Saw a high school friend who went to KU post something about it and had to do a double-take, I completely forgot how good they were that 2007 season. Has any program fallen as far in the last ten years? And what the hell is Mark Mangino doing nowadays?

(10-13-2017 05:26 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Saw a high school friend who went to KU post something about it and had to do a double-take, I completely forgot how good they were that 2007 season. Has any program fallen as far in the last ten years? And what the hell is Mark Mangino doing nowadays?

Kansas periodically has good years followed by droughts. They were top 10 in 1994. They were a win in the Missouri rivalry from being in the BCS title game in 2007 (Missouri was ranked #1 at the time).

That was the crazy year that LSU slipped in with 2 losses.

We could have been talking about a Big 12 run instead of an SEC run in that era:

OU lost the title game in 2004.

Texas won in 2005.

Missouri was #1 before losing the ccg to OU in 2007 and, of course, KU was unbeaten but for the Missouri game. WVU got upset by Pitt in the last game or they would have made the BCS title game as they were #2 behind Missouri.

2008 OU, UT and TT all had one loss, Texas on a last second TD in Lubbock. OU had lost to UT by 10. They lost the BCS title game to Florida by 10.

2009 Texas was leading Alabama before their QB got hurt in the title game.

2010 could arguably had TCU (then in the MWC) in the title game, but they were ranked #3.

2011 Oklahoma St. and LSU deserved to be paired, but Alabama got a rematch vs. LSU. OSU's only loss was the week before Thanksgiving in 2OT vs. Iowa St.

2012 KSU was #1 but lost to Baylor the week before Thanksgiving.

2013 Baylor was an unbeaten #3 but lost to Oklahoma St. the week before Thanksgiving.

We definitely took an express elevator to the basement. Mangino did not capitalize on the Orange Bowl win in recruiting, and then we made two disastrous hires in a row. Due to academic and behavioral issues we had to kick off many players, and now due to rules intended to keep new coaches from running off players who don't fit their system, we're still under the scholarship limit.

We are investing heavily into football, having made several moves over the last decade and with a long overdue stadium renovation on the way. We'll never be a football power, but with the right hire we should be able to be consistently average, with some up and down years. Beaty doesn't look great so far, but he did inherit a heaping, steaming pile of dungeons of a program.

I remember that year Kansas not being ranked until they were 5-0 or 6-0. They also put up like 70 against Nebraska I think.

There was also a night road game on ABC where fans were holding the "World's Largest Underwear" and it was Mangino's.

What Mangino did there was a miracle. If he didn't have to fight the obese stigma/discrimination, his career might be different.

(10-13-2017 05:26 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Saw a high school friend who went to KU post something about it and had to do a double-take, I completely forgot how good they were that 2007 season. Has any program fallen as far in the last ten years? And what the hell is Mark Mangino doing nowadays?

Mangino, 61, is retired now. His last coaching job was at Iowa State in 2014-15, serving as OC & TEs coach.

Iowa State is better than usual, but KU losing to them 45-0 is still pretty bad. That game against Baylor will be one for the ages...

Speaking of 2007, how far has Illinois fallen since the Rose Bowl? You seriously just lost to Rutgers at home?

(10-15-2017 01:10 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Iowa State is better than usual, but KU losing to them 45-0 is still pretty bad. That game against Baylor will be one for the ages...

Speaking of 2007, how far has Illinois fallen since the Rose Bowl? You seriously just lost to Rutgers at home?

Illinois should've kept Ron Zook. His last 5 years were Rose Bowl, no bowl, no bowl, bowl, bowl. 1 bowl (6-7) in 6 years since.

Plus one time he went for 2 up 20-13 because he forgot the score.

(10-15-2017 01:10 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Iowa State is better than usual, but KU losing to them 45-0 is still pretty bad. That game against Baylor will be one for the ages...

Speaking of 2007, how far has Illinois fallen since the Rose Bowl? You seriously just lost to Rutgers at home?

Terrible. Just terrible. Granted, this is effectively year 1 for Lovie Smith (as he was hired so late before last season that this is the first year that he actually has any of his own recruits), but it's *really* rough to watch. The optimist would say that all of the freshmen playing this year (they've already blown through the record of most starts by freshmen in Illinois history by a wide margin and we're only halfway through the season) will pay off dividends in 2 years. Note that the previous Beckman/Cubit regime was heavily reliant on JUCO transfers that are now all gone, so they really left the talent cupboard bare even compared to other weak programs. The pessimist would say that schools like Purdue and Indiana were even worse off before but have turned around quicker with a lot more immediate signs of life. I'll be surprised if we win another game all season. We're essentially playing for 2019 (much less 2018).

(10-15-2017 02:28 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(10-15-2017 01:10 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Iowa State is better than usual, but KU losing to them 45-0 is still pretty bad. That game against Baylor will be one for the ages...

Speaking of 2007, how far has Illinois fallen since the Rose Bowl? You seriously just lost to Rutgers at home?

Illinois should've kept Ron Zook. His last 5 years were Rose Bowl, no bowl, no bowl, bowl, bowl. 1 bowl (6-7) in 6 years since.

Plus one time he went for 2 up 20-13 because he forgot the score.

Zook could always recruit very well, so that sometimes overcame his complete lack of on-the-field coaching ability (e.g. the Rose Bowl year). I think Zook getting fired was a classic "He's been there a long time and it's time for a change" situation and it was maddening to see clearly talented Illini teams (look at the number of NFL players that were produced over that timeframe) get consistently beaten by inferior teams. This is basically the opposite of what we see right now, where I believe Lovie Smith is probably one of the best Xs-and-Os coaches out there (especially on the defensive end), but there is absolutely ZERO talent on-the-field. The current Illini squad is clearly the least talented team in the Big Ten and it's not even close. Whether the program can turnaround is going to come down to whether Lovie Smith can recruit (as we have proof that even a coach that took a team to the Super Bowl and created a signature NFL defensive scheme can't win in college football without top recruits).

(10-16-2017 09:02 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(10-15-2017 01:10 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Iowa State is better than usual, but KU losing to them 45-0 is still pretty bad. That game against Baylor will be one for the ages...

Speaking of 2007, how far has Illinois fallen since the Rose Bowl? You seriously just lost to Rutgers at home?

Terrible. Just terrible. Granted, this is effectively year 1 for Lovie Smith (as he was hired so late before last season that this is the first year that he actually has any of his own recruits), but it's *really* rough to watch. The optimist would say that all of the freshmen playing this year (they've already blown through the record of most starts by freshmen in Illinois history by a wide margin and we're only halfway through the season) will pay off dividends in 2 years. Note that the previous Beckman/Cubit regime was heavily reliant on JUCO transfers that are now all gone, so they really left the talent cupboard bare even compared to other weak programs. The pessimist would say that schools like Purdue and Indiana were even worse off before but have turned around quicker with a lot more immediate signs of life. I'll be surprised if we win another game all season. We're essentially playing for 2019 (much less 2018).

I watched the game Saturday as well and saying it was rough is being kind.

Most think Rutgers is getting better but isn't quite there yet. The Illini made them looks good on Saturday, not an easy feet.

On the positive, they're loaded with young players who are getting valuable experience. I don't think anyone has ever questioned Lovie's coaching ability, he's a good coach. It's just a wait and see as to whether he can recruit and develop young talent. Realistically, he'll need at least 2 more years to see what he can do with HIS players.