The People’s Guide To The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas = college basketball.

It’s a fact of life. The sky is blue, the sun sets in the west, and Kansas is always great at college basketball and terrible at college football. Of course, Kansas was, at one point, good. This isn’t that surprising, most programs have upswings and downswings throughout their history. Kansas never had an upswing higher than 2007, the college football season where the dam of football weirdness burst open. Much like most things that took place during Football’s Weirdmageddon (A two loss National Champion, FCS App State beating Michigan, Pat White) it faded just as quickly and mysteriously as it rose. There’s so many people who played a role, however, I’ve narrowed it down to three in particular.

Mark Mangino — Before 2007

Mark Mangino started out small. He received a scholarship to play football for Youngstown State out of high school, but turned it down to study to become an EMT and play semi-professional baseball. He would later go to Youngstown State, and although he wouldn’t play, he’d take a graduate assistant position on Jim Tressel’s staff. After two seasons there, and two more as the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach for Geneva College, a program which was then in the NAIA and now in Division III, before accepting his first head coaching job: at Lincoln High School, in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania. He’d go 1–9. From there, he’d get hired by Bill Snyder, who was trying to build Kansas State into something respectable, as the run game coordinator. Mangino was part of a K-State staff that finished ranked in the AP Poll six consecutive times, after never finishing a season ranked in their program history. In 1998, that K-State team started 11–0 and reached #2 in the AP Poll, before losing to Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship. (Mark Mangino’s teams going 11–0, reaching #2, then losing will be a common theme.) He took the job as Oklahoma’s offensive line coach, eventually getting promoted to offensive coordinator, winning the National Championship in 2000 and that same year winning the Frank Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the nation. Two years later in 2002, he took his first college head coaching job: Kansas.

Mangino started 2–10 in his first season at Kansas, but in his second he took them to the Tangerine Bowl. They lost by 30 to North Carolina State, but even then, Kansas in a bowl game is an accomplishment. Another meddling season in 2004, and he finally broke through in 2005: winning a bowl. True, it was against a mediocre Houston team, but it was the first bowl win for the Jayhawks in a decade. After a 2006 season where they were left out of a bowl despite going 6–6, Mangino’s greatest work as a coach followed: 2007.

After 2007

Mangino wasn’t able to replicate that success. 2008 they’d regress to 8–5, but still manage to win the Insight Bowl against 7–5 Minnesota. 2009 he’d go 5–7. His Kansas career came to an unglamorous end. See, he’d always been kind of a hothead. At Kansas alone, he was fined for yelling at referees at both the high school and college levels, he was very abrasive to his players, and even put the program on probation. Kansas let him go, and their football program hasn’t been the same since. He’s coached at Youngstown State and Iowa State after leaving Kansas, and retired after 2016.

Aqib Talib — Before 2007

Talib was under-recruited coming out of high school. He was a two star recruit coming out of Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas. He was the 225th ranked recruit in Texas, in a 2004 recruiting class that was stacked, even for Texas standards. Brian Orakpo was out of the top 25 recruits. The criminally underrated Graham Harrell was outside the top 20. Jordan Shipley was outside the top 15. And just because I’ve gone down this rabbit hole this far, the #1 player in Texas (and also the #1 player in the nation) was Adrian Peterson, who started out dazzling in high school, got even more dazzling in college, and even more dazzling in the NFL. He was also ranked below Caleb Hanie. Anyway, Aqib Talib was ranked below a bunch of young men in his home state you probably have not heard of (and I am legally obligated to state that if you are in fact one of those guys ranked above Aqib Talib in recruiting, please take solace in the fact I once concussed myself playing Kan Jam) and only was able to pick up five offers, none of which exactly came from blue bloods. Wyoming, Tulsa, Arizona, pre-Art Briles Baylor, and, of course, Kansas. What might be more important is the offer he didn’t get: Kansas State. K-State was interested in Talib, but Bill Snyder chose to not extend an offer to him. Maybe because of this, Talib chose to play for a former Snyder assistant in Mark Mangino at Kansas.

His first two seasons in Lawrence were pretty good. As a freshman in 2005, he made 54 total tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, and intercepted two passes, the first against Louisiana Tech and the second against Iowa State. His sophomore season was pretty good too. He made 42 total tackles, only 1.5 for a loss this season though, and he recorded a career high- that is, including his college and NFL careers -with 6 interceptions. His first career multi-interception game came this season against Colorado, and in the Border War against Missouri, he recorded a 42 yard touchdown catch. But his best season was 2007.

After 2007

So… Talib never really fell off in his career, per se. He’s easily the most successful pro player to come out of Kansas since… who? Maybe Dana Stubblefield in 1993? Maybe John Hadl in 1962? Either way, Aqib Talib has had as good of a pro career as anyone could ask for. He was a first round pick and played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, and Los Angeles Rams, recording an interception in each of his first 11 seasons. From 2013–17, he’d be named a Pro Bowler five consecutive seasons. He’s third in career pick sixes with 10. In 2016, he was named a First Team All Pro. He’d win Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos and play in Super Bowl LIII with the Rams. Injuries limited him to only five games last season, and he is 33 (not to mention he’s currently on roster with the rebuilding Miami Dolphins, so he might not be too keen on playing for them), so retirement can’t be ruled out, but if this is it, what a career it’s been.

Todd Reesing — Before 2007

Reesing, like Talib, was from Texas and was underrecruited coming out of high school. His high school stats were good, even if they are incomplete/not readily available so we can’t calculate his Rate, but it’s nonetheless impressive: 72.3%, 3,343 yards, 41 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 756 rushing yards, and 8 rushing touchdowns. Like most other high school quarterbacks in Texas, Reesing wanted to play his college ball for Texas or Texas A&M. However, he was a small quarterback. 5’11”, 200 pounds, this wasn’t like today where height matters less than it used to. Why would Texas go after a quarterback like Reesing when they signed Jevan Snead, who was everything Reesing was at 6’3”? And why would A&M take a gamble on a 5’11” three star when 6’6” three star Jerrod Johnson fell into their lap? Reesing only got five schools interested in him, and again, none of them were powers. TCU, which was still pre-Andy Dalton, Northwestern, which was just getting the Pat Fitzgerald era started, Purdue, which was reeling in mediocrity in the post-Drew Brees era, and his only two offers, Duke and Kansas. Mangino convinced Reesing to come to Kansas when Reesing was actually supposed to visit Kansas State about a walk-on opportunity, and Mangino sold the program to him. Reesing would commit to the Jayhawks. He’d start his freshman season of 2006 with a redshirt, but due to an injury to starting quarterback Kerry Meier, his redshirt was burned. The following season, Meier would be moved to receiver, and Reesing was given the keys to the offense in 2007.

After 2007

Again, similar to Talib, Reesing didn’t have a fall, at least not one that far in college. His 2008 and 2009 seasons weren’t as good as 2007, but they weren’t bad. His junior year he went 329/495, a school record 3,888 yards, 7.9 Y/A, 8.0 AY/A, 32 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and a 148.5 Rate, as he led the Jayhawks to their last bowl-eligible season. His numbers would dip slightly as a senior: 313/496, 3,616 yards, 7.3 Y/A, 7.3 AY/A, 22 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 134.9 Rate. He left Lawrence as the all time leader in every single game, single season, and career passing record. It did not impress the scouts. His entire professional football career was less than two weeks. On May 26, 2010, he’d sign with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. On June 8, 2010, he’d get cut. That was it. No other pro team in any pro league would give him a shot. Since then, he’s been a football analyst for the Jayhawk Television Network.

So, you might’ve noticed something. I’m over 1,500 words into this and while I’ve talked about the leaders of the 2007 Jayhawks on the sideline, on defense, and on offense, I have yet to mention the 2007 season. That was intentional. The 2007 season deserves to remain unified. I couldn’t break it up between Mark Mangino, Aqib Talib, and Todd Reesing. So, without further ado…

2007

It started out simply enough. Kansas blew out an 8–6 Central Michigan team, an FCS Southeastern Louisiana team, a 5–7 Toledo team, and 1–11 FIU team all at home. Their first true test would be their first road game @ Kansas State. The Governor’s Cup Rivalry. The apprentice in Mark Mangino against the master in Bill Snyder. Aqib Talib and Todd Reesing against the school that spurned them. With 11 seconds to go in the half, Reesing would actually hit Talib for a touchdown to tie the game at 14. The two teams would trade scores in the third, and with 7:32 to go in the game, K-State took a 24–21 lead. Reesing led two unanswered scoring drives to shock the Wildcats in Manhattan, 30–24. Talib would intercept a pass and catch a touchdown, Reesing would throw for three touchdowns. Kansas was legit. And the next week, they’d even get ranked.

#20 Kansas would move up to #15 following a 58–10 win over Baylor. #15 Kansas nearly blew it. Up 19–7, the Jayhawks would let Colorado score a late touchdown to stay in it. However, Kansas would still escape Boulder with a win and move up to #12. #12 Kansas nearly blew it, but worse. Up 19–0 in the fourth quarter, Texas A&M scored 11 straight points, but it was ultimately too little too late. Kansas would still escape College Station with a win and move up to #8.

Kansas would get back to Lawrence, and get back on track, with a game that can only be described as an absolute ass-kicking. An absolute ass-kicking that requires a little context.

From 1969–2004, Nebraska had beaten Kansas in 36 consecutive games. It is the second longest winning streak by one program against another in college football history, behind only Notre Dame’s 43 straight wins over Navy. Kansas had beaten Nebraska in 2005 to end the streak, but Nebraska got them right back in 2006.

I’ll stop beating around the bush. Kansas beat Nebraska 76–39. Todd Reesing passed for a school record 6 touchdowns. Aqib Talib barely played. He didn’t have to. Nebraska’s Joe Ganz passed for over 400 yards, true, but the game itself stopped being competitive with a little under 3 minutes left in the second half. Kansas was 9–0 for the first time in 99 years.

They moved up to #5, and following a 43–28 win @ Oklahoma State and a 45–7 win over Iowa State, took their spot at #2 in the nation. For the first time in what felt like forever, Kansas was in contention for not only a Big 12 Championship, but a National Championship. Kansas hadn’t won an outright Big 12 Championship since the Great Depression. Kansas hadn’t won a National Championship in football in school history. The only thing standing between the Jayhawks and a trip to San Antonio to face Oklahoma was the Border War against 10–1 Missouri.

Kansas and Missouri’s football rivalry is already high stakes. Factor in that Kansas was ranked #2 and Missouri was at #3, and they got that much higher. Factor in the sold out crowd of over 80,000 at Arrowhead Stadium, the fact that this would be the game on ABC’s Saturday Night Football, and the fact that this game will determine the winner of the Big 12 North and have a date with 11–1 Oklahoma in San Antonio next week for the Big 12 Championship Game, and the stakes get that much higher.

And by the way, #1 LSU lost to unranked Arkansas in triple OT yesterday. The winner of this game would be the new #1 team in the country.

No pressure.

It wasn’t pretty for the Jayhawks. Mizzou held a 28–7 lead after three quarters, but Todd Reesing led a furious comeback to cut the deficit to only six points, 34–28, with a little over two minutes left. The Kansas defense actually put up a stop and forced a Missouri punt. Talib couldn’t do anything other than gain four yards on his first collegiate punt return, so Kansas was set up on their own nine yard line, with 17 seconds left, needing a miracle.

Missouri only rushed four on the ensuing snap, but still overwhelmed the Kansas offensive line. In the blink of an eye, Reesing was drilled by three defenders as he went down in the end zone. Safety. 36–28. Missouri’s quarterback, Chase Daniel, celebrated on his sideline as Reesing walked off the field, picking the turf he was just slammed into off his facemask. After a free kick and a kneel down, the dream was over.

The season, however, was another story.

Despite the drop in the polls to #8, Kansas was invited to the Orange Bowl. They hadn’t played in the Orange Bowl in 39 years, and the last time they did, they beat Penn State 14–13, stopping a last second two point conversion attempt… until a flag for too many men on the field gave the Nittany Lions another two point conversion attempt, what ultimately turned out to be a successful two point conversion attempt, and Penn State walked away with a 15–14 win. Nearly four decades later for the Jayhawks, their opponent this time would be #5 Virginia Tech.

And Kansas made a statement.

Talib got a pick six less than ten minutes into the game, Reesing added both a passing and rushing touchdown, and Kansas won 24–21. It was their biggest bowl win since beating Rice in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl. Because of his pick six, Talib was your Orange Bowl MVP. “I felt like Deion” he said in his postgame interview.

Following the season, both Talib and offensive tackle Anthony Collins were named First Team All-Americans. Reesing was named a semi-finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, which goes out to the best quarterback in the nation. Mangino won every conference and national coach award there can be, and still to this day he is the only man in history to be named the best assistant in the country and the best head coach in the country. In total, four Jayhawks would be drafted that spring — Talib in the first by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Collins and tight end Derek Fine in the fourth by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills respectively, and receiver Marcus Henry in the sixth by the New York Jets. All four were Mark Mangino recruits.

Kansas finished 12–1 and was ranked 7th in the final AP Poll. It was their first time finishing a season ranked since 1995 and their highest ranking since 1968.

They even received one first place vote.