So help them out by filling out this brief survey.
Evidently, KU is being considered for both the Fort Worth Bowl on December 23rd and the Houston Bowl on Saturday the 31st.
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Arthur played well in the first half, but struggled late as Carter (who beat Arthur’s squad by nearly 30 last year) rallied.
Comments (0) * Have the Phog Blog come to you! * Subscribe to Comments“He plays like he’s 6-11,” Carter coach Rob Wright said.
Wright said he kept telling his team while it trailed that its shots would eventually start falling.
“This is a good, strong, fighting team,” he said. “They stayed with it and stayed with it.”
Arthur dominated in the first half, scoring 19 points, including SOC’s first 14. Guard Kendrake Johnigan helped SOC stay in it in the second half, in which he scored 15 of his 17 points.
Week 16 already? Where has the football season gone? Fortunately for KU, there is a game yet to be played. However, for the purpose of this Phog Blog feature, this is it until the dog days of late August or early September in 2006.
Because this final weekend suffers from a dearth of games involving teams that anyone has seen or heard of, the slack will be taken up by the inclusion of the Over/Under in many games. For anyone unfamiliar with the Over/Under, it is a prediction of the sum of both teams’ points. For example, last Saturday, the sum in the KU/Iowa St game was 45 (24-21). If the Over/Under number was 43, those who took the Over won. If the Over/Under number was 48, the winners were those who went with the Under.
For the final time in 2005:
1. Colorado +28 vs. Texas (Houston)
Let’s see: Colorado missed covering the spread last week by 40 points. UT missed by 17. Both teams are hopping mad at their performance. UT is again running its mouth, claiming they are seeking redemption for only beating A&M by 11. If they were playing a team better than one that lost by 27 at home to a mediocre Nebraska crew, they might pay for their mouth-running. They won’t. Which still doesn’t mean they will cover 28.
COLORADO
2. Over/Under: 60.5
UT has been almost averaging 60 themselves. CU will get in a few licks before falling by something like 45-24.
OVER
3. Army +6.5 vs. Navy (Philadelphia)
Navy has been beating Army like a drum in recent years. Ride that mule until it falters.
4. O/U: 50.5
The two teams average scoring 51 between them, and average giving up 51 between them. Pretty shrewd line. Last time I looked, 51 was considered larger than 50.5
OVER
5. UCLA +22 @ Southern Cal
If there is one thing UCLA can do, it’s score. They should have wont his game last year. Yes, they will be outscored, but USC will have to score 50+ to cover this spread, because UCLA gets at least 28.
6. O/U: 74
Another outstanding line by the oddsmakers. 49-28 covers it. 42-28 doesn’t.
UNDER
7. LSU -1.5 vs. Georgia (Atlanta)
How many times is LSU going to kick itself for blowing a 21 point lead at home vs. what has proven to be a weak (for them) Tennessee team. Otherwise, the group from Katrina country would arguably be playing this game to keep Texas out of the Rose Bowl.
A virtual home game for Georgia. That gives them the edge in a toss-up game.
GEORGIA
8. O/U: 40
Two of the nation’s best defenses this side of Lawrence.
UNDER
9. Florida St +14 vs. Virginia Tech (Jacksonville)
Surely, Florida St has some sense of pride, the lily livered choking folders. . .
FLORIDA ST
10. O/U: 45.5
Looks like the antithesis of the SEC championship game.
OVER
11. West Virginia -9 @ South Florida
South Florida fighting for a BCS Bowl? Something has to be done about that-and sooner, rather than later. k-state’s future coach puts up a fight, but the football gods are not ready for something called USF in a big time bowl-not this year.
WEST VIRGINIA
12. O/U: 44
A special teams play or two moves the score into the upper 40’s.
OVER
13. Louisville -17.5 @ Connecticut
Oh, Puhleeeaze. Didn’t UConn give up on football when Big Lew left for greener pastures?
LOUISVILLE
14. O/U: 53
Louisville scores 42-45. Surely, UConn can make up the difference.
15. San Diego St +3.5 @ Hawaii
Hawaii is a tough coconut to crack at home.
HAWAII
The Fort called Worth, Sam Houston Town, Captain Shreve-ville, or Bloomin’ Orlando. Get your priorities straight and BE THERE!____________________________________________________________________
Have a Great off-season. And remember:
1. These picks are for entertainment purposes only.
2. You get what you pay for.
3. There are no refunds.
Congrats to Nick Reid for winning Big 12 defensive player of the year honors.
And Congrats to Mark Mangino for getting this kind of article written about KU football at all (scroll down).
After early reports leaked that Kansas State had hired former Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo, the students literally rioted, putting down their work pitchforks in favor of their school pitch forks, and after getting the horses ready, headed into campus to give Tim Weiser a piece of their mind.
Students, your rioting was not in vain, as Weiser will shortly be responding to your concerns. Phog Blog spy Boomer intercepted this transmission from K-State’s main telegraph hub, and it is brought to you here in digital form. To get some background on the hiring of Gerry DiNardo, you might want to follow the link above before reading what will happen next (we’ve got it here before the heralded Hoosier Review!).
Hoosier Review has learned that Kansas State University athetic director Tim Weiser this morning will announce the firing of new head football coach Gerry DiNardo. According to a Kansas State athletic department staffer speaking on a condition of anonymity, DiNardo was fired on the basis of his losing record of 8-27 while running perennial doormat Indiana even further into the ground.
So why did Weiser hire DiNardo to begin with? Many KSU faithful want to know. According to the spokesman, it was an apparent case of mistaken identity. “Tim thought that he was talking with Dungy of Indianapolis, not DiNardo of Indiana. It’s an understandable mistake. Anyone could make it.”
Disappointed that he isn’t getting the coach that has led the NFL’s Colts to an 11-0 start this season, Weiser will now restart the search process.
Apparently now at the top of the short list is Iowa State assistant Terry Allen. “We’re so impressed with the record that coach Allen’s father, George, enjoyed all those years he led the Washington Redskins. We believe that he can continue his family’s legacy at K-State in a similar fashion that sons such as Terry Bowden, Wade Philips and David Shula have done for their families.”
In related news, K-State has released its schedule for the 2005-06 season and will play Prairie View A&M six times in what the spokesman calls “a concentrated effort to regain bowl eligibility for our storied football program.”
After a great win, the future of KU football looks bright!
It’s not just the great successes this year - undefeated at home; wins against Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa State; nationally ranked defense; etc. - but KU has momentum as it prepares for a bowl game and a lot of positives to build on.
For one thing, KU will get an extra month of practice. That will be invaluable for KU’s young players, especially the skill players on offense.
This season certainly won’t hurt KU’s recruiting. With K-State coachless, KU should have little trouble with in-state players. But KU is making a name for itself around the country. The caliber of recruits KU is targeting is higher now than it has been in the recent past. As KU enters this important time in football recruiting, the team will still be practicing and playing in a bowl game, and that will help.
KU played an incredibly difficult schedule this year, but next year is a different story. There will be big games and tough games next year, but Texas and Oklahoma are not in the picture. Looking at the schedule and the recent happenings with the Big XII North schools, next year’s schedule should play right into Mangino’s hands.
Most importantly, KU players seem to be enjoying some excellent coaching. When the offense was sputtering and costing us losses, these kids could have closed up shop. The frustration and finger pointing that everyone expected, however, never seemed to happen. Instead, Coach Mangino and his assistants accepted responsibility for the problems and set out to fix them. I’m not saying that KU is now some sort of offensive power house - quite the contrary. But the offense has made great progress, due in no small part to excellent coaching. The team is cohesive, due in no small part to excellent coaching. The team never quits and plays with energy and passion (even after three interceptions!), due in no small part to excellent coaching.
The best thing that happened this year was the fan support. KU set attendance records this year. We drew 48,000+ for the MU game, and 51,000+ for the NU game. That’s incredible! You know, there were more fans in Memorial Stadium tearing down the goal posts than there were in Manhattan to say goodbye to Coach Snyder. I remember in the not-too-distant-past when local merchants gave away free football tickets and sparse “crowds” were the norm. Those days seem to be behind us now. There is excitement about this team!
I for one will be following the Fighting Manginos to Fort Worth or wherever they may land, and I can’t wait ’till next year!
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Perhaps the rumors of Bruce “Wooden” Weber’s death have been exagerated. In any case, it was a good land:
Comments (2) * Have the Phog Blog come to you! * Subscribe to CommentsGordon, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, is considered among the top 10 players in the class of 2007. His commitment, which was reported Monday by the Indianapolis Star and Scout.com, gives Weber his first likely McDonald’s All-American and comes shortly after Illinois failed to secure commitments from the best high school seniors in the state. Sherron Collins is going to Kansas…
Good for them. That national attention can’t hurt, and neither can the fact that we’ll be practicing once recruits start visiting in a few weeks. Saturday’s was a big win for KU, a really big win.
Here’s a screenshot in case they’ve changed the homepage.
According to the Star:
“We don’t know yet (whether he can play),” KU coach Mark Mangino said Sunday. “He’s definitely going to need some rest. How he responds physically over the next week or two will tell the tale.”
In Manginoan fashion, his injury hasn’t been disclosed. The most specific thing I’ve seen is that it seems to be shoulder related. It looks like we’ll be in the Fort Worth Bowl, playing against a Conference USA team, most likely Houston, UTEP or Memphis, all of which are sitting at 6-5.
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Send in by PB reader Chuck (thanks!)
I followed Ty as the unofficial photographer of his high school basketball team for his freshman and sophomore season.
If KU were to get Ty there, you would be getting a kid very much in the mold of Kirk H. He is a very humble kid, very level headed, and very very talented. I believe he’s consistently on the high honors list at school. He is not a cocky kid that will get into trouble. He is very serious about basketball, and understands those off the court things that can detract from his opportunities to play the game.
He’s a great player, but really so much more than that. He has been raised to respect the game and his opponents, so you won’t see him running down the court tugging on his jersey. He is the perfect point guard, a kid that can score 30 if you need him to, or might end up with 8 points and 5 assists, but win. Winning is by far the most important thing in the game to him, and he does what his team needs to get the job done.
The perfect point guard on a team loaded with superstars. The guy you need to get the ball to the right person so that they can score, and the team can be successful.
KU would be very fortunate to get him, not just because of his basketball skills, but because he is the type of kid you want in your program - and a great example to other kids.
Anybody else seen Ty play? Let us know what you think.
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From the Chicago Tribune Prep Roundup:
No. 8 Crane 88, YOUNG 79
Blue Cross Tourn. Sherron Collins led Crane (2-0) with 40 points, 10 assists, 8 steals, 5 rebounds. Brendon McGee added 21 points and 17 rebounds.
40 points you say? Not bad. Only the Sun-Times says he scored 45.
AT YOUNG: Sherron Collins scored 45 points to lead No. 6 Crane to an 88-79 victory over Young.
He also scored 32 points in his first game.
Wow.
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We have Friday games this week, so get your hypothetical bets in early-preferably before the Thanksgiving Day turkey-induced stupor renders your analytical faculties as useless as your will-power against pumpkin, sweet potato, or pecan pie a la mode late Thursday afternoon..
This week’s action, including IQ (i.e., Interest Quotient: *=another turkey sandwich Sunday afternoon *****=Reggie Bush vs. Fresno St).
Friday:
1. Texas -27 @ A&M***
Vince Young calls A&M’s fans “drunks.” Fortunately for Vince, that’s what A&M’s players and coaches have performed like this season. Especially at home.
TEXAS
2. Nebraska +13.5 @ Colorado**1/2
Colorado needs a win to secure a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Second prize is two weeks in Philadelphia. Still, that’s what they want, for some reason. At home, against a Nebraska team that is fortunate to be going bowling at all. . .
COLORADO
3. Arkansas +17 @ LSU**
LSU is still kicking itself for blowing a 21 point lead to Tennessee-a team that won’t be going bowling-in its first home game of the season. Otherwise, they would have a strong argument for a spot in the National Championship game. Look for them to take hold of this game early and not look back.
LSU
4. Arizona +9 @ Arizona St**1/2
Two teams trying to salvage their season. ASU, at 5-5, needs a victory to become bowl eligible. Arizona, at 3-7, needs it to-well, to beat Arizona St. The Sun Devils will survive and advance-but it won’t be easy against AU’s kamikaze defense.
ASU
Saturday:
5. Iowa St-2.5 @ KU***
This game will be affected greatly by two factors outside the two teams’ control: the result of the Colorado/Nebraska game and the number of KU fans still interested in football. If NU somehow prevails in Boulder, ISU’s motivation factor increases exponentially, as they will suddenly have a shot at being the North’s sacrificial lamb in the Big 12 “championship” game. Personally, I’d take the two weeks in Philadelphia. However, it would give ISU their first football “championship” (if that’s what you want to call winning the Big 12 North) of any sort since somewhere around the time of the first Thanksgiving.
Not that ISU’s motivation factor will mean anything if KU’s fans show up in large numbers. KU, while shockingly bad outside Lawrence (even a mere 50 miles away in Arrowhead Stadium), resembles a great team at home with the fans stoking their energy level for 60 minutes.
My guess is that ISU’s incentive drops a notch about 7:00p.m. Friday as Colorado walks out of Folsom Prison-errr Field-with the Big 12 North Booby Prize-errr-championship, and KU draws just enough loud, enthusiastic, diehard fans who are not quite ready to declare it basketball season to send its seniors out in a blaze of glory. Not to mention their second bowl game in three years.
KU
6. Okie St +19 @ Oklahoma***
The Bedlam series. Aptly named this year, as the fans of both schools have been losing their sanity following two teams whose performance has ranged from mediocre to atrocious. Both teams seem to be gradually getting better, so you can expect a game ranging from slightly better than mediocre to slightly better than atrocious.
Okie St showed me two things last week. First, that they can fall 35 points behind Baylor. Second, they can score points when the game is no longer in doubt. Since they defeated Tech two weeks ago, and OU lost (kind of-with some help from your friendly Big 12 Texas officials) last week to the same team, 19 points looks like about five too many.
OKIE ST
7. Maryland +2.5 @ N.C. ST*
This would make a nice basketball game. Strictly a home field advantage pick.
N.C. ST
8. UNC +23 @ Virginia Tech*1/2
UNC would cover this spread at home. Being on the road, against a Va Tech team still hoping for a BCS bid. . .
VA TECH
9. Virginia +18.5 @ Miami**
Miami is out for redemption after failing to make an appearance in last week’s game vs. a vastly inferior team of Ramblin’ Wrecks. They won’t make that mistake again.
MIAMI
10. Tennessee -9.5 @ Kentucky*
Tennessee is 4-6 after losing at home to Vanderbilt. Not that Vandy is a bad team. It’s just that they are-well-Vanderbilt. Think Baylor a few hundred miles to the east. A team UK defeated in Nashville. And UK is more used to these playing out the string games.
KENTUCKY
11. Georgia -3.5 @ Georgia Tech***1/2
We find out how much of GT’s win last week was GT and how much of it was Miami sleepwalking. Probably a little of both.
GEORGIA
12. UTEP -6.5 @ SMU*
The Bill Snyder Replacement Bowl? At least one of the coaches in the rumor mill for that job will win this game. Roll Tide. (If you don’t get this reference, check out Sports Illustrated’s archives. The suddenly poorer Sports Illustrated.)
UTEP
13. Florida St +5 @ Florida****
FSU looked like the real deal early in the season. Turns out they weren’t. Regardless, they will reportedly get to finish their season with a win in the Tangerine-errrr, Champs Sports-Bowl vs. Nebraska. At least it’s not the San Diego County, State of California, in the United States of America, all financial institutions of any sort Poinsettia Bowl.
FLORIDA
14. Fresno St -16 @ Nevada*1/2
Yes, Fresno St should cover this spread handily based on their showing last Saturday night in the Coliseum, where they outplayed Southern Cal in every respect with the exception of Reggie Bush. 500+ yards from a non-QB. Are you kidding me?
The question is: what does Fresno have left? How can they have any emotional intensity after that game? If Pat Hill can get his troops up again, after that game, k-state needs to turn heaven and earth (the latter, something they know a lot about) to entice him to Manhattan. Of course, if he’s that good, he’s too smart to move to Manhattan. Fresno might not be the garden spot of the U.S.A., but compared to Purpletown. . .
NEVADA
15. Notre Dame -17.5 @ Stanford***
Notre Dame stakes its claim to the Fiesta Bowl. Or is it the Orange Bowl? Or the Sugar/Peach Bowl?
NOTRE DAME
Fort Worth or Bust!
–Mark
____________________________________________________________________ Remember, as always:
1. These picks are for entertainment purposes only.
2. You get what you pay for.
3. There are no refunds.
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