The Eliminator: Mangino Edition
Patrick Stevens' work for the Bowl-Pocalypse is now officially over as the 68 teams needed to fulfill the bowl picture are now all present and accounted for. That means all the bowls will get their teams and all is well and good in the extended holiday that is the bowl season. As for the have-nots of the college football world there are currently 19 teams in BCS leagues that are completely eliminated from post season play.
The ACC is pacing the non-achievement pack with five teams, the Big Ten is next in line with four, the Big XII and the Pac 10 each have three teams and both the Big East and SEC have just two teams out of the bowl picture. Here's how they shake out:
Wake Forest, Maryland, NC State, Virginia, Duke
Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana
Washington, Washington State, Arizona State
Kansas State, Colorado, Baylor
Louisville, Syracuse
Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
Notice that Kansas State is in bold. In the haste to get the 4th edition of the Eliminator out last week I overlooked the Wildcats pending doom. The whole Big XII North title on the line blurred over the whole "we played two FCS teams so this sixth loss thing could kill us" surrounding the game.
Well Kansas is probably wishing that their push to become bowl eligible had hid their pending elimination, instead I've got my sights squarely set in on the possible "end of an era."
We'll scrap the standard procedure in favor of more fun inspired game break down as the Eliminator takes the time to fatten up the Jayhawks before the impending kill. After going 8-5 a season ago and 11-1 in 2007 the Jayhawks now sit on the cusp of bowl ineligibility. What changed you ask?
Read more for the Mangino Sized Eliminator...
Not much, they've returned the major cog in the system, quarterback Todd Reesing, as well as a capable cask of defensive and offensive players. The most notable difference has been in the play of Reesing. A guy who as second team all Big 12 as a sophomore is now ranked 53rd in passing efficiency. That ranking places him behind such great bastions of quarterbacking prowess like Greg McElroy, Jordan Jefferson, Johnathan Crompton, Blaine Gabbert and Jeff Van Camp. Mangino's offense has seem to crumble around senior even with talented receivers like Dez Briscoe and Kerry Meier at his disposal.
The year started out rough for the Jayhawks as September saw the football team and the basketball team embroiled in controversy. Lawrence's top ranked basketball squad got involved in an altercation with their Top 25 football team. Regardless of what the fight was over (a girl), the football team wasn't going to win this public relations battle. Not at a "basketball school" where guys that play in Phog Allen Fieldhouse are revered and worshipped while football is a hobby that, until recently, just lasts until the end of October to most of the Kansas faithful.
When you couple the Jayhawks on field troubles with this early season problem there is plenty to analyze as they've fallen hard and fast. Losing six games in a row will gobble up any goodwill that has been built up in the brief period of Kansas football prosperity and this is what appears to have happened.
As a 4.5 underdog entering the Border War and their season on the brink of post season eligibility you'd think Jayhawks fans would be gungho for this contest; they're not. Tickets are popping up for sale like one would never have anticipated in Lawrence and in Kansas City as well. Mizzou fans making the two plus hour drive will be in friendly confines at Arrowhead Stadium as the Jayhawks fans turn their attention to Bill Self's basketball program.
The most recent problems swarming around this game is the "Mangino Madness" being thrown all across the board. After a recent Kansas City Star article written by Jason Whitlock that pointed out the large coach's girth as a reason for his anger boiling over the doors have open on the firestorm. There has been plenty of light shed on the issue including former Jayhawks openly ripping Mangino's style and possibly the most disturbing quote made by a coach in a long time.
Now the cat's out of the bag as Mangino is getting hit for altercations he had some 20 years ago at a high school. Entering this game the coach is fighting for his career and there isn't much support coming from Lawrence administration. They've launched a probe without consulting their winningest coach and as Football Coach Scoop reported a week ago, Mangino will not be back for the 2010 season.
The wound is open and it is pouring out puss and blood at this point as Mangino attempts to avoid the storm and do his job. For the Jayhawks the writing is on the wall and it appears that the Rock Chalk program is going to fade into Bolivia a la Mike Tyson.
The Eliminator feeds on this controversy and coaching casualties. Kansas, its over for you, the Eliminator devours the Mangino; it takes all day but he is a very fitting fattened Thanksgiving Turkey ready for the deep fryer and fully poised for destruction.
