Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Everyone knows the story of the 2007 Kansas football team by now — how Todd Reesing and his overachieving friends shook up college football en route to a miraculous 12-1 record and an impressive Orange Bowl victory. Now that Kansas has officially arrived as a weekly fixture in the Top 25 polls, it seems we’ll have to look outside of Lawrence to find the feel-good story of the 2008 season.
Which team has the moxie, heart and schedule to become this year’s Kansas? A few contenders:
No. 13 Vanderbilt (5-0)
Much like last year’s Jayhawks, the Commodores are rewriting their program’s history books on a weekly basis. Vanderbilt is 5-0 for the first time in 65 seasons and fresh off of its first victory against Auburn in 53 years. Most impressive is the Commodores’ 3-0 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The SEC is the best conference in the country, and Vanderbilt is currently tied with Alabama atop its standings. Because of its extremely tough schedule (Georgia and Wake Forest away; Florida at home), Vanderbilt doesn’t stand much chance of surviving the regular season unscathed but the Commodores should at least manage a bowl berth.
No. 17 Oklahoma State (5-0)
The Cowboys of ’08 mirror the Jayhawks of ’07 more than any team in the nation. First, there’s the shared experience of being Big 12 teams with recent histories of mediocrity. Second, there’s the squads’ explosive and balanced offenses and ability to take care of the ball. Third, there’s the teams’ habit of annihilating their opponents. Oklahoma State has scored 50 or more points in four straight games, quarterback Zac Robinson is ranked third in the nation in passing efficiency, and running back Kendall Hunter is fifth in the nation in rushing yards-per-game. The schedule doesn’t set up well for the Cowboys: They’re yet to face Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma. But who says you have to beat Missouri to “earn” a BCS Bowl bid?
No. 25 Ball State (6-0)
Because it hails from the Mid-American Conference, Ball State is a tad bit different than Kansas. Ball State isn’t a BCS Conference team suddenly reversing course; it’s a mid-major program that showed improvement each of the last four years and is now primed for a breakout. Quarterback Nate Davis is ninth in the nation in passing efficiency to lead a Cardinals offense that has scored nearly 40 points-per-game. Just like last year’s Kansas team, Ball State has munched on its fair share of soft opponents: It has defeated an FCS team, four mid-major also-rans and one mediocre BCS Conference team (Indiana). The remainder of the schedule looks manageable for Ball State, with only Central Michigan (3-2, 2-0 MAC) and Western Michigan (5-1, 3-0) looming in the season’s final two weeks.
— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw
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