?

advertisement

Oh, the growing migraine that has begun throbbing for Kansas fans since that 1-2 floppola against the non-loop opponents. Schedule some Kansas State-type cupcakes, Dr. Al.

While observers once were talking about visible improvement in “a year or two,” you hear lots of “three and four years” talk now. Even those charitable assessors don’t sound assured. Can an upsurge EVER occur? You keep thinking how Kansas State came from nowhere to somewhere and tend to believe. But optimism doesn’t come easily.

For one thing, and this will draw Purple Rain, many conversant with academics will tell you that Kansas State has an easier time admitting “students” than Kansas, especially junior college products who might get KU off the dime a little sooner.

I already can hear my e-mail clicking and beeping, but that’s common talk among non-Wildcats at several schools. Must admit I still have serious reservations about that KSU mastodon who somehow got 17 hours of credit in SUMMER SCHOOL to gain eligibility.

But enough of the antagonizing of the K-State zealots. I can generate enough hostility among Jayhawk diehards just discussing the glaring lack of big-league personnel and the challenging future here.

There’s currently no quarterback, no running back, no offensive line, and the placekicking and special teams performances are in disarray. As for the defense, things look like the Holland lowlands if that gutsy Dutch kid hadn’t stuck a fat thumb in the leaky dike.

So Greg Heaggans has a school record for kickoff return yardage. Talk about a questionable mark. In 1954 when Kansas was going 0-10 under Chuck Mather, Chuck blew up one night when a reporter asked if that was a positive statistic, since KU was doing so well in that category.

“Hell, no!” exclaimed Chuck. “All that means is that we’re getting a lot of kickoffs to return because the damned opponents are scoring all the time. That’s a statistic you can drop in the toilet as far as I’m concerned!”

Nebraska may be down on its luck, but it has a tendency to kick off to KU an awful lot.

Rebuild and come back?

This is the Big 12, guys, not the old Big Eight. There are Kansas and Baylor; everyone else seems on the other side of the gap. KU couldn’t even beat lowly Baylor this fall.

Now comes Nebraska, which since 1968 has regularly beaten KU by an average of something like 35 points. The outlook is far from brilliant.

When Glen Mason took over after the 3-8 and 1-9-1 Bob Valesente seasons of 1986 and 1987, KU could at least look at foes such as Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma State as reachable conference opponents. KSU, ISU and OSU are clearly out of KU’s league now. That doesn’t even factor in Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Colorado, and even Missouri at this painful stage.

Yet Iowa State and Oklahoma State have gained potency and Mizzou is on the verge of success. Don’t tell me Kansas can’t do that as well.

Coach Mangino keeps trying to sound optimistic about the future and the chances of KU’s becoming at least competitive in the treacherous company it keeps. But with each new flogging :quot; which further exposes just how bare the talent, speed, size and depth bins are here :quot; you have to wonder how long it might take for Kansas to get even near the same neighborhood with the Joneses of the Big 12.

l
Pardon some blatant parochialism.

Every time they release a list of candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I expect to see John Hadl’s name. No, he never won a Super Bowl title ring and tended to throw more interceptions than even he was happy with. But the Lawrence product’s credentials are every bit as good as those of any star quarterback, many of them already in the Canton, Ohio, shrine.

Trouble is, John spent 11 years with the San Diego Chargers that included the early days of the old AFL; then in his five years with old-time NFL teams he wasn’t a headliner. But he led the Chargers to Western Division titles in 1963, ’64 and ’65, and an AFL championship in 1963. He ranks fourth on the charts in pass attempts and touchdown passes and fifth in aerial yardage (33,513). For two years, he was the Chargers’ full-time punter.

After a trade, Hadl led the Los Angeles Rams to the 1973 NFC Western Division crown and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1974.

Thanks to Bernie Kish, John finally was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. His pro career was every bit as scintillating, along with his coaching and his various honors, as many of the guys in the pro hall.

It’s about time some of the researchers did some homework and began to hustle John onto the next candidates’ list.

Kansas football has work to do

By Mark Fagan     Nov 9, 2002

The Kansas University football situation is even worse than some preseason pessimists figured. As for those of us who dared to dream that the Mark Mangino Jayhawks might win four or five games : boy, are we rubbing our tear-dimmed eyes.

Honestly, some ultra-loyal Pollyannas were speculating the Jayhawks possibly could upset Iowa State in the opener and ambush a couple other league foes down the line. Do that, whip the “sure things” such as UNLV, Bowling Green and Southwest Missouri State’s Mighty Bears, and a six-win mark was in reach. Maybe even a minor bowl, huh?

advertisement

Oh, the growing migraine that has begun throbbing for Kansas fans since that 1-2 floppola against the non-loop opponents. Schedule some Kansas State-type cupcakes, Dr. Al.

While observers once were talking about visible improvement in “a year or two,” you hear lots of “three and four years” talk now. Even those charitable assessors don’t sound assured. Can an upsurge EVER occur? You keep thinking how Kansas State came from nowhere to somewhere and tend to believe. But optimism doesn’t come easily.

For one thing, and this will draw Purple Rain, many conversant with academics will tell you that Kansas State has an easier time admitting “students” than Kansas, especially junior college products who might get KU off the dime a little sooner.

I already can hear my e-mail clicking and beeping, but that’s common talk among non-Wildcats at several schools. Must admit I still have serious reservations about that KSU mastodon who somehow got 17 hours of credit in SUMMER SCHOOL to gain eligibility.

But enough of the antagonizing of the K-State zealots. I can generate enough hostility among Jayhawk diehards just discussing the glaring lack of big-league personnel and the challenging future here.

There’s currently no quarterback, no running back, no offensive line, and the placekicking and special teams performances are in disarray. As for the defense, things look like the Holland lowlands if that gutsy Dutch kid hadn’t stuck a fat thumb in the leaky dike.

So Greg Heaggans has a school record for kickoff return yardage. Talk about a questionable mark. In 1954 when Kansas was going 0-10 under Chuck Mather, Chuck blew up one night when a reporter asked if that was a positive statistic, since KU was doing so well in that category.

“Hell, no!” exclaimed Chuck. “All that means is that we’re getting a lot of kickoffs to return because the damned opponents are scoring all the time. That’s a statistic you can drop in the toilet as far as I’m concerned!”

Nebraska may be down on its luck, but it has a tendency to kick off to KU an awful lot.

Rebuild and come back?

This is the Big 12, guys, not the old Big Eight. There are Kansas and Baylor; everyone else seems on the other side of the gap. KU couldn’t even beat lowly Baylor this fall.

Now comes Nebraska, which since 1968 has regularly beaten KU by an average of something like 35 points. The outlook is far from brilliant.

When Glen Mason took over after the 3-8 and 1-9-1 Bob Valesente seasons of 1986 and 1987, KU could at least look at foes such as Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri and Oklahoma State as reachable conference opponents. KSU, ISU and OSU are clearly out of KU’s league now. That doesn’t even factor in Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, Colorado, and even Missouri at this painful stage.

Yet Iowa State and Oklahoma State have gained potency and Mizzou is on the verge of success. Don’t tell me Kansas can’t do that as well.

Coach Mangino keeps trying to sound optimistic about the future and the chances of KU’s becoming at least competitive in the treacherous company it keeps. But with each new flogging :quot; which further exposes just how bare the talent, speed, size and depth bins are here :quot; you have to wonder how long it might take for Kansas to get even near the same neighborhood with the Joneses of the Big 12.

l
Pardon some blatant parochialism.

Every time they release a list of candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I expect to see John Hadl’s name. No, he never won a Super Bowl title ring and tended to throw more interceptions than even he was happy with. But the Lawrence product’s credentials are every bit as good as those of any star quarterback, many of them already in the Canton, Ohio, shrine.

Trouble is, John spent 11 years with the San Diego Chargers that included the early days of the old AFL; then in his five years with old-time NFL teams he wasn’t a headliner. But he led the Chargers to Western Division titles in 1963, ’64 and ’65, and an AFL championship in 1963. He ranks fourth on the charts in pass attempts and touchdown passes and fifth in aerial yardage (33,513). For two years, he was the Chargers’ full-time punter.

After a trade, Hadl led the Los Angeles Rams to the 1973 NFC Western Division crown and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1974.

Thanks to Bernie Kish, John finally was chosen for the College Football Hall of Fame. His pro career was every bit as scintillating, along with his coaching and his various honors, as many of the guys in the pro hall.

It’s about time some of the researchers did some homework and began to hustle John onto the next candidates’ list.

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