Can it get any better?

By Matt Tait     Jul 29, 2008

John Henry
Fans cheer during Kansas University's game against Missouri on Nov. 24, 2007, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Kansas and Missouri certainly did their part to close the gap in the Big 12, as the Jayhawks and Tigers played in the most high-profile conference football game of 2007.

12-1. 12-2.

In the final 2007 records of the Kansas University and Missouri University football teams, the Big 12 North had the conference’s two best overall marks and, at 7-1, the two best league marks, as well.

Evidently, that was nothing compared with what North Division teams expect to see during 2008.

Last week, at the Big 12 Media Days in Kansas City, Mo., players and coaches from both sides of the dividing line talked about how much better the North has become in recent years. Those who suit up closer to Canada made bold predictions for an even better Big 12 North in 2008.

“Every team in the Big 12 North will be better than they were a year ago,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said without flinching. “I truly believe that.”

Nick Krug
Kansas linebacker James Holt sacks Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel on Nov. 24, 2007, at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jayhawks and Tigers finished a combined 24-3 last season.

Considering the Jayhawks and Tigers were a combined 24-3 last season, headlined by Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl victories in January, Pinkel’s prognostication sounds a bit far-fetched. But those players and coaches who followed Mizzou’s hack-turned-hero last week at Media Days supported the claim – some in more detail than others.

“I can’t think of a single team in the North that’s going backwards,” K-State coach Ron Prince said.

KU junior safety Darrell Stuckey chose to elaborate.

“I think it’s possible,” Stuckey said when asked if the North could be better across the board. “Seeing how Iowa State had a new coach and a new coaching staff, they’re going to grow tremendously in the next few years. It’s almost like it was with us when (coach Mark) Mangino first got here. And the same thing with Colorado, they were very young last year. Nebraska’s going through a rebuilding phase, and they’re going to be phenomenal this year. And then you’ve got K-State, of course, they’re only going to get better from last year. They’re going to learn from their mistakes and their losses that they had. And Missouri’s going to get better because Chase (Daniel) is continuing to get better, their offense is continuing to get better, their defense is still growing and they have a lot of experience.”

So what about the Jayhawks? How can they possibly improve on last year’s dream season?

“That’s obvious,” said Stuckey. “You get better than 12-1 by filling in the margins of error that you had, filling the voids in the games you didn’t do as well as you should’ve, or taking care of the times you didn’t play the way you should’ve. We have a lot of room for us to get better.”

Once viewed as nothing more than an “also ran,” overshadowed dramatically by conference giants Oklahoma and Texas, the Big 12 North has taken strides to become more competitive within the league and has become a legitimate threat to capture the league’s automatic BCS berth year in and year out.

Today, Kansas and Missouri, middle-of-the-pack pests for years, represent the strength of the North, while former frontrunners Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State – the last Big 12 North team to win a Big 12 crown in 2003, when Kansas native Darren Sproles and the Wildcats shocked the nation by steamrolling third-ranked Oklahoma, 35-7 – push to regain their former glory.

All five teams have their eyes fixed on a Big 12 North championship and a trip to Kansas City, Mo., Dec. 6 to play for the Big 12 title. With MU having 62 players from Kansas and Missouri on its roster, K-State having 54 and KU having 36, few teams seem as driven to get there as the Tigers, Wildcats and Jayhawks.

“That’s huge,” Shawnee native Mike Rivera said. “That’d be a dream come true, and that’s obviously one of my goals this year. I’m looking forward to that point, and hopefully we can get there.”

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.