Thursday, September 6, 2007
Make no mistake. Southeastern Louisiana, Kansas’ next opponent, is not a great team.
The Lions, an Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division 1-AA) team, are still in the process of rebuilding their program, which was re-introduced in 2003. They lost 35-14 in their opener to New Mexico State and were picked to finish last in the Southland Conference by the conference’s sports information directors.
But talk to Kansas coach Mark Mangino and his players and they’ll say Southeastern Louisiana is capable of surprising the Memorial Stadium crowd Saturday.
“They look real athletic on film and really fast,” Kansas junior guard Chet Hartley said. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
Southeastern Louisiana has played five FBS (formerly Division 1-A) opponents in the last five years. The Lions are 0-5 in those games, losing by an average of 31 points.
The Jayhawks faced one of the best teams in the Southland Conference last year, Northwestern State, and demolished it, 48-19. The Lions played fellow Big 12 Conference school Texas Tech last season and were waxed, 62-0.
All signs point to a lopsided victory for the Jayhawks against the Lions. Mangino, however, isn’t so convinced.
“This is a team looking for a victory, and it’s our job to make sure it doesn’t happen here,” he said. “We’ve always said we prepare for everyone the same way. That’s just me and how I view the game, and our kids understand that.”
The players definitely seem to be focused on the game against the Lions. Coming off a 52-7 blow out win over Central Michigan, a team that won 10 games and the Motor City Bowl last year, it’s almost expected that players would be over-confident.
Not the Jayhawks. Instead of boasting about its outstanding performance, the team is concentrating on how it can get better.
“We are pretty close to being great but we can’t settle for this because we made a lot of mistakes,” sophomore safety Darrel Stuckey said. “There is still a lot of room for improvement.”
Even if the Jayhawks weren’t busy working to improve; Mangino said a certain football game last weekend should serve as a reminder to never take an opponent lightly. He was, of course, alluding to FCS team Appalachian State, that upset then No. 5 Michigan, 34-32.
At least one Jayhawk compared the Mountaineers to the Lions. Freshman cornerback Chris Harris said that Southeastern Louisiana was probably motivated by Appalachian State’s performance.
“We can’t sleep on any team. Every team is trying to be Appalachian State,” he said, “so we are coming very prepared this week.”
— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring
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