Woodling: Overtime 3 years too late for Mason
Glen Mason never considered going for a tie on that fateful early November afternoon in 1993 at Memorial Stadium.
At the time, few pundits second-guessed Mason, then in his sixth year as Kansas University’s football coach, for opting for a two-point conversion. Only 52 seconds remained and Mason wanted a win, not a deadlock, over No. 6-ranked Nebraska.
Yet the armchair quarterbacks would have howled — and rightfully so — if Mason had done the same thing three years later. In 1996 the college football rules committee eliminated tie games by approving an overtime scoring system.
Mason wanted no part of a tie that day in ’93, not with Kansas having dropped 24 consecutive games to the Cornhuskers. So with less than a minute remaining, KU quarterback Asheiki Preston’s two-point conversion pass fell incomplete in the end zone, and Nebraska escaped with a 21-20 win.
If the overtime rule had been passed three years earlier, perhaps we wouldn’t be talking today about the Huskers’ long dominance over the Jayhawks. Mason surely would have gone for a relatively automatic one-point conversion kick, and then taken his chances in overtime.
At the time, the Jayhawks had momentum and a vocal following. Many, in fact, felt a larger crowd was on hand in the fourth quarter than had witnessed the kickoff because, as word spread KU had a chance to knock off the Huskers, more and more fans filtered in, hoping to become witnesses to history.
What an irony that was. By the time the fourth quarter rolls around at most Kansas-Nebraska games in Memorial Stadium, hosts of KU fans are long gone.
Today, Nebraska has two significant 35-year streaks intact — consecutive victories over Kansas and consecutive trips to a bowl game. Both skeins are, you would think, mutually exclusive, yet a Kansas win Saturday could factor into Nebraska’s bowl chances.
Still, a Kansas victory, while possible, isn’t probable. As a matter of fact, I don’t envision any surprises in the Big 12 Conference this weekend. I’m going with all the favorites in the Wanna Whack Woodling contest.
If you disagree, go to KUsports.com on the Web and hit the prompts that will allow you to do some whacking. If you’re lucky and are closest to the actual score of the Kansas-Nebraska game, you’ll win a coveted We Whacked Woodling T-shirt.
Here are the picks you’ll find at KUsports.com:
Oklahoma 44, Texas Tech 39 — Sooners swallow dose of rally-combating elixir concocted by Jason White and Adrian Peterson and deny Red Raiders their third straight amazing comeback victory.
Texas 48, Baylor 6 — Nation’s leading rushing team against Big 12’s worst rush defense. Longhorns’ TB Cedric Benson licking his chops as visions of Heisman Trophy dance in his head.
Oklahoma State 34, Iowa State 11 — Who leads the nation in rushing? Not Benson. Would you believe OSU’s Vernand Morency? Cyclones may have most improved defense in league, but Morency won’t wilt in Stillwater.
Missouri 40, Colorado 20 — Bubble bursts on Buffaloes, nation’s No. 1 statistical anomaly. Buffs are 3-0 despite ranking 102nd nationally in total defense. Tigers timid on road, but this game is in Columbia, Mo., meaning QB Brad Smith less likely to go into a funk.
Texas A&M 23, Kansas State 19 — A&M QB Reggie McNeal has become what everybody thought Mizzou’s Smith would be. McNeal ranks second in league in total offense and has thrown 85 passes without an interception.
Nebraska 33, Kansas 13 — Cornhuskers crank it up against their Kansas cousins. Bottom line: Jayhawks can’t run and NU boasts nation’s leading rushing defense.
