One look at the Oklahoma backfield is all Mark Mangino needs to see.
The Kansas University football coach knows the second-ranked Sooners are strong pretty much everywhere, but that backfield … man, that backfield is something else.
OU’s quarterback, Jason White, has a Heisman Trophy on his mantle after throwing for 40 touchdowns in 2003 as a junior.
The Sooner tailback, meanwhile, is Adrian Peterson, a remarkable freshman already drawing comparisons to great running backs of the past — NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, to name one.
“He’s pretty tough,” Mangino said during Monday’s Big 12 Conference coaches teleconference. “If he can’t put a step on you and get around you, he has no problem just running you over.”
Mangino and the Jayhawks are preparing for a Saturday road game at Oklahoma, which will be televised at noon on Fox Sports Net (Sunflower Broadband channel 36).
The Sooners are a team that has disposed of Texas Tech, Texas and Kansas State the last three weeks. And, though none of them were blowouts, none were one-possession nail-biters, either.
The key, obviously, is containing Oklahoma’s talented backfield. Last year, teams had enough trouble focusing on White and the passing attack; this year, Peterson boosts a whole new dimension into the danger zone.
“Adrian has improved our running game and our ability to make plays that way,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “It takes a ton of pressure off Jason. He doesn’t feel he’s got to do everything.”
The Jayhawks have their guy at running back in sophomore John Randle, but they’re still trying to figure out the quarterback situation looming between Adam Barmann and Jason Swanson.
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Mangino said last week that the situation likely won’t be decided until Friday, and he offered nothing new about it Monday.
“We want to practice a few days and see how it plays out,” Mangino said. “There’s a chance you could see both guys. It’s a distinct chance that you could see both of them play.”
If anything is a sure bet, though, it’s that Oklahoma has no such dilemma at quarterback. White isn’t talked about too much among Heisman Trophy candidates this year, but his numbers still are sold — 1,228 yards passing and 13 touchdowns in six games. He likely had has best game of the season Saturday in a 31-21 victory over Kansas State, throwing for 256 yards and four touchdowns.
Mangino was around in White’s early years at Oklahoma, and he still admires the quarterback from afar. Now, the KU coach gets the dubious task of trying to stop White.
“He was very deserving of the Heisman last year,” Mangino said, “and I’m not ready to write him off this year.”
ABC Sports picked Oklahoma-Oklahoma State and Texas-Colorado for its schedule that day, while Fox Sports will broadcast Texas Tech-Kansas State and Missouri-Nebraska.
The Jayhawks and Cyclones will kick off at 1 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa.
Another solid day of practice Wednesday has the Kansas University football team one step closer to making sure the last two losses are nothing but distant memories.
Nearly every player available to the media this week, as well as coach Mark Mangino, has been lauding the intensity and execution taking place during this week’s workouts. Heading into Lincoln, Neb., for a Saturday showdown with Nebraska makes a sharp week critical for any chance of success.
Kansas, it seems, is getting it.
“I feel good about the way our kids are practicing,” Mangino said. “I like the preparation, and I like the way things are going. It’s been a very productive week.”
Considering the Jayhawks have lost two nail-biters the last two weeks by a combined four points, the fact that there’s still wind in the sails is a plus in itself.
But, some players have said team morale is even better this week after a 31-30 downer to Big 12 Conference foe Texas Tech than the week before, a 20-17 loss to Northwestern.
“It’s surprisingly good. We’re real upbeat,” linebacker Nick Reid said. “Everybody’s getting after it. We’re excited to get out and show our stuff.”
The Jayhawks will get their chance in front of a large audience. The game will be played in front of more than 70,000 red-clad fans expected to make up the Huskers’ 265th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium.
“It’s an unbelievably tough place to play,” Reid said. “It’s very intimidating, but we can’t let it get to us. We’ll have to go out there and do what we practice, and everything will turn out all right.”
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Pay-per-view reminder: Lawrence fans hoping to catch the Jayhawks and Huskers on television at 6:10 p.m. Saturday can do so through Sunflower Broadband for $29.95. A digital box is required to receive the signal. To order, call 841-2100.
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Nothing major: Mangino once again chose not to get into specifics about any changes that might take place on offense or defense for Saturday’s game, but did say that if anything was done, it wouldn’t be major.
“We’ve been fooling around with some different people,” Mangino said. “I’m not sure that we’ll make some changes or not. There may be some more playing time for a guy or two.”
