It was tough to figure out which sight was more unbelievable on this virtual Saturday evening.
Obviously on the one hand, Kansas University’s virtual football team broke the school record for points scored in a game when the virtual Jayhawks blasted Appalachian State 90-14 in front of a packed virtual Memorial Stadium.
But then again it appeared that the virtual Clark Green not only was talking trash to the Mountaineers — but also dancing in the south end zone which he frequented quite often.
Yep, that’s right, the same shy, and soft-spoken Green who prides himself on doing things the right way, rather than loudly — who just last week in the real world said: “Talking gets you nowhere” — was showing off.
But then again the virtual Tampa Bay, Fla., native had a heck of a lot of reasons to be boisterous.
Get the stats: KU-ASU virtual box
scoreHow about 269 yards worth of rushing … on just 14 carries … in only one half.
Better yet, Green’s five touchdown runs before intermission broke the university’s all-time mark, which a handful of former Jayhawks all shared with four scores in a game.
Then there is, of course, the fact that Green also snapped KU’s previous record for rushing yards in a quarter with 155 and rushing yards in a half with 269.
Green’s first quarter mark broke June Henley’s 1993 record of 143 yards in the second quarter against Iowa State. Green’s halftime total snapped Tony Sands’ 240-yard first half he had against Missouri on Nov. 23, 1991 when Sands, KU’s second all-time leading rusher, set the KU record for rushing yards in a game with 396.
Even the real-life Green might talk that mighty effort up.
“Ya’ll wanted to see it,” the virtual Green probably would utter, considering that after last week’s real-life open practice at the tangible Memorial Stadium, the 5-11, 220-pounder said nearly the same thing when media members kept prying into why he’s so sedated about discussing his impressive career stats.
“I told you I’m going to give it to you, then,” the downright gabby virtual Green said after his gargantuan exploits.
From the very first play of scrimmage it was clear who the second X-Factor simulation belonged too.
Green took the hand-off right up the middle untouched for a 73-yard score.
KU’s virtual cornerback Donnie Amadi picked up where he left off last week, intercepting his first of two passes Saturday, to give the ball right back to Jayhawk starting virtual quarterback Brian Luke.
Luke, also picked up where he left off in last year’s virtual season-ending win over Missouri, tossing a nine-yard strike to virtual Butler County Community College transfer Brian Murph.
Murph wasn’t done either, but neither was Green.
Green put the game away early with two more scoring runs of eight and 21 yards before Luke hooked up with Mark Simmons for a 35-yarder to put KU up 35-0 after the first quarter.
The 35-0 start by the virtual Jayhawks shattered the previous school record for points in a quarter, when real Kansas tallied 32 points in a quarter against Washington, Mo., in 1923.
While alive Mark Mangino mentioned in his press conference this week: “We’re not in a position at Kansas to take anybody lightly.”
The virtual, and perhaps a little complacent after the big lead Jayhawks, saw what Mangino was talking about when standout ASU quarterback Richie Williams led an eighth play, 83-yard drive to put Appalachian State on the scoreboard.
It wouldn’t matter though, and Murph made sure of it.
Last week in virtual KU’s blow-out of Florida Atlantic the virtual Charles Gordon went gonzo — scoring off two punt returns. This time Murph managed to take two kick-off returns ( of 92- and 98-yards) to the house.
Green followed with another long run, this time a 44-yard scamper down the right sideline to give the virtual ‘Hawks a 49-7 lead.
Speaking of Gordon, he had been pretty quiet.
But after Green’s fourth score, Gordon got in on the action, grabbing a difficult pass in traffic from Luke for a 35-yard score.
But the virtual Mangino knew time was running out for his workhorse to get a shot at the record, so he inserted Green back into the line-up.
With 1:11 before half, Green did it, taking a pitch from 10-yards out for pay dirt.
“I have joked before that nobody is ever going to confuse him with Broadway Joe,” the virtual Mangino said with a chuckle. “But Clark is a hard-working, dependable guy, and if you look at the all-purpose yardage for career at KU, he has a legitimate chance to pass up some people like Gale Sayers. It’s just remarkable.”
Adam Barmann got off to a hot start in the second half with a 19-yard TD run and 76-yard scoring pass to Dexton Fields.
But the real celebration came when Lawrence’s own Brandon McAnderson bulldozed his way in from a yard out to give virtual KU 90 points — breaking the Jayhawks previous tally of 86 against South Dakota State in 1947.
“It’s so much fun to do that. It really is,” said the real-life McAnderson in a preseason conversation. While that quote was in a different context, why wouldn’t the Lawrencian say the same thing after his virtual Jayhawks’ record breaking evening.
Editor’s Note: After the first 2004-05 season X-Factor resulted in a blowout victory for the Jayhawks, we reverted to the default player ratings for KU’s starters before this week’s simulation. We did have to create Christian Moody and Darnell Jackson, setting their ratings at levels that seemed proper relative to the similar players already in the game. We did improve a few players (Sasha Kaun, Russell Robinson and Michael Lee) who seemed a bit low, but those ratings may go back down if the players play better in the simulation than expected.
After last week’s hard-fought real-life win over Vermont, the last thing Kansas University’s virtual men’s basketball team wanted was another close game.
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Unfortunately for the virtual Jayhawks, a tight contest was just what they got against St. Joseph’s. KU stayed tough, though, and pulled out a 93-82 victory in this week’s X-Factor simulation.
The teams battled back and forth throughout the first half, which ended with KU ahead by three points, 44-41. The Jayhawks and Hawks both shot 48.6 percent (18 of 37) from the field, and St. Joe’s had one more three-pointer (4 to 3), but Kansas hit four more free throws before intermission.
St. Joe’s stayed closed early in the second half thanks to Chet Stachitas. The junior guard scored five straight points and drew the Hawks within a point, 61-60, with 11:25 left in the game.
The Jayhawks stepped up with a 13-4 run over the next four minutes, taking a 74-64 lead with less than 7:30 left. The spurt started with a free throw by Aaron Miles and a tip-in by Wayne Simien when Miles missed the second free throw.
Stachitas, who finished with 33 points, closed the gap to six points, 76-70, a minute later on back-to-back three-pointers, but Kansas scored five of the next seven points to push its lead back to nine points, 81-72, with 5:16 left.
The Hawks clawed back to within five points twice, the latest time at 87-82 on a put-back dunk by Dwayne Jones with just more than two minutes remaining.
Miles hit an old-fashioned three-point play on KU’s next possession, though, and – after Stachitas missed a three-pointer – Langford sealed the game for KU by draining a three-pointer between two defenders as the shot clock expired.
Langford finished with a team-high 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting. Simien chipped in with eight points, six rebounds and seven blocks, and Miles scored 18 points. Michael Lee scored 12 points, and Christian Moody had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, though he did turn the ball over eight times.
Pat Carroll was the only Hawk besides Stachitas to score in double digits, scoring 11 points for St. Joseph’s. Dave Mallon added four points and five blocks, and Jones had two points, six rebounds and five swats.
6Sports video: KU football to face ASU (09-09-05)
KU on offense
Parking, tailgating map
X-Factor Game 2: Kansas 90, Appalachian State 14
Get the stats: KU-ASU virtual box score
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