Senior linebacker Arist Wright forces a fumble on Colorado quarterback Tyler Hansen before being recovered by sophomore nickel back Ryan Murphy. The Jayhawks take on Kansas State Saturday and will need to win to keep hopes of winning the Big 12 North alive.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen certainly understands the quick-changing nature of college football.
Four weeks ago, after a disappointing performance in a 41-36 victory against Iowa State, Bowen was relegated to answering questions about Kansas’ defensive problems. Not much was positive.
But in the last two weeks the questions tossed Bowen’s way were far more optimistic as Kansas’ defense has steadily progressed since the Iowa State game.
If there is one lesson Bowen has fully grasped this season, it’s that life in the Big 12 North can change as quickly as the Kansas weather.
“It’s kind of proven to be a wacky year in the Big 12,” Bowen said. “It’s week to week, play to play right now. That’s what we tell our kids. There’s no time to relax in this conference right now.”
He continued with his explanation of Kansas’ current situation before adding this:
“We have to play it like it’s the last play of the Super Bowl.”
NEXT UP
Football vs. Kansas State
WHERE: Manhattan
WHEN: Saturday, 11:30 a.m.
TV: Versus
RADIO: 105.9 F.M., 1320 A.M.
As Kansas prepares to travel to Kansas State this Saturday, the Jayhawks find themselves in a three-way tie for last place in the Big 12 North. Yet with three of their last four games against North opponents, including the first-place Wildcats, the Jayhawks still possess a legitimate chance for the North title.
Still, Mangino and his players ignoredthat possibility, insisting that the Jayhawks weren’t straining to glance that far down the road.
“We can’t sit around talking about winning the North,” Mangino said. “We have to talk about winning a game.”
With Kansas carrying a three-game losing streak into Saturday’s game, it’s a point well taken.
Kansas rolled through and won its first four games in the nonconference season before sneaking past Iowa State with a win in the conference opener.
Then, the offense started committing turnovers, the defense couldn’t quite hold after halftime and suddenly this week’s game against K-State presents Kansas with its final chance to capture the North.
A loss to K-State — or to any Big 12 opponent for that matter — would end any chance of Kansas playing in the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 5.
“With what’s happened the last three weeks, to still be able to say that — we can still win the North if we take care of business from here on out — it’s definitely something that pushes us,” senior wide receiver Kerry Meier said. “It’s been our guiding tool and something that has pushed us all summer long, all winter long and all throughout the offseason.”
The chaos in the North started early as Colorado knocked off Kansas and Iowa State defeated Nebraska in consecutive weeks.
Missouri started the season 0-3, while K-State opened the year 3-1.
Try sifting through pages full of legal jargon without any background information in the field. That’s what analyzing the Big 12 North has become this season.
Nothing, it seems, has gone as previously expected.
But even with three losses in the first-half of the eight-game conference season, the Jayhawks still have a realistic chance of winning the North title.
The road to reaching that point starts this Saturday with K-State.
“This one’s a little more important because it’s all about how you finish,” senior safety Darrell Stuckey said. “That’s what makes it a little more important than the rest of them. You want to finish strong — or just as strong as you started.”
— Edited by Anna Kathagnarath
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Comments
reuben (anonymous) says...
It's also possible for every team in the North to go 3-5. I like that one.
Or if KSU loses to us and MU but beats Nebraska, they'll be 4-4 in conference, probably win the north, but not be able to go to the championship game because they won't be bowl eligible.
November 5, 2009 at 8:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )