KU hopes to repeat 1968 all over again

[HuskerBob]

Its kinda crazy to think that the last time KU beat us was back during the Vietnam war. Is this the only streak we have left vs Big 12/8 teams??

 

KU faces usual odds in Lincoln

 

By JASON KING

 

The Kansas City Star

 

 

LAWRENCE — He stopped short of sporting the all-out hippie look. But as an eighth-grader back in 1968, Mark Mangino didn't exactly run to the barber shop for monthly trims.

 

“Everyone in those days was mad about the Vietnam War and had long hair,” Mangino said. “If you didn't, something was wrong with you. It was kind of a wild time.”

 

So wild, in fact, that the Kansas football team mustered a 23-13 victory over Nebraska that season.

 

Thirty-five years later, no Jayhawk squad has been able to repeat the feat. Kansas teams have come close. But a win over tradition-rich Nebraska hasn't happened since that crazy day in 1968, a time when Mangino could never have guessed he would end up becoming KU's football coach.

 

“We're only responsible for three years of it, that's the way I look at it,” said Mangino, referencing the fact that he and his staff are in just their third season at KU. “In 1968 I didn't even know where Lawrence, Kansas, was. I couldn't have found it on a map. But I'm glad I'm here now, because I love the place.”

 

Kansas will be hard-pressed to end Nebraska's streak when it travels to Lincoln for Saturday's 6:10 p.m. game. After a 2-0 start, the Jayhawks' offense became stagnant in back-to-back losses to Northwestern (20-17) and Texas Tech (31-30). Kansas also missed fourth-quarter field goals in those setbacks.

 

Thus, rather than the confidence generated from a 4-0 start, the Jayhawks' mental frame could be iffy entering their showdown against the Cornhuskers, which will be televised on pay-per view.

 

“We went out to the practice field and stretched (on Monday),” Mangino said. “During the early part, it was a little bit quiet. But as soon as we got into drill work, you could see the enthusiasm pick up. The kids were back in their element again, practicing football and doing what they like to do. Within about 10 or 15 minutes, it looked like a Monday after a win.

 

His players realize, Mangino said, how far the program has come since his first season in 2002, when KU finished 2-10. The Jayhawks went 6-6 in the regular season last year, earning their first bowl berth in eight years.

 

“They see the big picture here,” Mangino said. “You can talk about how we lost a few tough games. But I view it like this: We're getting better.”

 

Kansas tailback John Randle said he isn't worried about the team's spirits being down for this week's game — nor does he believe those who say that the Jayhawks' chances of going to another bowl game are all but over.

 

“We never listen to what outside people say,” Randle said. “Anyone can win any game at this point.”

 

• K-STATE GAME TIME: Kickoff for Kansas' game against Kansas State on Oct. 9 has been set for 6:20 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. The game will not be televised.

 

• LINE CHANGES: Mangino said after the Texas Tech loss that personnel changes were in store for the offensive line.

 

Although he didn't name anyone, Mangino said Tuesday that his plan was to rotate more players at the line positions.

 

• HEAGGANS WILL SIT: Although he's still on the team, Mangino said junior Greg Heaggans won't play for the third straight week. Heaggans was arrested Sept. 16 on a DUI charge.

 

[Blackshirt]

Yes it really is fascinating, especially when you compare it to other sports. These type of records rarely exist in Basketball, baseball etc. Wonder why the longer streaks are more prevalent in CF?

 

Heres another interesting article in regards to the streak..

 

Husker win streak defies football odds

 

As a 34-year-old native Nebraskan, these things are for certain: Death, taxes, not enough rain, too much rain and the Cornhuskers will beat Kansas.

 

Indeed, NU's 35-game football winning streak against the Jayhawks is probably one of the more remarkable strings alive in sports. It's possibly even more impressive than the Huskers' streak of 35 straight bowl games.

 

While having a football team good enough to make the postseason for more than three decades defies the odds, not losing to one particular team since the Johnson administration is kind of mind-blowing. Sure, the Kansas football program has never been regarded as a national power, but you'd think that the Jayhawks could've pulled off the upset at some point.

 

Heck, even the Iowa States, Oklahoma States and Missouris of the Big 12 world have had their day in the sun against Nebraska.

 

One thing is for certain: Nebraska's players and coaches aren't counting on past history to win a 36th straight game over Kansas -- the 111th in the series.

 

"That's an awful lot of games in a row, but you can't look at that anymore," Nebraska guard Jake Andersen said. "The parity in college football is so great that you have to come to play every game. You can't look past teams because we know if we don't show up and play, we know Kansas will come here looking for a win."

 

Since Kansas' 23-13 win over the Huskers in Lincoln on Oct. 12, 1968, the Jayhawks have been ranked four times when they played Nebraska. However, only one of those games was close -- a 10-9 1973 win by NU in Lincoln.

 

KU's most recent and possibly best chance to end the streak was in 1993 in Lawrence when Nebraska escaped with a 21-20 victory. The Jayhawks had the Huskers on the ropes and attempted a two-point conversion late in the game that would almost certainly have given them the win.

 

Saturday, it appears that Kansas has at least a chance to end the string. Oddsmakers list the Huskers as 12.5-point favorite, which isn't meant to offer any type of prediction, but at least shows that the national perception is that the Jayhawks might be able to make it interesting.

 

Nebraska coach Bill Callahan seems to agree.

 

"I live in the here-and-now," Callahan said. "I don't look back and I look forward to this challenge. I don't think whatever happened years ago has any significance about what's going to happen on Saturday, so with all due respect, that's a great accomplishment and achievement, but that's for the former players and the former coaches. We've got our work cut out, and we've got to set our own tradition."

 

Husker huddle

 

 

If you're a fan of Mike Babcock's work for The Independent and in Huskers Illustrated magazine, be sure to pick up a copy of his new book in the "Stadium Stories" series entitled "Nebraska Cornhuskers: Colorful Tales of the Scarlet and Cream." Babcock, who has covered the team since 1978, has an uncanny knack for revealing great stories behind the scenes in Husker history.

 

Newspaper reports quote Frank Solich's agent as saying the former Nebraska coach is interested in the UNLV coaching job that will become vacant at the end of the season. However, since Rebels' AD Mike Hamrick is apparently looking for a passing coach, it doesn't appear to be a great fit.

 

The first full weekend of Big 12 Conference play gets underway Saturday and will probably give us a much better idea of how the North Division race might shape up. Kansas State is an underdog at Texas A&M, Missouri hosts Colorado and Kansas travels to Nebraska. If Bill Snyder's Wildcats don't come up big, here's guessing that Missouri will emerge as the team to beat.

Terry Douglass is sports editor of The Independent

http://www.theindependent.com/stories/0930...ouglass30.shtml

[Red November]

Besides 1999, I beleive when we were down in Kansas and we just got past them 24-17, this has got to be one of the closest games in that 30 years or so.