Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino does not like talking about the past – or, for that matter, the future.
His focus is ultimately and entirely focused on the present: the task at hand. This tunnel vision, he has joked, very well might be a character flaw.
As a result, he does not particularly enjoy questions like the one he was posed Saturday during his postgame news conference in the Mrkonic Auditorium.
Following his team’s 35-7 loss to No. 4 Texas, Mangino was forced to shrug off suggestions that last year’s unprecedented success – a 12-1 record capped with a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl – was the byproduct of a schedule that featured just two teams that finished the season ranked in the top 25.
“I don’t make the schedule in the conference,” the coach said following his team’s fourth loss in its past five games. “And I would like to say that we did what we had to do with whatever schedule was handed to us last year. We didn’t have to win 12 games. And this year, yeah, the schedule is more difficult, and the challenge is greater. But I’m not going to make any excuses. We showed up, we played as hard as we could. We played as tough as we could, and our kids gave great effort every week out. And here’s the result.”
With one game remaining in a season that can be described as the most anticipated in school history, the Jayhawks are 6-5 (3-4 in the Big 12) and, with a Nov. 29 game against 12th-ranked Missouri looming, in realistic danger of finishing the regular season at 6-6.
And what is often pointed out is the fact that the team’s biggest setbacks this season have come against teams not present on the Jayhawks’ 2007 schedule.
It isn’t necessarily that Kansas has lost to the national powers it has faced this season – with games against five opponents ranked in the preseason Top 25, it was clear that ’08 would present a steep challenge.
It’s the way the team has lost. Against Big 12 South opponents Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas, the Jayhawks have been outscored 143-59 and outgained in total yardage by an average of 180 yards per game.
All of which leaves some wondering how the ’07 Jayhawks would have fared against similar competition.
“(People) were saying last year was a fluke,” said senior linebacker James Holt. “… People can say what they want about last year. Last year’s over. This is now. So we’re not even really worried about that.”
While players bristle at the notion of writing off the team’s ’07 success to convenient scheduling, however, they don’t shy away from the fact that this year has presented a significant bump in the level of competition they’ve faced.
Perhaps quarterback Todd Reesing summed up the Jayhawks’ struggles best – and most bluntly – in the minutes after Saturday’s loss.
“Physically, we’ve just been a little bit outmatched against those teams,” he said, referring to the Big 12 South teams. “They’ve had a little better talent. But we’ve been able to play with them, and we’ve had chances to be in a position to make plays at the end of the game. And we just haven’t capitalized in those positions to give them a run for their money.”
¢Sharp, Meier status unclear: The severity of the injuries sustained by Kansas starting running back Jake Sharp and starting receiver Kerry Meier was unclear Sunday, a day after both players were forced to leave the Jayhawks’ game against Texas.
Mangino, who typically speaks to the media on Sunday evenings, was not available to reporters Sunday night, although he said after Saturday’s game that he’d know more about both players by early this week.
In their absence, the Jayhawks struggled to their worst offensive showing of the season. Kansas’ 305 yards of total offense against the Longhorns were a season low, and the team was held to its lowest point total since Oct. 15, 2005.
