Friday, August 17, 2007
To put together a college football schedule is to walk a fine line. When coaches and administrators sit down to create their team’s schedule they seek a balance between credible opponents and pushovers. Kansas’ 2007 schedule contains a lot of the latter.
ESPN.com put Kansas on top of its list of easiest schedules. The Sporting News ranked the Jayhawks’ slate the least challenging in the Big 12 Conference. College football expert Phil Steele was a little more generous, slotting Kansas 88th on the list of most difficult schedules.
When asked about the team’s 2007 calendar, coach Mark Mangino shrugged off the criticism.
“We’ve had times when our schedule was the second or third toughest in the country,” Mangino said. “This year, people are saying it’s easier. That’s easy for them to say because they don’t have to coach it or play it.”
DATE, OPPONENT, 2006 RECORD
9/1 CENTRAL MICHIGAN 10-4, MAC Champion, won Motor City Bowl
9/8 SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA* 2-9
9/15 TOLEDO 5-7
9/22 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 0-12
10/6 @ KANSAS STATE 7-6, lost Texas Bowl
10/13 BAYLOR 4-8
10/20 @ COLORADO 2-10
10/27 @ TEXAS A&M 9-4, lost Holiday Bowl
11/3 NEBRASKA 9-5, lost Cotton Bowl
11/10 @ OKLAHOMA STATE 7-6, won Independence Bowl
11/17 IOWA STATE 4-8
11/24 MISSOURI^ 8-5, lost Sun Bowl
NONCONFERENCE OPPONENTS’ COMBINED 2006 RECORD: 17-32
TOTAL OPPONENTS’ COMBINED 2006 RECORD: 67-84
*Championship Subdivision opponent ^Kansas City, Mo.
Only one of Kansas’ four nonconference opponents finished above .500 in 2006 and none of the teams are from Bowl Championship Series conferences.
Central Michigan, which visits Lawrence Sept. 1, presents the stiffest nonconference test. The Chippewas were a surprise success story last season when they won 10 games and captured the Mid-American Conference title. But Kansas could be catching Central Michigan at just the right time. Coach Butch Jones is new to the program and the team lost two players to the NFL Draft.
The Jayhawks’ other three nonconference foes are not as esteemed. Toledo defeated Kansas last season but ended with a 5-7 record. Southeastern Louisiana and Florida International struggled to a combined record of 2-21 in 2006. The first four weeks of the season should provide easy victories but could leave the Jayhawks short on experience in close games heading into the conference season.
“It’s laid out to be a pretty good season,” junior cornerback Aqib Talib said. “Who doesn’t like to play at home? Anytime you have seven home games, it’s good for your team.”
A home game-heavy schedule should help the Jayhawks in their effort to earn bowl eligibility in 2007. Kansas has posted a 4-21 road record during Mangino’s five-year tenure. At home during this same span the team is 20-12. On top of the home-field advantage Kansas will enjoy early in the season, the team will face one of the easiest conference schedules in the Big 12.
Because of the way the conference schedule rotates, Kansas draws Big 12 south opponents Baylor, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State instead of Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Texas A&M and Oklahoma State are upper echelon teams but missing out on Texas and Oklahoma could be a godsend for Kansas.
“As far as conference play and the way it rotates, this year folks will say it’s not real tough and next year they’ll say, ‘Poor Kansas, look who they have to play.’ That’s just how the schedule goes - we have no control over that,” Mangino said.
The 2007 season could be as good a chance at a postseason berth as the Jayhawks receive in the foreseeable future. In 2008, the team travels to South Florida and draws tougher Big 12 south opponents.
— Edited by Kyle Carter
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