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Hawk Talk: Kansas vs. Texas Tailgate Edition

By Owen

News and Notes from the Week that was and the game to come...

The Good Guys...

Denver's Take...

Wow, what a week.  I'm torn at the moment in terms of our coach, but I'm not torn in terms of my support for the players.  I'd love nothing more than seeing this group pull together and shock the world in Austin, but I have to admit I'm not holding my breath. 

Not sure what the week ahead holds.  The end result seems inevitable, but the more we hear and the more we don't hear it sometimes seems like a bad situation that may only get worse. More than a few times Coach Mangino has reminded fans why they believed in him so much.  He's stood almost defiant in the face of countless attacks and some pretty credible former players have stepped forward in his defense.

Coach Mangino has done a lot for Kansas football and to see his name kicked around is painful regardless of where you stand on this.  Furthermore it's more bad press for a school riding high just two years ago. 

This might be the last time we see coach Mangino on the sideline for the Jayhawks.  My personal feeling is that how these players respond might tell us a lot about who's right and who's wrong in this situation.  That might be an unfair statement with the Longhorns in wait, but do they come together or simply pack it in.  I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm about as anxious for this one as I have been for any game since Colorado.  Rock Chalk...and stay tuned.

Head Coach Mark Mangino

Mark Mangino (Youngstown State, 1987) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Kansas. Mangino has continually improved the Kansas program, which had not posted a winning record in any of the six seasons before his arrival. Prior to coming to Kansas, Mangino helped in the turnaround of the Kansas State football program in the 1990s before becoming an assistant at Oklahoma. He also coached at New Castle (Pa.) High School, Youngstown State, Geneva College, and Ellwood City (Pa.) High School.

MANGINO HIGHLIGHTS

  • Consensus National Coach of the Year (2007).
  • Only coach in NCAA to earn both the national coach of the year and the national assistant coach of the year honors (Broyles Award in 2000).
  • Has been a part of 13 bowl games in his last 16 years of coaching.
  • Is the first Kansas coach to have a winning record since Jack Mitchell (44-42-5) in 1966 (KU had seven fulltime coaches in between).
  • Was the offensive coordinator for the national champion Oklahoma Sooners in 2000.

KANSAS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN MANGINO ERA

  • Four bowl games in a six-year span (2003-present). That represents one-third of KU's bowl appearances in just six years (eight bowl games in the previous 56 years since KU's first bowl game in 1948).
  • Bowl games in consecutive years (2007 and 2008) for the first time in school history.
  • Three consecutive bowl victories for the first time in school history.
  • Eight wins in consecutive seasons (2007 and 2008) for the first time since 1908 and 1909.
  • Twenty wins in a two-year period, the most in consecutive years in school history (won 18 games combined in 2006-07 and 1904-05).
  • Six wins in four-straight seasons (2005-08) for the first time since 1903-06.
  • Combined 33-17 record from 2005-08 for the most wins in a four-year period in school history.
  • Set new home attendance average records in each of the last four seasons.
  • KU returned to the national polls in 2007, the Jayhawks' first ranking since 1996.
  • KU was ranked in a school-record 19 consecutive Associated Press polls from 2007 through half of 2008.
  • Reached No. 2 in the polls after winning first 11 games in 2007.

KANSAS HONORS IN MANGINO ERA

  • KU has produced 72 All-Big 12 selections.
  • KU has produced 45 Academic All-Big 12 First Team selections.
  • Four Jayhawks were drafted after the 2007 season, including first-round selection Aqib Talib.
  • In 2007 and 2008 KU had a combined three All-Americans and 24 All-Big 12 selections.
  • A number of Jayhawks have made national award lists, including two finalists in Aqib Talib (Nagurski Award) and Anthony Collins (Outland Trophy) in 2007.

MANGINO YEAR BY YEAR AT KANSAS
Year Overall Big 12 Bowls
2002 2-10 0-8 / 6th North
2003 6-7 3-5 / 4th North Tangerine Bowl
2004 4-7 2-6 / 5th North
2005 7-5 3-5 / 5th North Fort Worth Bowl Champions
2006 6-6 3-5 / 4th North
2007 12-1 7-1 / t1st North Orange Bowl Champions
2008 8-5 4-4 / 3rd North Insight Bowl Champions
2009 5-5 1-5
Totals 50-46 23-39 3-1

KU VICTORY LIST RECORD
1. A.R. Kennedy, 1904-10 52-9-4
2. Mark Mangino, 2002-present 50-46-0
3. Glen Mason, 1988-96 47-54-1
4. Jack Mitchell, 1958-66 44-42-5

THINGS TO LOOK FOR AGAINST TEXAS:

  • WR Kerry Meier (2,209) needs 58 receiving yards to pass Willie Vaughn (2,266) for second on the KU career receiving yardage list. Dezmon Briscoe is first at 2,897.
  • Meier (83) needs 10 receptions for second on the KU season receptions list (holds record with 97 last year).
  • Meier has caught at least two passes in 31 consecutive games and at least one pass in 32 straight contests.
  • WR Dezmon Briscoe (2,897) needs 111 receiving yards to pass Carlos Francis of Texas Tech (3,007) for seventh on the Big 12 Conference career receiving yardage list.
  • Briscoe has caught at least four passes in 13 consecutive games and at least two in 28 straight.
  • Briscoe (994) needs just 21 receiving yards for fifth, 52 for fourth and 116 for third on the KU season receiving yardage lists.
  • Briscoe has caught at least one touchdown pass in three straight games and in six of nine games this year.
  • QB Todd Reesing (2,862) needs 133 passing yards for third on the KU season passing yardage list.

KU-UT NOTABLE -- KU boasts 35 players on its roster from the state of Texas, including starting QB Todd Reesing, who is from Austin and attended Lake Travis High School... Current KU starters from the state of
Texas include OC Jeremiah Hatch (Dallas/Carter), WR Johnathan Wilson (Houston/Klein Forest), WR Dezmon Briscoe (Dallas/Cedar Hill), QB Todd Reesing (Austin/Lake Travis), DE Jeff Wheeler (Houston/Clear Lake), LB
Arist Wright (Houston/Alief Taylor), and FS Lubbock Smith (Dallas/Carter).

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