It sounds weird to say, but Kansas football was really good in 2007. They have been playing the sport in Lawrence since 1901 and only three times have the Jayhawks won ten or more games in a single season. In 1905, the team went 10-1 and pitched nine shutouts in the process.
Some 90 years later, the Kansas Jayhawks won 10 games for the second time in program history. They finished ninth in the AP Top-25 poll in 1995 but were the fourth Big 8 school in the rankings behind National Champion Nebraska (1), Colorado (5) and in-state rival Kansas State (7).
There was no doubting the Jayhawks credentials in 2007. Led by Head Coach Mark Mangino, Kansas was really good at college football that season. Like had a chance to play in the BCS National Championship game good.
Of course, they didn’t make it to the title game and the wheels fell off shortly thereafter. Mangino was exposed as a huge prick in the following years. The university eventually bought him out of his contract in 2009.
The Jayhawks haven’t won more than three games in a season since then with the firing of Les Miles the latest in a string of embarrassing moments for the school. Here are five things you may not remember about that one time Kansas football was really good.
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Things you may not remember about that one time Kansas football was good
An inauspicious start
Kansas opened the season by blowing out Central Michigan 52-7. Quick note, the Chippewas roster featured a little-known freshman wide receiver by the name of Antonio Brown who happen to be playing in his first college game. It was shaping up to be a fairly routine blowout until this happened.
Raimond Pendleton returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown but he gets an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for an innocent jump into the endzone. Mangino waddles down the field to belittle the kid. The incident made national headlines although it wasn’t some huge scandal. In a vacuum, this doesn’t seem so bad, but the coach had a habit of yelling at people as we will get to shortly.
Aqib Talib stars for the Jayhawks
The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks didn’t boast a ton of talent, but they did have Aqib Talib who did everything for the team on his way to becoming a first round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft. On the defensive side of the ball, he was an All-American finishing with five interceptions, including two pick sixes.
However, he was also active on offense, hauling in four receiving touchdowns that season. Talib actually had more total touchdowns in 2007 than Charles Woodson scored in his 1997 Heisman winning campaign.
No heavy hitters
Kansas football was good in 2007 and their schedule certainly had a helping hand in that. The team played a soft non-conference slate with games against the aforementioned Central Michigan along with Toledo, Florida International and FCS Southeastern Louisiana. Those last three teams all finished under .500.
They also managed to avoid Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech–the top three teams in the Big 12 South that season. In fact, the Jayhawks only conference victories against schools with winning records came against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M who both ended the year with a record of 7-6.
2 versus 3
Kansas went into its rivalry game against Missouri as the second ranked team in the country with the Tigers right behind them in the polls. The stakes were huge as the winner would play in the Big 12 Championship Game and would be a victory away from playing in the BCS National Championship Game. Even College Gameday was there. This was massive.
And the Jayhawks crapped the bed. Missouri dominated for the first three quarters, taking a 28-7 lead into the final frame. Kansas managed to make it a one score game but couldn’t complete the comeback. Seeing number two Kansas play number three Mizzou will always be among the weirdest things to have ever happened in college football.
Mark Mangino parks where he wants
Before the Pendleton incident in the season opener, Mangino was caught verbally berating a student parking attendant who had written him more than 20 tickets for the same offense. Apparently, the coach was known for illegally parking in a loading zone near his office.
Mangino really big timed the poor student who was just doing his job. KUSports.com obtained documents in 2009 about these incidents and here is what the officer’s report said about the coach’s actions:
“He got out of the car, slammed the door and came within about a half-foot of my face and started yelling at me, saying that I couldn’t answer any of his questions and that he works 16-hour days and has no time to get a pass.”
According to the report, Mangino also spitted out this classic, “This job gives you power, does it? You feel real f—ing powerful walking around like a big shot, huh? Why in the hell else would you be bothering me with this?”
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