Premium ContentClick on Premium Content on the Featured navigation bar for information.
When it comes to the Kansas quarterback situation, it appears coach and player are agreeing to disagree.
All week, the hot topic going into Saturday's Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan, Kan., between KU (5-3, 1-3) and Kansas State (5-4, 3-2) has been Jayhawk coach Mark Mangino's benching last week of three-year starter Todd Reesing.
Reesing, who has turned the ball over seven times in the past three games leading to 42 opponent points, got the hook with Kansas down two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders went on to win 42-21.
Mangino said he changed QBs because the offense was out of sync and Reesing was facing a heavy pass rush.
“I think you guys (media) make it a big deal,'' the coach said. “It's not a big deal. When you look at the circumstances and what had taken place over a period of time, it was the appropriate thing to do.''
Not so fast, Reesing said.
“It was a big deal to me,'' he said. “It is what it is. I'm still the starting quarterback around here.
“I know all the guys on the team have confidence in me. I still have confidence in myself. All my friends and family still have confidence in me.''
Note he didn't mention any coaches.
Reesing has been front and center in the resurrection of KU's football program. He earned second-team All-Big 12 in 2007 while leading the Jayhawks to the Orange Bowl and a 12-1 record.
Now isn't the time for a rift at KU, which needs one more win for bowl eligibility. The Jayhawks, picked by many to win the Big 12 North, have Nebraska at home next week, a trip to No. 2 Texas and a neutral-field game with rival Missouri.
“We are not showing signs of destruction,'' KU All-Big 12 safety Darrell Stuckey said. “Things are not slipping away at all.''
Kansas State is 4-0 at home.
Contact the writer:
444-1024, lee.barfknecht@owh.com
Other Big 12 games
• Central Florida (5-3) at No. 2 Texas (8-0, 5-0), 11 a.m., FSN: When these teams met in 2007, the Longhorns had to recover an onside kick in the waning moments to preserve a 35-32 win. Don't expect such drama this time, unless UT gets sloppy from boredom.
• Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2) at Colorado (2-6, 1-3), 12:30 p.m., FCS: As if Colorado coach Dan Hawkins needed another headache, CU students are trying to organize a “powder blue protest'' — symbolic of when the Buffs wore powder blue jerseys in the early '80s and won only 10 games in four years. Hawkins is 15-30 in his fourth season.
• Baylor (3-5, 0-4) at Missouri (5-3, 1-3), 1 p.m., no TV: With MU QB Blaine Gabbert (ankle) apparently getting healthy, the Tigers are in position to win five in a row after losing three in a row. Baylor is in position to go winless in the league, which would drop its all-time Big 12 record to 13-99.
• No. 18 Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-1) at Iowa State (5-4, 2-3), 2:30 p.m., ABC: Any Cyclone fan would have been giddy had you told him bowl eligibility would be just one win away on Nov. 7. This one will be difficult, but it's doable if ISU hangs on to the ball and OSU is still fighting a hangover from the Texas loss.
Copyright ©2012 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or redistributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.
