Kansas Football To Open Big 12 Play At #24 Kansas State Saturday
Sept. 30, 2007
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QUICKLY — Kansas (4-0 overall, 0-0 Big 12) will head to nearby Manhattan, Kan. to face #24 Kansas State (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) in the conference opener for the Jayhawks… The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net beginning at 11 a.m. Central time… KU has started its season 4-0 for the first time since 1995 and last went 5-0 that same season (actually started 7-0)… KU will be looking to start a Big 12 season with a victory for the first time since opening league play with a 35-14 win against Missouri in 2003 (KU has lost three straight league openers since then)… After playing four straight home games, KU will play its first road game of the season… KU has lost its first road game of the season in each of the last three years since winning at Wyoming in 2003… KU is 4-21 on the road in the Mark Mangino era… Kansas is 2-3 after bye weeks in the Mark Mangino era, including a 39-20 win against Kansas State last season… The Oct. 6 date is the earliest in the calendar year these two teams have met since also playing on Oct. 6 in 1994.
VS. RANKED TEAMS — As Kansas gets set to face 24th-ranked Kansas State, the Jayhawks are 23-137-2 all-time against ranked opponents. KU’s last win against a ranked team was a 24-21 win against #25 Iowa State in 2005 and its last win against a team ranked as high as 24th was a 35-14 win against 23rd-listed Missouri in 2003. KU is 0-7 all-time against KSU when the Wildcats are ranked. While KSU is ranked 24th in the AP poll, the Wildcats are the equivilent of 31st in the coaches poll and KU is 28th. KU is receiving votes in the AP poll for the fifth straight week and is the equivilent of 40th.
FIRST ROAD GAME — As mentioned Kansas will play its first road game of the season at Manhattan and despite playing four straight home games to open the year, the road contest on Oct. 6 is not the latest a school has gone without a road game this year. In fact, Rutgers is opening the year with five straight home games and will not play its first road game until Oct. 13 at Syracuse. In addition to Kansas, teams playing their first road game of the year this Saturday after four straight home games include Arizona State, Auburn, Michigan, Stanford, Tulane and Vanderbilt.
ROAD NOTE II — After opening the year with four straight home games, Kansas will enter a stretch with just one of its next four games at home as the Jayhawks will travel to Kansas State, host Baylor and play back-to-back road games at Colorado and Texas A&M in the next four weeks.
CONFERENCE OPENERS — As mentioned Kansas has lost three straight Big 12 openers, falling to Texas Tech in 2004 and 2005 and Nebraska last season and in fact has started league play with a win just once in the last nine years (defeated Missouri 35-14 in 2003)… This will mark the third straight year KU will open league play on the road… KU is 39-56-4 all-time in conference openers… KU will be starting league play against Kansas State for the 21st time in history and is 9-11 against the Wildcats in its first league game of the year… The last time KSU was KU’s conference-opening opponent was 1994 when the Wildcats posted a 21-13 victory at Lawrence… KU and Missouri are the only two Big 12 schools without a conference game so far this year (Missouri hosts Nebraska on Saturday).
LAST TIME OUT — Sophomore QB Todd Reesing accounted for 415 yards of total offense and two scores, while junior CB Aqib Talib highlighted the night with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown as Kansas cruised to a 55-3 victory over Florida International back on Sept. 22. Reesing and fellow sophomore QB Kerry Meier led the team to 615 yards of total offense, KU’s largest offensive output since posting 641 yards against Jacksonville State in 2003. Reesing was responsible for 415 yards of offense himself, throwing for 368 yards on 28-of-37 passing, while rushing for 47 yards on eight carries in just three quarters of action. Senior fullback Brandon McAnderson gained 105 yards on 13 carries and two scores, while senior TE Derek Fine had a career-high seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. For McAnderson it was his second 100-yard rushing effort of the season. Junior LB Joe Mortensen became the first Jayhawk to record double-digit tackle totals in a game this season as he recorded a career-high 13 stops. Fellow LB Mike Rivera added nine stops and added two fumble recoveries as the Jayhawks forced five turnovers on the night.
THE SERIES — Kansas and Kansas State will be meeting for the 105th time in history, the 13th-most played rivalry in the NCAA, but only the third most played rivalry for KU (115 meetings with Missouri and 113 matchups with Nebraska). Kansas leads the series by a 63-36-5 count, including victories in two of the last three seasons. Prior to KU’s current two out of three streak, KSU had won 11 consecutive games against the Jayhawks. Kansas leads the series in Manhattan 27-21-3, but has lost eight straight on the road since a 21-16 win there in 1989. The teams have played every year since the first matchup in 1902 with the exception of the 1910 season. KU will be looking for back-to-back wins against Kansas State for the first time since winning three straight from 1988-90. KU’s 63 wins in the series are its most against any opponent (KU has defeated Missouri 54 times (second) and Iowa State 46 (third)). KU head coach Mark Mangino is 2-3 against KSU since taking over in Lawrence.
KU-KSU LAST YEAR — Jon Cornish rushed for a career-high 201 yards and two touchdowns and the Kansas defense forced a season-high six turnovers as the Jayhawks downed Kansas State 39-20 in front of a Memorial Stadium-record 51,821 fans on Nov. 18, 2006. KSU scored first with a field goal on its first possession, but the Jayhawks ran off 13 straight points in the first quarter. After KSU cut the margin to 30-20 in the fourth quarter, the Jayhawks put the game away with a Scott Webb 35-yard field goal and a 12-yard Cornish run (kick failed) to provide the final margin with four minutes remaining in the game.
KU-KSU LAST TIME AT MANHATTAN — In the lowest scoring game of the series since a 3-3 tie in 1966, Kansas State defeated Kansas 12-3 at Manhattan on Oct. 8, 2005. In a defensive battle, Kansas produced 236 yards and three points, while KSU gained just 182 yards, but had 12 points. KU scored first as Scott Webb kicked a 28-yard field goal with 3:48 left in the first half. KSU responded with a field goal after Kansas fumbled on its own 14-yard line on its first possession of the second half. The Wildcats added a touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter and recorded a safety with less than four minutes remaining to seal the game. Jon Cornish rushed for 66 yards for KU, while Brian Luke threw for 86 yards in a relief role of Adam Barmann. The Jayhawks turned the ball over three times, while Kansas State had one miscue. The Wildcats controlled the ball for 37:53, while KU was on offense for just 22:07.
KU-KSU CONNECTIONS — KU starting OG Adrian Mayes is from Manhattan, Kan. The junior was an all-state defensive tackle at Manhattan High School in 2004… Kansas head coach Mark Mangino was an assistant at Kansas State from 1991-98 as the Wildcats turned the program around under Bill Snyder. KSU was 71-23-1, including six straight nine-plus win seasons and six straight bowl games in Mangino’s eight years there… KU WR coach Tim Beck was a graduate assistant coach at Kansas State in 1991 and 1992… KU SID Chris Theisen was an assistant SID at Kansas State from 1991-93… KSU OL coach Tim McCarty was a graduate assistant at Kansas in 1987.
JAYHAWKS VS. KSU — Here is a look at how some current Jayhawks have fared statistically against Kansas State in their careers: WR Dexton Fields had seven receptions for 72 yards in last year’s meeting… DE Russell Brorsen had a career-high 10 tackles last year, including three tackles for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown)… S Darrell Stuckey also had a career-high with nine tackles against KSU last season… RB Brandon McAnderson has carried the ball in all three previous meetings against KSU (five carries for six yards)… CB Anthony Webb had two interceptions against KSU last season, returning one for a score… PK Scott Webb has made six career field goals against KSU.
