Nigel King’s fantastic 78 year TD catch in the TCU game is one of four finalists for the CFB Play of the Year. You can vote on Twitter for him. So tweet your vote: #PlayOfTheYear Kansas
http://espn.go.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/93790/time-to-vote-for-the-cfb-play-of-the-year
Here is a youtube of the play:
Rock Chalk!
What a great day for the Jayhawk football team! They hung together and played well for each other and their coach. After the UT game I was ready to hang up my jersey for the remainder of the season. That’s how down I felt about the players and coach.
Now, I have nothing but a great sense of pride after watching the team play and compete at the Big 12 level, especially the past two weeks. What a turnaround. Same players, different coaching. However, the last two games have been at home. Time to hit the road and show that same competitive nature against two tough teams. Two more chances for the seniors and the team to win more than one game in the conference. That was the goal and expectation right? C’mon boys! Rock Chalk!
So good to see the team be able to celebrate a conference win. I would say this was a must have for Clint Bowen (who I like) to stay in consideration for the HC position. However, I wouldn’t just hand him the keys to the office yet. We still have 3 more games and we need to keep showing improvement in all areas on the field. We can’t get blown out of the next 3 games either. One maybe, but all three, no.
The scary thing I noticed in this game was not hearing Ben Heeney’s name much. Not sure what it was but if it was Mangino finding a way to negate his play or our depleted D line not being able to platoon that’s a problem for me. Michael Reynolds was a beast out there today. Keegan had Victor Simmons first in his player ratings and Reynolds tenth. If I remember correctly wasn’t it Reynolds that flushed the ISU QB directly into Simmons on one of his sacks? I think Reynolds should have been 2nd or 3rd in the ratings.
Overall, it is great to have a “feel good” day for KU football. They come too far between! Rock Chalk!
Well I thought I was responding to the first post from JayhawkRock on this thread but it dropped my reply all the way down. Oops.
I agree but the main reason we have looked better in the past two games is having a QB that doesn’t play like a deer in the headlights. He doesn’t look down after we lose possession. He takes the hits and bounces back up. He goes through his reads. We have some semblance of a longer passing game now which stretches the field and keeps the defenses honest. The only thing I didn’t like seeing was him throwing the ball into double coverage in the middle of the field on deep plays but that seems to be his confidence in King going up to get the ball. Keeping more possession time helps our defense from getting exhausted from being on the field most of the day. It’s all good. I love seeing our guys being competitive again. Just hope we don’t get too banged up against Baylor so that we have a solid shot at taking down ISU. Will be a true test as ISU doesn’t quit. We will have to play very well and show that same type of dogged determination to the final whistle. A little luck wouldn’t hurt us either.
Undefeated and unscored upon! Love our ‘D’.
I am a 1 and 3. 1 in that I am excited for the season to start and see how our Hawks do. 3 in that my expectations aren’t too high. I look forward to winning a game or two we shouldn’t but possibly losing one we should win. No matter what happens, RCJH!
Just wanted to share this great article about our bruising middle linebacker with the rest of the folks interested in KU football. Enjoy!
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/university-of-kansas/article1275834.html
Not sure how to add a headline to the thread so will do it here:
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/96908/unlikely-freshman-helps-rescue-ku
Another article giving Conner credit for settling the team down and carrying us through. Loved it.
What a great game from Tarik last night. Although the referees did swallow their whistles on a lot of calls which kept him from getting at least two more fouls. I am not one to argue that Landon should start over Black. What I would ask is that we see more of the Black/Lucas pairing on the floor. WVU has many long, athletic bodies and those two are bigs that protect the rim well. Really liked seeing them on the floor together last night. Hope we get to see more of it while JoJo is resting. Really looking forward to seeing them in Morgantown!
This thread is for any Jayhawk fan that hasn’t been to a game in a long time for whatever reason. Last weekend, 33 years after I packed up my drumset after beating OSU to finish the Big 8 season in 1981, I was back in Allen Fieldhouse for the game against Texas. Just walking in and seeing the hallways (minus the track) started rushing many memories back. All the time spent trying to register. And mostly all the great games we had. The great crowds. Hardly lost at home.
Saturday was amazing to see the crowds, old and new traditions. Being there brought such a huge comfort level. I couldn’t stop smiling.
Then to see the players up close and personal in shoot around and warm ups. Wigs chatting to Conner. Embiid juggling the basketball 3 times with his feet before popping it up to his hands. Naa and Frank working on cuts with the ball. White, Greene, Frank, Naa and Conner shooting 3’s. Black, Jamari, Perry, Landon and even Mikelson in bigs drills with Coach Roberts who was smiling the whole time. I almost had to pinch myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.
Then we went on to pound the runner up in the conference Texas by 31 points. Awesome plays by most of the guys. To be there live is so much better than watching it on TV. Hearing the band during timeouts and how the fans still respond to it is amazing after all these years. And being a part of the crowd through it all. Losing my voice.
And I got to do it again on Monday against Oklahoma. Sat in the student GA section to be closer to the band. Whooshing with the best of them. Had to learn the moves though. Much tougher game for us and we pulled through. Lost my voice again.
IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TO A GAME IN A LONG TIME, YOU NEED TO FIND A WAY TO GET BACK AND WITNESS THE MAGIC. IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN ALLEN FIELDHOUSE AND KANSAS BASKETBALL! ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!
Here’s the latest from LJWorld sports team
http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/double-chin-music/2014/feb/28/in-defense-of-kansas-football/
http://www2.kusports.com/chats/2014/feb/28/matt-tait/
With the Bball team cruising to a Big 12 title, it’s time to start thinking about football again. Looking forward to a solid defense and better executed offense behind Reagan and new receivers coach Kiesau. Can you imagine KU receivers getting open and holding on to balls, just like the good ole days?
I’m thinking 4 or 5 wins even with this tough schedule. Two non-cons (don’t think we beat Duke in their house after such a solid season) and two conference wins. The conference season is tougher because we only have 4 home games this year instead of 5. My work is done here (back to bball for tonight).
My first game back in the Fieldhouse after 32 years = AWESOME!
A 31 point beat down of the second place team in the conference = IMPOSING
A 3 game conference lead looking for our 10th straight championship = EPIC
Don’t want to forget there is one Jayhawk that will not be able to sign with us. Wonderful story of a great guy.
http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/04/4797973/andre-maloneys-memory-will-be.html
Here is the LJW article on how the recruits are remembering him.
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/feb/04/ku-football-recruiting-class-35playfordre/
Gone but not forgotten.
Already have two LOI’s in house to start the day. Tait has the coverage at LJW. Seems HCCW is the only coach that made it into the office so far with all the snow. Tait thinks he might have slept there next to the fax machine. Hard to believe anyone uses those anymore.
http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/feb/5/rise-sign-ku-football-ushers-in-2014-rec/
Great post and agree with so much of it. Wondering how we are doing versus the freshmen/sophomore wall that we have seen over many years? Isn’t this about the time it comes and pulls some of our younger guys down?
That was a fun game to watch for us fans. Good to see so many players get good minutes. So many good players on this team. Happy for Landon. The kid is a stud. Nice to see Conner in there without Tharpe or Mason. Greene is a lift off the bench. And all are learning. However, now we have to go back to tough competition. ISU coming to town with an extra player that was ineligible last game all with a chip on their shoulder and then down to Austin to meet the surging Longhorns. Enjoy the rest of the season! Rock Chalk!
And another, this time we beat the Sparty’s out for a receiver. Welcome Darius! Keep it up coaches! Rock Chalk!
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/jan/25/wr-darious-crawley-picks-kansas-over-michigan-stat/
Here is a great article about Wiggins and how he is doing versus expectations.
Two more defensive line good gets for the program. Good to see us picking up solid HS talent. Keep it up and then coach them up CW!
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/jan/23/three-star-defensive-lineman-dj-williams-commits-k/
Loving, I mean absolutely loving this ride we are on this season. Ups and downs, all arounds and it is coming together. Just wondering if someone on the bench was telling Self that Black had 4 fouls in the second half when he only had one? Why else would you not play a guy that OSU couldn’t handle down low. Especially when Perry was chucking up bunnies and missing? Embiid won this game for us. Not only did he block 8 shots but how many did he alter?? Wow! Love that Naa was fearless with the game in the balance. I know Wayne was doing a good job on Smart defensively but when he gave up the ball on consecutive possessions I figured he would get the hook ala Frankamp or Greene. If we lost the game I would be pointing in his direction. Seems to me that Frankamp seems stronger in zone/pressure situations. And having Mason on Smart is quite the mismatch. Unless he drives the lane with Embiid there! One helluva of a team and game!
http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/jan/16/jayhawks-land-commitment-2014-defensive-end-daniel/
Welcome to the squad Daniel Wise! Looking forward to you hitting the field at KU! Rock Chalk!
Happy to see another commit to KU! We should be hearing about many more in the next couple of weeks. Hope this is a class we talk about for years to come.
Great win by a young team. Seems the non-con scheduling is already paying dividends. Embiid is now a marked man. So is Perry. Jamari seemed to be out of it in the first half. Also didn’t like Hogue literally pulling Perry over on a wrestling arm bar move late in the second. Ref’s needed to call him on that intentional foul. Good to see the plan coming together. Another big game this Saturday. RCJH!
Frustrating to watch most of yesterday’s game. Great to see them get within a point with Perry shooting a second FT at the line. I’m with the many here who would have liked to see Greene enter the game at some point. Especially as cold as we were shooting the ball. Would be interesting to know how many bunnies we missed. I think it was north of 6. In a game against a solid front line with Perry having a poor game does anybody else want to see what a front line of Embiid and Lucas can do? Pull up your bootstraps boys and bring on OU.
Sorry to see that Ellis was not able to maintain his level of improvement against a tough opponent. Looked more like his early season play last year. Hope this is not a recurring factor in conference games this season.
And if anybody watched it, I would really like to see us utilize Pierson the way that Clemson used Sammy Watkins. He was all over the field running out of the backfield and catching balls. Don’t believe the stats from the game though, half of his official catches were 2 foot catches with a 10+ yard run. They really found great ways to get him the ball. Hopefully Reagan can do the same with Pierson.
I will watch the BCS bowls. Some really good games this year. Was disappointed that both OSU’s lost to tiggers. OU beating Bama is an instant classic. Big 12 is doing better than expected from my seat. Only highly favored Baylor was a real let down. One more to go.
Re: Ellis–his scoring efficiency has been nothing short of superb. But can we get some stats to indicate if it holds up against L&A 4s?
Looking forward to seeing if Ellis can keep up his progression or if he is taking advantage of lesser players. Looks like this should be another good test. We can’t afford to have him missing bunnies or worse, disappearing from too many games in the conference.
Also, Kudos to KSU in defeating OSU to open the conference. This should be one crazy ride in the Big 12 this year with our youngsters. Enjoy the ride!
Great read and analysis Jesse. Isn’t that what busting a zone about? Getting 3 on 2 in an area for a free shot. Love it. The boys are learning unlike Hinson’s kids.
I have no problem with not scheduling the Shockers as it can only hurt us. No benefit for KU to play them.
Something we might want to consider is the history of the UK Louisville rivalry. I don’t know it well but it seems it might be a similar situation. Seems Denny Crum built one helluva program before UK was willing to play them. So it begs the question of whether the Louisville program seriously benefitted from the UK series? Or did the UK series help build the Louisville program? Anybody want to chime in on this?
Glad to see the boys play some positive ball and get rewarded. We still have two tough non-cons coming up. In the meantime they can’t forget the lessons learned against the zone. Saw some great, quick ball movement tonight. Keep working hard guys! Rock Chalk!
I agree with Kip’s point but we should also remember that unlike Collins, Mason was not a point guard previously. Was a good column in letting the masses know he needs time to develop. But as many recognize here we really don’t have the time with Tharpe playing below his level. And I would add that overall intensity on this team is lacking at this time. We’ve seen it in spurts from individuals. Can’t wait to see it from the whole team at the same time. All in good time. We knew this was going to be a work in progress this year. Work hard, work smart and hang tough Jayhawks!
Just read the article and while valid, I thought that it didn’t address one particular point which is his style of play. Perry Ellis is much more of a finesse player than a banger down low. Many times last year he would disappear for stretches against tough teams that challenged his layups and put backs. I thought I saw more of that type of play against Florida. Not only do we need him to be more aggressive attacking but we need him attacking the basket with strength whether in shooting or rebounding.
Off topic - something else I have noticed this year is that our bigs don’t seem to be as sure handed in grabbing rebounds. Many times we are not in position to get them but even when we are, we seem to bobble the ball instead of locking it down which gives our opponents an open door to contest it further. I have seen this with Black, Ellis, Traylor and Embiid. Hope it is something they are working on.
Drunken - There is so much more behind this decision than just their stats. How about the type of offense Reagan decides to run? Heaps and Cozart are very different QB’s that bring different skills to the table. Not even sure what Millweard strengths are yet.
Seems to me that beating a zone defense will be the answer. 
Was so upset in the first half. But really saw the team and HCBS learning some things in the second. Can only hope they take it to the next step of the learning process. Only thing afterward that was bothersome was the treatment of White. Came on, made a mistake and was pulled. That was it for him. Was concerned it would happen with Greene also but thankfully it didn’t. It was nice to see Wiggins play with a free mind at the end. But I was really upset with him when he was ball watching and didn’t even see his man go to the basket for a free put back while we were trying to get closer than 8 points behind.
We can add Darnell Valentine to the list of freshman point guards starting at KU. He was awesome.
“Might choke Artie, but it ain’t gonna choke Stymie.” One of my favorite lines from Our Gang. As for our football team I expected 3-4 wins including one in the conference. I got what I expected. No complaints here even though I was constantly yelling at my TV most of the season. I am hopeful to see more next year.
Some serious growing pains last night. Gotta have the fire and we certainly didn’t. Was good to see them come back twice in the second. Mason’s D on their point was fantastic in the second half. Hounded the hell out of him. It took a double screen to get Mason off him for the game winning shot. These boys need to toughen up. I don’t like the look of the small lineup with only one big on the floor. And we wonder why we were being out rebounded? Also agree with HEM in that I kept saying this is a game for Greene but he wasn’t given much of a chance. Did Frankamp even take a shot?? Liked what I saw of Landon. Brought some defense to the first half. After we leave the Island we have Colorado and Florida away. Need to grow some more fast or else we will all experience more of these growing pains.
I have to say that I completely agreed with the original piece from Keegan when he said we needed an OC for the team. And I completely agree with what he has to say about Weis. Love the line that says while not arrogant he is a Jersey wise donkey. Cracked me up.
This move definitely gives me hope for more wins next season.
A smart move. A up and coming OC that wants to be back in Lawrence with his kids. Only bad news is that he can’t start recruiting for a while. Very happy to hear this. Great news!
How about:
Having 5 different sets of jerseys, pants and helmets but no cleats for an icy and hard field??
Dumbing down the playbook to the simplest plays and becoming highly predictable.
Having a coach state all week that only wind affects the play in regards to weather and getting burned by the weather? Agree that I can’t believe he makes 2.5M.
The sun was in my eyes (Cozart running out of bounds with a first down one yard away), there was a hole in my gloves (pick any receiver here)…
Tired of seeing little to no heads up play by these so called “coached” players.
One other thing - did anyone else read the LJW article about Gavin Howard tutoring other players (props) and having Sterling state he helps him understand things better on the field. Isn’t that what the O-line coach is supposed to do?
Totally frustrated by this game.