Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Three minutes and 27 seconds after Kansas beat Texas A&M to reach 8-0 for the first time since 1909, a song came on the radio — a song by a band called Talking Heads.
I know what you’re thinking. What does a 1980s new-wave rock band that’s popular with hipsters in skinny jeans have to do with football? Well — everything. At least, it did at that precise time and place.
You see, the song that came on the radio minutes after the game was a song called “Once in a Lifetime.” It was one of those perfect music-meets-life moments that only seem to happen in Cameron Crowe movies. But the song “Once in a Lifetime” asks an appropriate question: “How did we get here?”
nutgraf
Different paths
Kansas Nebraska
AP Ranking — Nov. 3, 2001 NR 2
AP Ranking — Nov. 3, 2007 8 NR
Record (1997 to Nov. 3, 2001) 23-33 54-7
Record (Nov. 3, 2001 to present) 34-37 44-32
2007 Record (Big 12) 8-0 (4-0) 4-5 (1-4)
How did we get to a point where Kansas football is 8-0? How did Kansas ever get to the point where it’s a double-digit favorite against Nebraska? How did we get here, indeed?
Nov. 3, 2001. Seems like a while ago, right? Well, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007, Kansas plays host to Nebraska on the sixth anniversary of what might go down as the best day in the history of Kansas football.
On Nov. 3, 2001, Nebraska came to Lawrence led by future Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch. Crouch punished Kansas all night long, and Nebraska’s blackshirts held Kansas to 1-of-14 on third down conversions as the Cornhuskers rolled over the Jayhawks 51-7.
Pretty good day for a Jayhawk fan, eh? Actually, it was.
The loss dropped Kansas to 2-6 for the season, and within 24 hours Kansas coach Terry Allen was asked to clean out his office. A month later, Kansas hired Mark Mangino.
Slowly, the real “Mangenius” began to rebuild the program that Allen left in shambles.
The project started with defense. Nick Reid, Banks Floodman, Kevin Kane and Charles Gordon helped Kansas back to respectability with bowl appearances in 2003 and 2005.
The real Mangenius went down south and found a skinny cornerback from Richardson, Texas, with a funny name and a big mouth. Then he plucked a quarterback from Austin, Texas, who doesn’t look big enough start for the frat league intramural champs, let alone in the Big 12.
All the while, the real Mangenius molded walk-ons and two-star recruits into contributing Big 12 players, while sticking to the principle that wins ballgames: Run the ball and stop the run.
Funny enough — unless you’re a Nebraska fan — Nov. 3, 2001, now appears to be one of the final days in the great Nebraska dynasty. The next week, Nebraska beat Kansas State 31-21, but 13 days later on Nov. 23, in front of 53,790 fans in Boulder, Colo., the Nebraska dynasty perished.
Colorado pasted Nebraska 62-36 and left a wound that has never healed. Thanks to some clever BCS computer logic, Nebraska still managed to play in the National Championship game, but Miami thumped Big Red, 37-14.
In 2002, Nebraska went 7-7, and coach Frank Solich was fired following the 2003 season. Nebraska hired Bill Callahan to replace Solich. Callahan is on his way to his second losing season in four years, and his hiring appears to be the worst hire by a Big 12 school since, well, Kansas hired Terry Allen.
So that’s how we got here. That’s how Kansas became a Big 12 power and Nebraska a Big 12 pushover. Who’d-a-thunk that six years after Kansas’ 51-7 loss, the program would be where it is today? You know what, the Talking Heads were right. This team is really a “Once in a Lifetime” group.
— Edited by Matt Erickson
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