Orange Bowl picks KU - The Capital-Journal - Page 3

**Lzen** · 12-03-2007, 08:45 AM

http://cjonline.com/stories/120307/haw_222349859.shtml
Jayhawks will face Hokies in Miami
By Tully Corcoran
The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, December 03, 2007

LAWRENCE — The juices splashed and ran down James McClinton's chin in this, the ultimate celebratory move for a defensive lineman.

Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins walked into KU's meeting room with a bag of oranges, and everybody knew. The Jayhawks were Orange Bowl-bound, and McClinton could think of only one way to celebrate. He caught the orange, jammed it into his mouth and chomped off a bite bigger than Miami.

Kansas has an allotment of 17,000-18,000 tickets, on sale at orangebowl.org.

"I thank the Lord for this game," he said.

And that was the general sentiment. For a program that has never been to a BCS bowl and hasn't been to the Orange Bowl since 1969, Sunday's announcement, coming at the tail end of the winningest season in Kansas history, was hard to take for granted. Especially for tight end Derek Fine, who committed to what once was a moribund program and was on the team in 2003 when the Jayhawks went to another Florida bowl, the Tangerine Bowl.

"I like oranges better," Fine said. "They taste better, they're bigger."

Win or lose, playing in the Orange Bowl means the 2007 Jayhawks will go down as one of the top three teams in Kansas history, alongside the Orange Bowl teams of 1947 and 1968. For a program that five years ago was a conference laughingstock, 2007 has been one giant leap.

"It was just great to stand in that room and watch those kids when they found out," KU coach Mark Mangino said. "It was like when my kids were knee-high and it was Christmas morning."

The selection pairing the No. 8 Jayhawks (11-1) against No. 3 Virginia Tech (11-2), as always, is not without controversy. And it didn't spare any hearts, especially those in Columbia, Mo. Missouri, which beat Kansas and is ranked a spot higher in both major polls, lost to Oklahoma on Saturday night in the Big 12 championship game. Sunday, fell out of the BCS entirely, accepting a bid to the Cotton Bowl.

"Missouri and Kansas were basically back-to-back next to each other," said Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms. "With the result of the (Big 12 championship) game, having a two-loss team versus a one-loss team was probably the biggest thing we looked at. We knew whatever way we went, you could make a case for the other side."

There were no tears shed in Lawrence, where Joe Mortensen was asked if he felt sorry for the Tigers.

"No," he said.

There also wasn't much suspense in Lawrence, not within the Kansas athletic department, anyway.

Since Saturday, Perkins had been working the phones, literally all day and all night, talking to bowl representatives, ironing details, scenarios and, to a lesser extent, making KU's case. He felt all along KU would wind up in a BCS bowl. He just didn't know which. Heading into Saturday's games, KU was a candidate for the Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls. Once Illinois qualified for BCS play, KU was eliminated from Rose Bowl contention. Once Hawaii qualified, the Sugar Bowl was out. Then game the Orange Bowl, which got to choose its teams ahead of the Fiesta Bowl.

"The Orange Bowl was very strong, really pursuing us," Perkins said. "We were talking quite often, regularly through the whole process.

"The good thing that I was pleased about was everybody was interested in Kansas. That was the most important thing."

If the Orange Bowl hadn't chosen KU, the probability the Fiesta Bowl would have was "very strong," Perkins said. Instead, the Fiesta took West Virginia and Oklahoma. Since the BCS rules allow just two teams from one conference into its bowls, that left out Missouri, which brings up the song that has played all season at KU, a tune about the Jayhawks' schedule, which includes no wins against teams ranked in the final Top 25 and ranks among the softest in the nation.

Perkins said the schedule was never part of the discussion.

"We don't have any argument," Perkins said. "We're in the BCS. So we have no argument. Our schedule didn't bother us. We don't have to be apologetic about anything. What people don't realize is schedules are made a long way out, so you don't realize how things are gonna happen, and we had no problem with our schedule. We're playing in the Orange Bowl."

As it is designed to do, the Orange Bowl will create an intriguing matchup between the nation's No. 4 defense and Kansas' No. 6 offense. But that is a discussion for another day.

Sunday, the Jayhawks were soaking the moment, and the orange juice.

"It's been a great journey here for my five years," senior running back Brandon McAnderson said. "The opportunity that's in front of us is huge."

Tully Corcoran can be reached at (785) 295-5652 or tully.corcoran@cjonline.com.

Frazod · 12-03-2007, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'm loving every, single second of your sour grapes.

Scoreboard, KUnt.

bobbything · 12-03-2007, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Scoreboard, KUnt.

What does that have to do with the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl?

You should be pissed off at the system because MU got royally fooked in the butt.

Edit: Illinois is a prime example of the B(C)S debacle as well.

Garcia Bronco · 12-03-2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

definetly setup a bet with her

Hmmmmm I'll have to think about this. My first thought ws to put up a neon Virginia Tech sign...that flashes in her window.....but you might be on to something.

Frazod · 12-03-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbything

What does that have to do with the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl?

You should be pissed off at the system because MU got royally fooked in the butt.

Just reminding you of KU's place in the world, regardless of how well your AD sucked off the Orange Bowl guys or whatever other kickbacks and shenanigans went on behind the scenes. MU is the better team, ranked higher, and beat you on a neutral field head-to-head.

The system is a sick, pathetic joke, but no bigger a joke than KU's schedule or ridiculous claims to success.

bobbything · 12-03-2007, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Just reminding you of KU's place in the world, regardless of how well your AD sucked off the Orange Bowl guys or whatever other kickbacks and shenanigans went on behind the scenes.

I'll put it to you this way, the OB committee thinks KU is a bigger national draw in January. And I don't disagree. KU has a nationally televised basketball game against an ACC team that same week. Moo has the Roo's.

You have a legit gripe, however, as I said in another thread, there's no accounting for taste when it comes to an at-large bid. Piss and moan all you want, the committee didn't think MU was a big enough draw in January.

**RockChalk** · 12-03-2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frazod

Just reminding you of KU's place in the world, regardless of how well your AD sucked off the Orange Bowl guys or whatever other kickbacks and shenanigans went on behind the scenes. MU is the better team, ranked higher, and beat you on a neutral field head-to-head.

The system is a sick, pathetic joke, but no bigger a joke than KU's schedule or ridiculous claims to success.

you all played your A game to beat our C game and had to hold on for the win. get over yourself.

OU bent you over and spanked you. Now Arkansas is going to put on the strap-on and take you all to the woodshed to finish you off.

|Zach| · 12-03-2007, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbything

I'll put it to you this way, the OB committee thinks KU is a bigger national draw in January. And I don't disagree. KU has a nationally televised basketball game against an ACC team that same week. Moo has the Roo's.

You have a legit gripe, however, as I said in another thread, there's no accounting for taste when it comes to an at-large bid. Piss and moan all you want, the committee didn't think MU was a big enough draw in January.

You seem to think MU fans are the only ones with this take.

The college football world disagrees with you.

Eleazar · 12-03-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockChalk

you all played your A game to beat our C game and had to hold on for the win. get over yourself.

There it is! KU fan always comes when they lost with "we beat ourselves".

No one has ever beaten Kansas at anything. They have only beaten themselves.

bobbything · 12-03-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by |Zach|

You seem to think MU fans are the only ones with this take.

The college football world disagrees with you.

The "college football world" thinks that the "best" team didn't get in. And I completely agree with that. The best team didn't get in. You seem to think all KU fans think that the decision was just. I think the system is a joke. However, if you're going to have at-large bids, there's nothing there that says you take the "best" team. The Orange Bowl looked at a million different things when they made their decision.

I pointed out one of the main reasons why MU was snubbed. Regardless of what the "college football world" thinks, much of it has to do with the time, the place, the ACC, and $$.

**petegz28** · 12-03-2007, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockChalk

you all played your A game to beat our C game and had to hold on for the win. get over yourself.

OU bent you over and spanked you. Now Arkansas is going to put on the strap-on and take you all to the woodshed to finish you off.

dude we gave you 140+ yards in penalties, played without one of the best TE's in the game in Coffman and you still lost.

Tony Temple made the KU D his bitch.

KU had their collective jock strap laying all over the field.

**Anyong Bluth** · 12-03-2007, 10:41 AM

I think a lot of people have noted MU not getting the BCS bid, and after a few days, they will forget about it, and the focus will shift to the matchups.

BCS committee or the bowls picked KU for some reason, and I don't think they're lost on the idea of making the most money and getting the highest ratings.

Instead of KU fans sounding off, why don't MU fans explain to me why they think they got passed over?

KevB · 12-03-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garcia Bronco

Hmmmmm I'll have to think about this. My first thought ws to put up a neon Virginia Tech sign...that flashes in her window.....but you might be on to something.

This is easy. Have you talked to her yet? Tell her if KU wins, you'll take her out to dinner at the restaurant of her choice. If VT wins, she takes you out. Win-win for you, 'cause you get a date out of it either way. Cook each other dinner is another option.

Garcia Bronco · 12-03-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevB

This is easy. Have you talked to her yet? Tell her if KU wins, you'll take her out to dinner at the restaurant of her choice. If VT wins, she takes you out. Win-win for you, 'cause you get a date out of it either way. Cook each other dinner is another option.

I never see her. It's one of those neighborhoods where people park in their garage nad you never see them. I know her first name and that see went to KU. Her dad told me she went to KU when I met them while getting some items delivered.

Frazod · 12-03-2007, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockChalk

you all played your A game to beat our C game and had to hold on for the win. get over yourself.

OU bent you over and spanked you. Now Arkansas is going to put on the strap-on and take you all to the woodshed to finish you off.

Silly little KUnt. Your "C" game? Newsflash - THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT. Worked great against your high school non-conference schedule and Baylor. But against a real team? Not so much.

Yes, OU spanked us. The Jayhoax were spared that indignity this year - it'll be fun to watch them beat you even worse next season. I know that you know they would have done the same to you, although it's amusing to watch you idiots bluster to the contrary.

And as for Arkansas, who knows what will happen? All I know is, the 109s had the chance to take take us to the woodshed and got beat down and exposed.

Scoreboard, loser.

Sure-Oz · 12-03-2007, 11:07 AM

It doesn't matter KU can have the game, doesn't mean they will come close to winning. MU will be a pissed off team against Arkansas, bring it on and start a run next year while ku will try to stay at .500 with their new schedule.

12-03-2007, 08:45 AM
Lzen Banded Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Oz Casino cash: $-519308	Orange Bowl picks KU - The Capital-Journal http://cjonline.com/stories/120307/haw_222349859.shtml Jayhawks will face Hokies in Miami By Tully Corcoran The Capital-Journal Published Monday, December 03, 2007 LAWRENCE — The juices splashed and ran down James McClinton's chin in this, the ultimate celebratory move for a defensive lineman. Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins walked into KU's meeting room with a bag of oranges, and everybody knew. The Jayhawks were Orange Bowl-bound, and McClinton could think of only one way to celebrate. He caught the orange, jammed it into his mouth and chomped off a bite bigger than Miami. Kansas has an allotment of 17,000-18,000 tickets, on sale at orangebowl.org. "I thank the Lord for this game," he said. And that was the general sentiment. For a program that has never been to a BCS bowl and hasn't been to the Orange Bowl since 1969, Sunday's announcement, coming at the tail end of the winningest season in Kansas history, was hard to take for granted. Especially for tight end Derek Fine, who committed to what once was a moribund program and was on the team in 2003 when the Jayhawks went to another Florida bowl, the Tangerine Bowl. "I like oranges better," Fine said. "They taste better, they're bigger." Win or lose, playing in the Orange Bowl means the 2007 Jayhawks will go down as one of the top three teams in Kansas history, alongside the Orange Bowl teams of 1947 and 1968. For a program that five years ago was a conference laughingstock, 2007 has been one giant leap. "It was just great to stand in that room and watch those kids when they found out," KU coach Mark Mangino said. "It was like when my kids were knee-high and it was Christmas morning." The selection pairing the No. 8 Jayhawks (11-1) against No. 3 Virginia Tech (11-2), as always, is not without controversy. And it didn't spare any hearts, especially those in Columbia, Mo. Missouri, which beat Kansas and is ranked a spot higher in both major polls, lost to Oklahoma on Saturday night in the Big 12 championship game. Sunday, fell out of the BCS entirely, accepting a bid to the Cotton Bowl. "Missouri and Kansas were basically back-to-back next to each other," said Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms. "With the result of the (Big 12 championship) game, having a two-loss team versus a one-loss team was probably the biggest thing we looked at. We knew whatever way we went, you could make a case for the other side." There were no tears shed in Lawrence, where Joe Mortensen was asked if he felt sorry for the Tigers. "No," he said. There also wasn't much suspense in Lawrence, not within the Kansas athletic department, anyway. Since Saturday, Perkins had been working the phones, literally all day and all night, talking to bowl representatives, ironing details, scenarios and, to a lesser extent, making KU's case. He felt all along KU would wind up in a BCS bowl. He just didn't know which. Heading into Saturday's games, KU was a candidate for the Rose, Orange, Fiesta and Sugar bowls. Once Illinois qualified for BCS play, KU was eliminated from Rose Bowl contention. Once Hawaii qualified, the Sugar Bowl was out. Then game the Orange Bowl, which got to choose its teams ahead of the Fiesta Bowl. "The Orange Bowl was very strong, really pursuing us," Perkins said. "We were talking quite often, regularly through the whole process. "The good thing that I was pleased about was everybody was interested in Kansas. That was the most important thing." If the Orange Bowl hadn't chosen KU, the probability the Fiesta Bowl would have was "very strong," Perkins said. Instead, the Fiesta took West Virginia and Oklahoma. Since the BCS rules allow just two teams from one conference into its bowls, that left out Missouri, which brings up the song that has played all season at KU, a tune about the Jayhawks' schedule, which includes no wins against teams ranked in the final Top 25 and ranks among the softest in the nation. Perkins said the schedule was never part of the discussion. "We don't have any argument," Perkins said. "We're in the BCS. So we have no argument. Our schedule didn't bother us. We don't have to be apologetic about anything. What people don't realize is schedules are made a long way out, so you don't realize how things are gonna happen, and we had no problem with our schedule. We're playing in the Orange Bowl." As it is designed to do, the Orange Bowl will create an intriguing matchup between the nation's No. 4 defense and Kansas' No. 6 offense. But that is a discussion for another day. Sunday, the Jayhawks were soaking the moment, and the orange juice. "It's been a great journey here for my five years," senior running back Brandon McAnderson said. "The opportunity that's in front of us is huge." Tully Corcoran can be reached at (785) 295-5652 or tully.corcoran@cjonline.com.
Posts: 42,458

12-03-2007, 10:41 AM	#41
Anyong Bluth Deus ambulans inter homines Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Casino cash: $9439340	I think a lot of people have noted MU not getting the BCS bid, and after a few days, they will forget about it, and the focus will shift to the matchups. BCS committee or the bowls picked KU for some reason, and I don't think they're lost on the idea of making the most money and getting the highest ratings. Instead of KU fans sounding off, why don't MU fans explain to me why they think they got passed over? __________________ Suck it, *beautiful*
Posts: 14,938

12-03-2007, 11:07 AM	#45
Sure-Oz Stay positive, don't give up Join Date: Dec 2001 Casino cash: $1819383	It doesn't matter KU can have the game, doesn't mean they will come close to winning. MU will be a pissed off team against Arkansas, bring it on and start a run next year while ku will try to stay at .500 with their new schedule.
Posts: 46,292