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La. Tech-Kansas football preview
09/05/08 - 05:01 PM
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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Kansas heads to Tampa next week to face
No. 17 South Florida in what figures to be the 14th-ranked
Jayhawks’ first big test of the season.
There is one little bit of business to take care of between now
and then: Louisiana Tech.
Normally, a game like this, against a smaller school from the
Western Athletic Conference, would be nothing more than a tuneup
for Kansas, a way to smooth things out before it really gets tough.
This one’s got the Jayhawks’ attention.
“When we scheduled this game, I knew it would not be an easy
game,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. “Let’s put it this way: It
will take our best effort to win the game and that’s what I expect
from our players.”
So what’s the big deal about Louisiana Tech? The Bulldogs have
won eight games the last two seasons combined, finishing no higher
than fifth in the WAC. Fresno State or Boise State they’re not.
The fear of Louisiana Tech comes from its knack for knocking off
bigger schools. The Bulldogs have done it to California, Oklahoma
State and Michigan State, twice to Alabama and Mississippi State,
including last week’s surprising 22-14 win over the Bulldogs.
Overlook Louisiana Tech and Kansas’ national-title aspirations
will crash far sooner than last year’s surprising run that didn’t
end until the Big 12 Championship game.
“They have our complete attention,” Kansas center Ryan
Cantrell said.
Louisiana Tech grinded out its win over Mississippi State,
gaining confidence from three turnovers in the third quarter and
then dominating the fourth, holding the Bulldogs to six total yards
and no first downs.
It was Louisiana Tech’s first win over a BCS school since
beating Michigan State in 2003 and its first over a Southeastern
Conference school since beating Alabama in 1999.
Now, after running over the band to celebrate that win, the
Bulldogs need to see if they can compose themselves and pull it off
again.
“We really can’t pat ourselves on the back too much because
we’re going on the road against a top-10 team that finished 12-1
last year,” Tech coach Derek Dooley said. “They were a top 5
scoring team on offense and defense, so we’re not going to catch
them sleeping. If we don’t come to play, we’re going to get
embarrassed.”
Kansas opened the season in predictable fashion, getting 256
yards and three touchdowns passing from quarterback Todd Reesing in
a 40-10 win over Florida International. It was KU’s fifth straight
season-opening win and its 15th in a row against non-conference
opponents at Memorial Stadium - no surprise for a team that
typically has a soft pre-conference schedule.
Another rout, but the Jayhawks clearly have some areas to shore
up.
FIU, 1-11 a year ago, pressured Reesing several times, forcing
an interception from a team that didn’t have its first turnover
until the third game last season. Kansas’ top two running backs,
Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford, combined for 61 yards on 20
carries. The Jayhawks also gave up a 74-yard punt return for a
touchdown.
“As a lot of people saw, getting the first win under your belt
isn’t as easy as a lot of people think it is,” Cantrell said.
“There are a lot of things that we still need to work on.”
Still, it’d be quite an upset if LaTech was able to pull it off.
Kansas has confidence coming off a 12-1 season and has won its last
four non-conference games by a combined score of 278-54, including
a 23-21 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
The Jayhawks might be facing a distracted team, too.
Though Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast about 300 miles from
Ruston, its effects were felt in northeast Louisiana by the
numerous Louisiana Tech players who come from the southern part of
the state. Even for the players who don’t live there, seeing the
worry on their teammates’ faces and the buses full of evacuees
weighs heavily.
“Some guys, their minds might be elsewhere knowing their homes
might be flooded and their families are scattered everywhere, but
you kind of expect this living in Louisiana,” LaTech quarterback
Taylor Bennett said. “They’ve been through it before and I’m sure
everybody will get through it and stay focused on the game.”

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