College Football Stories

Kansas fans were not the only college football fanbase in for a treat in 2007. At some point, Cal, West Virginia, South Florida, and Boston College all found themselves ranked as No. 2 in the country. Jim Harbaugh’s Stanford Cardinal ended Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans’ 35-game home winning streak as a 41-point underdog. Hawaii went undefeated in the regular season and earned a bid to the Sugar Bowl behind the arm of QB Colt Brennan. In front of a record-setting crowd in Jacksonville, Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles upset Alabama 21-14 in Nick Saban’s first year as head coach for the Crimson Tide. Nostalgic moment over, let’s turn our attention back to the Jayhawks.

Mark Mangino was entering his sixth season as head coach of the Jayhawks; this was an accomplishment in itself. In the modern era of college football, no one outside of legendary coach Glen Mason (1988-1996) had ever lasted that long in Lawrence. Mangino had already guided Kansas to two bowl appearances (2003 and 2005), and had the Jayhawks bowl eligible in 2006. Kansas had only been to two other bowl games in the previous 21 seasons combined.

Prior to taking the job in Lawrence, Mangino was the offensive coordinator for the Oklahoma Sooners. He helped Bob Stoops’ squad to win the 2000 BCS National Championship. In the mid-1980’s, Mangino played and coached at Youngstown State under Jim Tressel, who won a title at Ohio State in 2002. Even understanding the championship pedigree of Mangino’s mentors, no one at the University of Kansas could have (or should have) expected what was coming in 2007.

Pre-Season Expectations

To say that no one saw this coming at the beginning of the season would be a huge understatement. Kansas finished 2006 at 6-6 overall, with a 3-5 record in the Big 12. That season included a Friday night road loss in double overtime to Toledo, a team that finished 3-5 in the MAC. The Jayhawks returned 14 starters from a team that ranked 30th in scoring offense and 81st in defense.

The last time Kansas had won even a share of a league title was 1968, in what was known as the Big 8 Conference. The Jayhawks had the No. 58 team rating in the nation in Lindy’s magazine.

Offense

Sophomore Todd Reesing won the starting job at signal-caller for the Jayhawks. Reesing was thrust into action against Colorado late in the 2006 season after starting QB Adam Barmann was injured late in the second quarter. He led the Jayhawks to a come from behind win in the second half of that game, throwing for 2 TDs and rushing for another.

Kansas had a solid one-two punch in the backfield, as Brandon McAnderson and Jake Sharp accounted for nearly 2,000 yards on the ground. Marcus Henry and Dexton Fields led the Jayhawks pass catchers with 1,014 and 834 yards, respectively. Reesing was stellar as a first-year starter, finishing with 3,486 passing yards and a 33-7 TD to interception ratio. They finished second in FBS in scoring at 42.8 PPG.

Defense

The Jayhawks offense was fantastic in 2007, but what was more impressive was their fourth-ranked defense. Kansas allowed just 16.4 points per game, only 3.1 yards per rush, and averaged almost 2 interceptions per game in the pass-happy Big 12. They were led by veteran cornerback Aqib Talib, who finished with 66 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 5 INTs, including two returned for touchdowns. Talib was top five in the nation in both interception return yards and pick-sixes. He also played sparingly at wide receiver for the Jayhawks and had 8 catches for 228 yards and 4 TDs on the season.

The front seven was anchored by three junior linebackers: James Holt, Mike Rivera, and Joe Mortensen. Each player totaled over 95 tackles and 12 TFL on the year, with Mortensen leading the conference in TFL with 16. Other notable players included freshman CB Chris Harris, a future NFL teammate of Talib’s with the Super Bowl 50 Champion Denver Broncos. Senior defensive tackle and team captain James McClinton was a force in the middle for the Jayhawks, finishing as an all-conference selection after racking up 39 tackles, 12 TFL, and an interception.

Sunflower Showdown

Kansas choked down four non-conference cupcakes to start the season. The Jayhawks defeated Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International by a combined score of 214-23. Their first major test was the conference opener on Oct. 6th against in-state rival Kansas State. The Wildcats came into the contest 3-1, ranked No. 24, and fresh off a double-digit road win against the Texas Longhorns.

The day did not start well for Kansas, as quarterback Todd Reesing was intercepted on the first play from scrimmage. After trading punts on the next two drives, Wildcats QB Josh Freeman hit wide receiver Jordy Nelson for a 68-yard touchdown for the first points of the game. About midway through the second quarter, Jayhawks running back Jake Sharp would tie the game after a 20-yard rushing score. K-State would answer with a scoring drive of their own and the two quarterbacks would trade interceptions on the next two drives.

Talib caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Reesing late in the second quarter to tie things up at 14-14 at the break. Kansas finally took the lead with under seven minutes in the third after a connection from Reesing to WR Dezmon Briscoe. Following Reesing’s third INT of the day, the Wildcats regained the lead 24-21 with under eight minutes left in the game after a halfback pass from Leon Patton to Deon Murphy found paydirt.

Reesing capped what would be the game winning drive with a 30-yard TD pass to WR Dexton Fields, and the Jayhawks would hold on for the win. The Sunflower Showdown had been dominated by Kansas State from the mid-1990’s through the early 2000’s. This win was something to celebrate, as it was Kansas’ first road victory in the series since 1989.

Rank ‘Em

When the Jayhawks returned to Lawrence for a matchup with Baylor the following week, they were accompanied by a No. 20 AP ranking, their highest since September 28th, 1996. After dispatching the Bears 58-10, the Jayhawks had back-to-back road trips at Colorado and Texas A&M. The Kansas defense was the story during this road trip, as Reesing and the offense sputtered, scoring just 19 points in each contest. In Boulder, the Jayhawks held the Buffaloes to just 66 yards rushing and forced three turnovers. KU also had 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks of Buffs QB Cody Hawkins. They escaped with a 19-14 win.

The following week in College Station, Tex., the 12th ranked Jayhawks battled the 12th Man at Kyle Field. Despite the world-class hand gesturing and expert choreography from the overall-adorned “yell” squad, the Fightin’ Texas Aggies were not able to overcome a 19-0 deficit.

Reesing was not as consistent through the air as he had been earlier in the season and for the second week in a row, the Kansas offense failed to score 20 points. Fortunately, the KU run game decided to show up in the Lone Star State. Adjusting for sack yardage, Kansas ran for 249 yards at over 7 yards per carry. Tailback Brandon McAnderson carried much of that load, with 183 yards and two rushing TDs.

The Jayhawks defense was dominant against the A&M rushing attack. The Jayhawks front seven kept the Aggies to just 74 yards on the ground, an average of 2.75 YPC. They had 6 TFL, 8 passes defended, and forced seven punts. Despite a TD and successful two-point conversion from A&M with just over two minutes left in the game, Kansas held on for the 19-11 victory.

Cornhusker Beatdown

Any concern from Jayhawk faithful about the recent offensive struggles would be completely eliminated when Kansas returned home to face Nebraska. KU routed the Cornhuskers 76-39. The final score resembled an early season Jayhawks basketball game against a lower-tier mid-major program, not a match-up against a college football blue-blood behemoth.

Much like Missouri, the Jayhawks have struggled with Nebraska over the years. Kansas lost 36 in a row to the Cornhuskers from 1969 to 2004. Nebraska holds the series advantage by nearly 70 games in a rivalry that dates back to 1892. From 1971-1990, Nebraska shut out Kansas eight times. During that same stretch, Kansas scored just 50 total points at home in Lawrence against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska scored more than 50 in 13 of those contests. From 1990-1999, Kansas scored 103 total points against Nebraska and lost by an average of over 30 points per game to the Cornhuskers.

Aside from a three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Reesing and Co. put on a clinic against the Huskers defense. The Jayhawks found the endzone on their next 10 possessions, save the kneel down before halftime. KU scored touchdowns on 11 their 15 possessions. Reesing lit up the Huskers secondary, throwing for 354 yards and 6 TDs. Briscoe caught 3 TD passes, while McAnderson rushed for 119 yards and 4 scores.

Reesing navigated the offense to an efficient yet explosive curb-stomping of Nebraska. The Jayhawks had seven scoring drives lasting less than two minutes each. Reesing was not sacked a single time, and the Kansas offense committed zero turnovers. The KU defense, however, forced five Nebraska turnovers, including four Joe Ganz interceptions. Nebraska WR Maurice Purify had a career day, hauling in 158 yards and 3 TD receptions, but the lack of a legitimate run threat killed any chance the Huskers might have had. Ganz had over 400 yards in the air but only completed half of his 50 pass attempts.

Offense Humming

The Jayhawks offense continued their onslaught the next two weeks, breaking the 40-point barrier against both Oklahoma State and Iowa State. In Stillwater against the Cowboys, Kansas WR Marcus Henry caught 8 passes for 199 yards and 3 TDs. Henry outdueled Pokes WR Dez Bryant, who had 155 receiving yards of his own.

In the home finale against Iowa State, the Jayhawks exploded for 566 yards of offense and easily defeated the hapless 3-win Cyclones. The stage was set for Nov. 24th, 2007, in Kansas City: No. 2 Kansas versus No. 3 Missouri with everything on the line.