Woodling: Tangerine is worth the trip

By Chuck Woodling     Dec 5, 2003

Ten reasons why you should consider following the Kansas University football team to the Tangerine Bowl …

10. If you don’t go this year, you might have to wait awhile.

What goes around comes around in the Big 12 Conference, and Kansas will play Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech during the 2004 and 2005 seasons instead of Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Baylor. Also, Kansas can’t count a win over a I-AA school for bowl-eligibility purposes again until 2007.

9. You can go to an Orlando Magic game and try to cheer up Drew Gooden.

If you do go to a Magic game — and you shouldn’t have any trouble obtaining tickets with the Magic currently in the throes of a 17-game losing streak — cheer loudly for Gooden, the former Kansas All-American who must be baffled how quickly he went from the penthouse to the outhouse. During Gooden’s last two years at Kansas, the Jayhawks lost only seven times.

8. You can evaluate in person how a classic college quarterback performs against a prototypical pro quarterback.

Kansas’ Bill Whittemore is not even listed among the Top 30 pro football quarterback prospects, while North Carolina State’s Phil Rivers is projected as a late first- or early second-round selection in the 2004 NFL Draft. Whittemore relies on a quick first step, above-average speed and an accurate arm to confound opposing defenses. Rivers, who is nearly the size of a tight end at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, is deadly from the pocket, but lacks athleticism and is no threat to take off and run.

7. You may see KU freshman standout Charles Gordon playing more at cornerback than at wide receiver.

Although Gordon is the Jayhawks’ best possession receiver, he also is the team’s best cornerback. He can cover, he can tackle, and at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, his future as an NFL player is clearly on defense. Does Kansas have any chance at all against the pass-happy Wolfpack without Gordon in the secondary?

6. You can wonder how much better the Jayhawks’ defense would be if Wayne Simien were playing on the line.

Simien doesn’t play football, of course, but I did see a “Simien for the Heisman” sign at the Kansas-Michigan State basketball game, and it made think of how imposing the 6-foot-9, 250-pounder would be in a football uniform. Then again, maybe the Allen Fieldhouse sign holder had Simien confused with Rodney Fowler, the KU football player who also wears No. 23 and was named Big 12 defensive player of the week after intercepting two passes against Iowa State.

5. You can visit a college campus that boasts an enrollment of 40,000, or about 15,000 more than Kansas University.

It’s Central Florida University or, as the school prefers, UCF. The Golden Knights are affiliated with the Mid-American Conference and play their home games at Florida Citrus Stadium, home of the Tangerine Bowl. By the time you arrive, the school is expected to have named George O’Leary as its new head coach. Yes, that’s the same George O’Leary who resigned the Notre Dame job when it was learned a portion of his resume was fiction.

4. You can see Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and all the Disney gang.

If you have any money left after visiting Walt Disney World and the Epcot Center, you can go to Sea World, Busch Gardens, the Kennedy Space Center, the Holy Land Experience, Universal Studios and Gatorland, among other attractions. Or you can drive down the road to Baseball City and see where the Royals trained every spring until they moved to Surprise, Ariz., home of — this may surprise you — KU starting offensive tackle Danny Lewis.

3. You can watch the Jayhawks play in red uniforms.

Just kidding. Even though KU’s soccer and softball teams sometimes don red uniforms and the men’s basketball team may wear red for selected games this season, don’t hold your breath waiting for Mark Mangino to use this special occasion to unveil red togs. Unless it’s mine-shaft red.

2. You’ll still have time to be home from Christmas.

And Christmas Eve, too.

1. Hey, it’s Orlando, not Des Moines.

Sure, Fort Worth, Texas, may have been closer, but a bowl game in Fort Worth is the equivalent of a Super Bowl in Milwaukee. And pity the poor Missouri fans. How badly do you think they want to go to Shreveport, La.? Also, remember that the Jayhawks’ last three mainland bowls were in Birmingham, Ala., El Paso, Texas, and Memphis, Tenn.

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