Kansas unfazed by OU penalty

Jayhawks likely to put asterisk next to loss

Kansas University's Nick Reig, right, and Charlton Keith converge on Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar during last season's game at Arrowhead Stadium. Bomar, booted from the Sooners earlier this year for accepting an improper gift, is awaiting the NCAA's approval to play at his new home, Sam Houston State, a Division I-AA school in Huntsville, Texas.

Historical revisionism at Oklahoma University probably won’t have much of an impact on Kansas University’s football history.

OU was punished by the NCAA on Wednesday, stemming from two former players receiving extra benefits. It included something of a whopper – the Sooners were forced to vacate all eight of their victories from the 2005 season.

Oklahoma plans to appeal the ruling. But for now, the Sooners went 0-4 in the eyes of the NCAA, not 8-4 like it played out on the field. One of OU’s poof-they’re-gone victories was over Kansas on Oct. 15, 2005, a 19-3 triumph at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

The Sooners must reflect the lack of victories in their media guides, record books and recruiting materials. But it means little to KU’s similar publications.

“We’ll talk about it,” associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said, “but there’s no changing what happened on the field. We’ll talk about it and see what makes sense.”

What’s most likely is that Kansas will keep a 7-5 record in 2005 in its official documentation. Next to the Oklahoma game will be an asterisk and explanation that the Sooners later vacated the victory.

OU’s case isn’t without precedent, though past situations have been handled differently by the violators’ opponents.

Perhaps the most well-known case involving Kansas was in 1960, when KU beat then-undefeated Missouri, 23-7, in the regular-season finale. The Jayhawks later had to forfeit the game for using an ineligible player, running back Bert Coan.

While Kansas still classifies it as an on-field win and accompanies it with an asterisk, Missouri used the ruling to count the game as an MU victory. The all-time series record now depends on whom you ask – Kansas sees itself having a 54-52-9 edge, while Mizzou lists it as a 53-53-9 tie.

Oklahoma lost scholarships, received recruiting restrictions and was forced to forfeit the games in which quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn played – all 12 in 2005. The two were busted for taking excessive money from a Norman, Okla., car dealership. Both were kicked off the team before last season when the violations were unearthed and since have transferred to Division I-AA schools.

Bomar started at quarterback against the Jayhawks in that ’05 game, throwing for 206 yards and a touchdown. Quinn started at right guard.