Jayhawks say they learned to deal with setbacks
One play pretty much decided last year’s Kansas University-Kansas State football game in Manhattan.
With Kansas trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, KU quarterback Bill Whittemore scrambled on a third-and-goal from the K-State three. He was smothered at the one and left the field because of a shoulder injury that sidelined him until the last game of the regular season.
At the time, Whittemore was the nation’s second-highest-rated passer. Without him in Manhattan for three quarters, what looked like a potentially competitive contest turned into a 42-6 Kansas State victory — the Wildcats’ 11th straight in the Sunflower Showdown.
“At that point, I’m not necessarily sure it was a drop-off,” KU offensive lineman David Ochoa said, “but I think it was more at that time we weren’t mentally prepared to handle that.”
Brian Luke replaced Whittemore for one series. After losing a fumble that led to a K-State touchdown, KU coach Mark Mangino yanked Luke. Walk-on John Nielsen played the rest of the game at quarterback, mustering only 33 yards on eight pass completions.
As oddsmakers and message boards hype Saturday’s meeting in Lawrence as the Jayhawks’ best shot yet to break the streak, Kansas players believe they are more mentally prepared to handle an emotional downer like Whittemore’s injury.
“There’s no excuses,” Mangino said after last year’s game. “We dressed 70 kids today, and one of them got hurt. And 69 others played, and we didn’t get it done.”
A year later, largely because of that afternoon’s experience, KU’s players share the same philosophy.
“We understand now that you’ve just got to finish what you started when someone goes down,” junior linebacker Banks Floodman said. “We’re a good team, and no one player is going to make or break this team, and we understand that.”
