Signing Off
It's been an incredible week in Miami but the time has come to say goodbye.
January 5, 2008
By Case Keefer
I’m the only member of the Kansan’s Orange Bowl entourage who remains in Florida to soak in the weather, which returned to normal Floridian conditions yesterday.
I traveled back to the other side of the coast to visit family in Tampa and attend the Buccaneers' playoff game Sunday. Now that Jayhawk nation has had a day to reflect on what happened Thursday, the culmination to a truly magical season, I figured a few parting notes needed to be written.
-For everyone who watched SportsCenter or saw a clip of Kansas’ post-game press conference and wondered, ‘What in the heck is with Reesing’s hat?’, here’s the sophomore quarterback’s explanation.
“I saw one of my buddies that came up from Austin in the stands and he threw me the hat because he bought it when he came up to watch a game this year,” Reesing said. “So I threw him my hat. We made a switch.”
There you have it. Reesing wasn’t planning a late night fishing excursion in Miami, after all.
-When did I know the on-the-field celebration had gotten completely out of control? That was probably when I found myself dodging oranges from the hands of Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius rushed to the stage with coach Mark Mangino and cornerback Aqib Talib and started tossing oranges in every direction. It was one of the bizarre yet surreal moments that I won’t soon forget.
-The two Jayhawk first team All-Americans will hold a press conference as early as next week to announce whether they will return to college or enter the NFL draft next season. Those players are Aqib Talib and junior tackle Anthony Collins. Talib and Collins have said more than once that they would make their decision together. Talib is expected to be a first-round draft pick while Collins would likely be picked in a middle round.
-Now that the football players don’t have practice to worry about everyday, how will they spend their extra time? Well, probably about the same way most students at Kansas do: following the basketball team. Sophomore strong safety Justin Thornton, who intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter against Virginia Tech, said he thought the basketball team could win it all.
“We got a shot at basketball every year, we stay ready on the basketball court. They’re doing a good job so far,” Thornton said. “It’ll be fun to watch them progress the rest of the season.”
-As deserving as Aqib Talib was for receiving the Orange Bowl MVP, junior outside linebacker Mike Rivera couldn’t have been far behind. Rivera recorded a game-high 9.5 tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack. He single-handedly stalled multiple Virginia Tech drives with big stops. Hokie freshman quarterback Tyrod Taylor may specifically remember Rivera because he put two of the biggest hits of the night on Taylor. With Rivera, Joe Mortensen and James Holt all juniors, the Kansas linebacking corps could be one of the nation’s elite next season.
“The LBs went up there and tore it up,” Rivera said. “We performed really well together and we’re definitely a force to be reckoned with.”
National Championship Prediction: LSU 28, Ohio State 20
Because I’m undefeated in bowl game predictions made on this blog, I figured I had to finish it off with my championship thoughts. The Tigers are a much better team but there’s no way the Buckeyes can be embarrassed for the second year in a row. Ohio State linebackers James Laurinatis and Marcus Freeman will slow Louisiana State’s rushing efficiency. But with Tiger receiver Early Doucet completely healthy, expect him to serve as the game-changer.
Discussion
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I know LSU's defense has been suspect of late, but Ohio State scoring 20?
Although I don't have much room to second guess predictions - mine are always terrible.
Ohio State scoring 20 is a good prediction, though I don't think the game will be close in the final minutes.
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