KU - Louisiana Tech Afterthoughts

Even with the chill & drizzle coming down, it was a great crowd for last saturday's Louisiana Tech game with an announced attendance of 48,621. The Hawks received the opening kickoff & took the ball right down the field, but had to settle for a Jacob Branstetter field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Branstetter, an Air Force transfer, was declared eligible by the NCAA late last week & saw his first action of the season. Branstetter finished the night hitting all three of his field goal attempts. He did miss on an extra point, but Mangino stated in his press conference yesterday that it was due to a dropped hold. He also remarked that he hadn't decided if Branstetter or Grady Fowler would handle the place kicking duties this friday against South Florida.

Todd Reesing continues his steady play. He is staying in the pocket more & giving all of his receivers a look before tucking the ball & making plays on his own. He ended the first half by completing 19 of 24 pass attempts for 215 yards. He only misfired one time during the second half and ended the night by connecting on 32 of 38 attempts for 412 yards along with 3 td's.

The running game continues to need improvement. Anqus Quigley led the attack with 84 yards on 15 carries. He did remind me of Brandon McAnderson at times the way would be tacklers seem to bounce off his legs. He is methodical in his running style and just seems to chug along once he breaks thru the line. Jocques Crawford is seems to be coming along slower than anticipated and all signs point to Quigley getting the bulk of the carries against South Florida.

I am going to call the Jayhawk receiving corp one of the best in the Big 12. They have a great mix of athletes who can do numerous things which help to compliment the passing game. Daymond Patterson started for the injured Dexton Fields and continued to turn heads with his 2 touchdown 130 yard performance. He makes people miss & has another gear to get by would be tacklers. Dezmond Briscoe took a short pass across the middle from Reesing in the third quarter & broke numerous tackles as he rumbled into the endzone for a 48 yard TD reception. Kerry Meier continues to be a possession type receiver who always keeps the chains moving.

Clint Bowen's defensive squad continues to shine as they have yet to have a TD scored upon them this season. They withstood a 22 play, 82 yard drive in the first-half to keep Louisiana Tech off the board. Darrell Stucky ran down a would be touchdown in the 3rd quarter after the speedster from Tech had sprinted for a 78 yard gain to the KU 2-yard line. Three playes later & a missed field-goal attempt helped preserve the Hawk shutout.

The Hawks go on the road to face a South Florida team that held on to beat in-state rival Central Florida. Friday's nationally telivised game will begin at 7:00 on ESPN2 & I am getting word that the athletic department is very pleased with the number of Hawk fans who will be making the trip to Tampa Bay for the game.

Smoking Tree in New York

I was going to take this time to discuss the Hawks holiday weekend trip to Canada. I have spoken with a few people who traveled and witnessed the games & had received some emails from others regarding what they saw from the Coach Self's young squad. With that said, I guess I should discuss just what the hell went down in New York regarding "KU Hero" Mario Chalmers & Darrell Arthur.

What were these two knuckleheads possibly thinking when they decided to enjoy some weed & women while in New York on official NBA business? How many people attend an AA meeting with a beer in their hand, or a Sex Anonymous meeting with a Playboy tucked underneath their arm. Way to go guys, you just labeled yourself as a pothead before you even broke a sweat in the NBA.

I have heard the excuse today that marijuana isn't that bad and should be legalized, thus they really didn't do anything wrong. That's not the point..........It is an illegal substance and one that can cost a person their career, not matter how much money they make. I am no angel, and don't hold myself up high and cast stone's on others, but make your money, enjoy your career, and when you are done......smoke all the grass you want.

Since the end of KU's magical run thru the NCAA tournament we as fans have not had much to cheer about. Darrell Arthur's high school eligibility comes into question, Sherron Collins cannot show-up to court, and Markieff Morris is firing off BB's out his dorm window. I also question how the twins are bringing in over sized flat screen t.v's & lavish furnishings at the awe of other students in Jayhawker Towers.

We all thank Coach Self and the rest of the squad for all they do and the Championship they brought home, but let's not allow our athletic programs to run amuck. Aqib Talib failed numerous drug tests while at KU & you can't possibly believe that Tuesday night was the first time Chalmers & Arthur experienced pot.

Jayhawks - FIU Afterthoughts

I took a few things away from the game against FIU this past weekend and hopefully we can build on the game as I believe we have a tough Louisiana Tech squad heading into town this saturday. We need to be able to rush for more than the 128 yards we grinded out on saturday. Coach Mangino stated in his press conference today that FIU was stacking the box and daring us to throw the ball. That may be correct, but with the big uglies up front we should still be able to run better than we did.

With that said, our O-line play needs to improve. The pocket was collapsing around Reesing all night forcing him outside where he kept encounterinig the defensive ends. This was the first live action for these guys and I look forward for much improvement as they break-down game tape and correct mistakes.

We have a great group of receivers in Kerry Meier, Dexton Fields, Dezmon Briscoe, & Jonathan Wilson. Meier is always steady & Briscoe can catch anything thrown his way. I believe you all will come to love Wilson as he was voted the player that will suprise the most by the rest of the team coming into fall camp. No word out of Lawrence yet pertaining to the injury Fields sustained.

Daymond Patterson is the answer to our punt return problems. He racked-up 135 yards on 4 returns including 75 yard touchdown dash down the sideline that included hurdling a would-be tackler. Take away his TD return and he still averaged 20 yards per return.

Enjoy the win KU fans as Louisiana Tech rolls into town this Saturday fresh off a 22-14 home vistory against Mississippi St. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. central time & will be broadcast on FSN. Former KU great & NFL Hall of Famer Mike McCormack will be inducted into the Kansas Ring of Honor.