Jayhawks Orange Bowl bound
There is no 'Fiesta' for KU, but the Jayhawks are celebrating with a BCS bowl game. The Jayhawks are heading back to the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1969. Enlarge video
KU to square off against Virginia Tech in Orange Bowl
The Kansas Jayhawk football team was rewarded for an 11-1 season by a birth in the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech. Enlarge video
Reader poll
Just before the BCS bowl selections were announced to the country Sunday, Kansas University athletic director Lew Perkins slipped into a room where the Jayhawks' football team was waiting for big news.
Perkins immediately pulled out a bag and started throwing oranges out to all the seniors.
He didn't have to say a word.
"It was like when my kids were knee-high on Christmas morning," KU coach Mark Mangino said. "They were just grinning from ear to ear."
With good reason. The Jayhawks' 11-1 regular season was rewarded in a big way Sunday, when the Orange Bowl invited them to play in its prestigious Jan. 3 game in Miami.
The Jayhawks will play Virginia Tech, which boasts an 11-2 record and ACC championship.
"We worked hard to be one of the best teams in America," KU linebacker Joe Mortensen said. "We're just glad to be in the BCS, to be in the Orange Bowl. It's one of the best bowls you can go to."
The Orange Bowl obviously thought highly of the Jayhawks, too. Kansas was picked as an at-large over Missouri, West Virginia, Hawaii and Arizona State.
After KU was taken, West Virginia was scooped up by the Fiesta Bowl, and Hawaii went to the Sugar Bowl. Missouri and Arizona State were left out of the BCS picture.
It was believed, if Kansas had been passed over by the Orange, that the Jayhawks would have been matched up against Big 12 colleague Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
"When you go to play a bowl game, you like to play against another conference," Mangino said. "It's conference pride : that's what makes the bowls a lot of fun. If it's the only way we'd play in a BCS bowl, then fine, we'll play Oklahoma."
It never came to that, though. Kansas instead will play a Virginia Tech team which beat Boston College, 30-16, in the ACC championship Saturday. The Hokies, led by a smothering defense, are No. 3 in the latest BCS standings. KU is No. 8.
Matchups, film breakdown and game preparation will come soon. But Sunday, KU's athletic department obviously was in a celebratory mood.
"I mean this very sincerely: We couldn't be any happier," Perkins said. "It's a great opportunity for the kids in our program."
Perkins was in constant contact with all of KU's bowl possibilities well into the night Saturday and all day Sunday. He figured mid-day Sunday that KU definitely was going to a BCS bowl and learned shortly before the 7 p.m. selection show that it was going to be in South Florida.
Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said the teams were picked with current matchups - and a tribute to the past - in mind.
"We're about to celebrate our 75th anniversary next year," Poms said. "A big part of our history is the old Big Eight Conference. : . Having an opportunity to pair (the ACC and Big 12) together was very appealing, and that was really the rationale in going in that direction. A national matchup with a Big 12 program going against a really strong ACC program."
Kansas will travel to Miami on Dec. 28 and spend a week in Florida preparing for its first Orange Bowl appearance since 1969. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. on Jan. 3 from Dolphin Stadium and be televised by Fox (Sunflower Broadband channel 4).
It's not the big enchilada - LSU and Ohio State are playing in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7 - but it's one heck of a prize for a program nowhere near the Orange Bowl's radar just one year ago.
Perhaps, a dream ending to a dream season?
"You can dream, or you can pursue," Mangino said. "This is the product of our players and our coaches pursuing this goal and working hard to attain it.
"Maybe some guys dream about it. Maybe some days I did, too. I don't know. But dreaming is passive. We talk about pursuing. I think that's the reason why we're going to the Orange Bowl."
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.
riverat (Joe Hyde) says…
Returning to the Orange Bowl is fantastic!
wildcat86 (anonymous) says…
well, you guys deserve it. i mean, we're still struggling with a newbie coach, if you will, but it will get better and you guys can testify to that one. good luck in the orange bowl!
BABBOY (anonymous) says…
Man, the best thing about this is that MU did not make it. I bet they were pissed! ha ha ha ha ha ha
jhawks1510 (anonymous) says…
Thanx wildcat!
Mizzou4Ever (anonymous) says…
No babboy, Mizzou is not pissed but if I was a Jayhawk I'd be a little embarrassed that you were spanked by the Tigers and you go to Miami. You Jayhawks must of got your smarts from the same genes as the Cornhuskers, they too think their "N" on their helmet stands for knowledge ........Inside scoop is that VT the ACC Champions made it pretty clear to the Orange Bowl (which by the way is the ACC Champs Bowl now) they didn't want the Mizzou Tigers....They are interested in a "W" and the easiest way for that to happen is to play KU, not MU....
The other thing to understand is, KU won't get a lot of milage out of the Florida trip.....(KU won't get any Florida players) BUT.....Mizzou, by playing in Dallas will most likely get the TEXAS players KU won't. Bottom line is: Mizzou will spank the Jayhawks again in Arrowhead in 08....The Tiger is awake and is Back!!!!
Oh!!!, and in case you Jayhawks forgot, besides your 4 non conference patsies, you played the bottom 3 of 4 in the Big South, while Mizzou played 3 of the top 4 in the South plus we beat Illinois, who beat Ohio State, and Illinois goes to the Rose Bowl. That is why Mizzou is #6 in the BCS and KU only #8.
Hope some of this sinks in....enjoy your oranges, they sour on the 4th....please, please do not embarrass the Big 12 by losing in the Orange, but you probably will............Good luck anyway....
mizzou4ever
oldvet (anonymous) says…
Aw, tiggerboy, you are still in mourning after getting your rears handed to you by the Sooners (again)... and then ignored by the BCS bowl selections... enjoy the Cotton Bowl, I'll be in Miami in the warm, watching a deserving team play BCS. The tee-shirt that ESPN won't show says it all!!!
KUDB99 (anonymous) says…
lol....
"What a pathetic loser"....Dumb and Dumber
The thing that MU fans need to realize is, if the shoe was on the other foot, and we'd have won in Camarrowhead, and lost to OU, then we'd be in the Cotton Bowl, and they'd be in the Orange Bowl. So who cares.
Once again, though, it shows the MU fanbase to truely be the most self loathing fan base in America. This was always true in BBall when Stewart was the coach, and now appears to be true in Football, MU would rather beat KU than do anything else. Maybe, if they weren't so fixated on screwing their rivals and would be a little bit more far sighted, they wouldn't have lost to Oklahoma.
Bottom line is this, MU can bitch all they want to, b/c it won't do them any good. Go to Dallas, watch McFadden run for 350 yards and score 5 touchdowns, and then come home and start planning in Spring Ball how you'll beat KU next year. While our guys will play a great team in VaTech, use this to get better, go to spring ball and keep getting better, improve our facilities and recruiting, and continue to improve our program. And then next year, we'll keep choppin' wood against every team, not just MU.
It's nice to beat your rival, but I think that it's even nicer to win Big 12 titles, play in final fours, and compete for National Titles. I guess Missourah could always wait for Basketball to compete for a final four and National Championship.....oops.....maybe not.
average (anonymous) says…
KUDB99 -
No. Had we won in KC and lost to OU, we would have been 12-1 and Mizzou 10-2 on top of having beat them head-to-hoad. They would have still gone to Cotton.
Certainly if it weren't for BCS rules, Mizzou should have gone over Illinois.
But, Missouri shouldn't let their frustration go too far. Losing to Arkansas is not unlikely.
KUDB99 (anonymous) says…
Good point Av....
I was just trying to do the "shoe on the other foot" narrative. Figuratively speaking, our scenarios could easily have been reversed, so who cares. MU did get screwed in this deal, without a doubt. But who cares? Now I hope that LSU beats the crap out of OSU, Hawaii beats Georgia, OK beats WVU, and then the complete flaw in the system can be shown. We'll have an 11-2 Champion, over at least 2 other 11-2 teams, with a 13-0 team not in the mix at all. What a steaming pile of monkey crap.
BABBOY (anonymous) says…
mizzou4ever:
You sound pissed.
elkwc36 (anonymous) says…
Mizzou4ever all you tigers had better get ready for McFadden and quit worrying about KU. You will get to watch real Heisman talent in action. And if MU loses focus they will be blown out. Go Hawks
willie_wildcat (anonymous) says…
Good job on landing the Orange Bowl bid...I was laughing when MU got shut out. Good luck and I hope you sock it to VT I know I will be watching :)
Chicago_JHawk (anonymous) says…
"...you played the bottom 3 of 4 in the Big South, while Mizzou played 3 of the top 4 in the South..."
---------------------------------------------
Interesting phrasing. I guess you're right about the south, but remember that Kansas played 5 of the top 6 in the Big 12 North, while MU played the bottom 5 in the north, so I'd say its a wash...