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Kansas and Missouri prepare for showdown

By Taylor Bern

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Despite all the school records and magical feelings that came with Kansas’ run to the Orange Bowl, there’s still one glaring imperfection from the ’07 season. It’s marked by a single vertical line adjacent to the record number of 12 wins.

The man most responsible for striking that stripe in Kansas’ loss column was Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel, who completed 40 of 49 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s matchup. Daniel’s performance sent his team to the Big 12 championship game while Kansas had to sit and wait to find its destination.

“It was one of the most highly anticipated Border War Showdowns that there’s ever been,” Daniel said. “It was a great day for us, obviously, because we were able to get the win. There were a bunch of happy MU fans and a bunch of sad KU fans, and I think that it’s going to be the same this year.”

The Jayhawks took the loss in stride on their journey down to Miami, but this time around there’s no chance for Kansas to win or lose the North. Missouri has already received the trophy and the Tigers are scheduled to return to Arrowhead Stadium next week for their second consecutive conference title game.

Without a division or conference title to play for, the 2008 Border Showdown boils down to a primal instinct: pride.

“We love playing in this game,” linebacker James Holt said. “There’s a lot of history to it.”

With idle weekends both squads had two weeks to prepare for the regular season finale. The difference is that Missouri is riding a four-game winning streak — its second of the season — while Kansas is reeling after losses in four of its last five.

The 45-35 loss at Nebraska on Nov. 8 was particularly frustrating because a victory would have made this weekend’s game a de facto division championship game. Instead, Kansas dropped that contest and the following one against No. 4 Texas to hand the crown to Missouri.

The disappointment after the Texas loss was evident in postgame interviews, but coach Mark Mangino said he didn’t expect a hangover effect in Kansas City.

“I don’t think that’s an issue,” Mangino said. “It’s a big rivalry. Our kids will be excited and ready to play.”

Mangino said the extra week would help repair some wear and tear on his team. However, it’s unclear whether that’s enough time for offensive weapons Kerry Meier and Jake Sharp to return to the field. Both men missed substantial time in the Texas game because of injuries and last week Mangino said he didn’t know whether they’d be back.

Quarterback Todd Reesing said he wouldn’t let that or the Jayhawks’ recent struggles get in the way of performing well against the Tigers.

“You can’t let a few bumps in the road hinder the way you’re going to play and how you believe in yourself and your teammates,” Reesing said.

Records don’t matter in a rivalry game, but they don’t hurt either. Last year’s clash of highly ranked foes brought national attention to the Border Showdown. This year it’s on a smaller stage but the players care just as much.

In addition to healing wounds and studying tape, the extra week also gave Kansas even more time to stew over that singular stripe and ponder what could have been.

At 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Kansas will get its opportunity to avenge the sole regret from the best season in KU history.

“I know the temperature’s going to be rising for a lot of defensive players, considering last year we didn’t put on the best defensive performance of our year,” Holt said. “We’re just happy we get to go out for another game together and finish off the season.”

— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw

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