Column: Losing streak becomes a monster
Piscataway, N.J. ? The Kansas University football program has arrived at the birthplace of college football to bury a monster, otherwise known as a 33-game losing streak in games played outside of Lawrence.
As always, the equipment truck arrived ahead of the team. So far, it has traveled 21,010 miles (based on the quickest routes offered on mapquest.com) in search of a victory.
That’s roughly six round trips to San Jose. Not San Jose, California. San Jose, Costa Rica.
The winless Kansas football road show has made stops in Texas (0-12), Oklahoma (0-4), Kansas (0-3), Missouri (0-3), Iowa (0-3), West Virginia (0-2), as well as one-stop shopping in Colorado, Mississippi, Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina and now New Jersey, where Kansas faces Rutgers for an 11 a.m. kickoff today at High Point Solutions Stadium.
The Jayhawks change uniforms, helmets, quarterbacks, even coaches. And still the needle remains on empty.
It started at the end of Mark Mangino’s too-short tenure as head coach. His team was responsible for the first five games of the streak, a few of them taking place after athletic director Lew Perkins had launched an investigation into the coach’s treatment of players. The average score of those five games: Home Team 37, Kansas 24.
Turner Gill, signed to a five-year, $10 million contract by Perkins, lost his only 11 road games before being fired by Sheahon Zenger with three years remaining on his contract. The average score: Home Team 41, Kansas 12.
Charlie Weis took the baton and, as did Gill, ran backward. Average score in his dozen road games. Home Team 40, Kansas 13.
Four games into last season, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen took over for Weis and pumped enough energy into KU football that in home games the Jayhawks scored a victory vs. Iowa State and a near mega-upset vs. TCU. But the sizzle didn’t travel. He went 0-5 on the road, doubling as interim head coach/defensive coordinator. Average score: Home Team 44, Kansas 14.
David Beaty has a fighting chance in his road debut. In recent months, Rutgers has had 10 players recruited to the school on scholarship arrested and is taking the field without suspended coach Kyle Flood.
The onslaught of embarrassing news out of Rutgers hasn’t impressed oddsmakers. The Scarlet-Faced Knights are 14-point favorites. That figures. One of the unwritten rules of sports wagering: Never bet against a long streak.
— Tom Keegan can be seen on The Drive, Sunday nights on WIBW TV.