Jayhawks’ Collins deserves all-league honors

By J-W Staff Reports     Nov 23, 2006

An assignment for those who possess an all-Big 12 football ballot: Fly to Lawrence, park yourself in front of a television, and use the Sunflower On Demand feature to watch Kansas University’s 39-20 victory against Kansas State and not just to hear a nostalgic reference to the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl.

Focus on two players: KU right tackle Anthony Collins and K-State pass rusher extraordinaire Ian Campbell, who came into the game leading the Big 12 in tackles for loss. Campbell did have one sack but had an otherwise very quiet day. Collins, the most underrated force in the Jayhawks’ late-season surge, clearly won the matchup.

Collins’ big day against Campbell came one week after the K-State defensive end dominated the Texas offensive line.

A strong, mobile right tackle, Collins deserves a first-team All-Big 12 selection.

A 6-foot-6, 285-pound third-year junior from Beaumont, Texas, Collins was not a highly ranked national recruit but has worked his way into star status and is an NFL prospect who will benefit from two more years of body-building.

Kansas 20, Missouri 17: Two words: Don Fambrough.

Oklahoma 24, Oklahoma State 21: Paul Thompson was supposed to be the second-string quarterback for the Sooners and was promoted when Rhett Bomar was bounced from the team. Thompson has thrown 17 touchdown passes and seven interceptions and has completed 61.4 percent of his passes while averaging a solid 8.08 yards per attempt. Chris Brown was the third-string tailback, and injuries pushed him into the starting role. He’s averaging 6.0 yards per carry. The Sooners’ defense has been magnificent.

USC 35, Notre Dame 31: This one has great game written all over it. Both teams are motivated to move up in the BCS rankings. Think of all the history: Joe Theismann passed for 526 yards in a driving rain in Los Angeles in 1970 and his Fighting Irish lost the game. Two years later, Anthony Davis scored six touchdowns, two on kick returns, to lift the Trojans to a 45-23 beating of the Irish.

Florida 31, Florida State 13: The Gators are dominating the state in what has been a down year for Florida State and a horrendous season for Miami. Florida has been ranked every week under second-year coach Urban Meyer. Homefield advantage won’t be nearly enough for a Seminoles team that lost to Wake Forest this season, 30-0.

Georgia 14, Georgia Tech 7: This hasn’t been the best season for the unranked Bulldogs of Georgia, but what happened the last two weeks bodes well for them. They had lost four of five coming into a game at Auburn and won that one, 37-15. They followed that with a bye week to prepare for a home game against No. 16 Georgia Tech, which has lost the last five games against the Bulldogs. Tech (9-2) already has qualified for the ACC title game.

Kansas 83, Florida 80: A sneak peek into the crystal ball reveals this: Joakim Noah ties it with 20 seconds on a tip slam, pounds his chest four times, screams in the air and tugs his pony tail to remind us that, yes indeed, he is great. Meanwhile, he forgets to go back on defense, KU exploits the numbers advantage, and Julian Wright swings the ball to a wide-open Mario Chalmers, who swishes a game-winning three-point shot.

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