The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks football team (variously "Kansas", "KU", or the "Jayhawks") represented the
University of Kansas in the
2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on August 30, 2007, and ended on D ...
. The Jayhawks, coached by
Mark Mangino in his sixth year with the program, finished the season 12–1 overall, a school record for wins, and 7–1 in
Big 12 conference
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
play. They defeated
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
in the
2008 Orange Bowl, the Jayhawks first and only BCS bowl victory. They finished the season ranked No. 7 in both major polls.
Season summary
Looking to improve on the
previous season's 6–6 overall record (3–5 in the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...
), the team finished the 2007 season with a 12–1 overall record (7–1 in their conference). The twelve victories set a new school record. Additionally, the Jayhawks won their first eleven games before their first loss which was the most consecutive wins to start a season in school history. Additionally, the Jayhawks reached a ranking of 2 during their 11–0 start, the highest rank achieved by the team in school history. Their defeat of the
Virginia Tech Hokies in the
Orange Bowl was the school's first and only
Orange Bowl and
BCS bowl game victory. Their only loss was versus a Northern Division rival, the
Missouri Tigers, in their final regular season game which resulted in a co-champion status of the Northern Division, but denied them a trip to the
Big 12 Championship Game. For their achievements the team was awarded the
Stanley Tools Breakthrough of the Year Award. The Jayhawks were ranked seventh in the final AP poll, the highest they had been ranked in the final poll since 1968, and they received a first place vote. This was also the first time that the Jayhawks had received a first place vote in any AP poll since November 4, 1968, and it was the first time they received a first place vote in the final AP poll of the season.
Mark Mangino, in his sixth season as the team's
head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
, was named consensus coach of the year after winning every major coach of the year award. The team's new offensive coordinator was
Ed Warinner (third year overall with Kansas), and their defensive coordinators were
Bill Young (sixth year) and
Clint Bowen (seventh year). The team captains were senior
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
Brandon McAnderson, senior
tight end
The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
Derek Fine, senior
defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...
James McClinton, and junior
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
Aqib Talib. The starting
quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
position was held by sophomore
Todd Reesing with sophomore
Kerry Meier as a backup and
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
.
They played their home games on Kivisto Field at
Memorial Stadium in
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...
.
Three months after the Orange Bowl, the school's men's basketball team won the national championship, making Kansas only the second school in the country to win a BCS bowl game and basketball national championship in the same school year, along with
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
in 2006. The football and basketball teams' combined records were 49–4, which was the most combined victories in NCAA history.
Coaching staff
The team was led by
Mark Mangino in his sixth season as
head coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
. The team's 12 wins raised his overall coaching record to 37–36 (.507) and gave him his second
bowl game win. At the end of the season Mangino was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the Big 12 coaches and Big 12 Co-Coach of the Year by the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
. Other awards received include
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award,
Walter Camp Coach of the Year,
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year,
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA. There are two awards. One of them—the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award� ...
, and the
Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year.
With the departure of
offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...
and quarterbacks coach
Nick Quartaro at the end of the prior season,
Ed Warinner returned from a two-season stint as
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
's run-game coordinator and offensive line coach. He brought in a new, more aggressive, faster-paced, no-huddle offense. This was Warriner's third season with the Jayhawks as he had previously coached the offensive line and served as run-game coordinator in 2003 and 2004.
Bill Young (sixth year) and
Clint Bowen (seventh year) were
defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...
s.
Tim Beck (third year) was the
wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. Louie Matsakis entered the season as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Schedule
Game summaries
Central Michigan
For their season-opening game on September 1, the Jayhawks hosted the defending
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
champion
Central Michigan Chippewas in the teams' first meeting. Central Michigan was led by
Butch Jones in his first year as a head coach. Entering the game the Jayhawks had a 5–5 record against opponents from the MAC with the most recent result being the double-overtime loss to the
Toledo Rockets in the third week of the
2006 season. The Jayhawks dominated the Chippewas in a 52–7 win to extend their streak of season-opening victories to four.
Southeastern Louisiana
On September 8, the Jayhawks hosted the
Southeastern Louisiana Lions from the
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...
. With the Lions led by first-year head coach
Mike Lucas, it was the teams' first meeting and only the second for the Jayhawks versus a Southland opponent; the first was a win at home versus the to begin the previous season. The Jayhawks also recorded their first shutout since 2000.
Toledo
On September 15, the Jayhawks hosted the
Toledo Rockets for their third game in four seasons and fourth overall. Led by head coach
Tom Amstutz in his seventh season, the
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
team had defeated the Jayhawks the previous year in
Toledo in a double-overtime loss. This 45–13 win gave the Jayhawks a 3–1 record versus the Rockets and a 7–5 record versus opponents from the MAC.
FIU
For their fourth and final non-conference game on September 22, the Jayhawks hosted the
FIU Golden Panthers of the
Sun Belt Conference in the teams' first meeting. FIU was led by first-year head coach
Mario Cristobal
Mario Manuel Cristobal (born September 24, 1970) is an American college football coach who is the head football coach for the University of Miami. He previously served as the head football coach at Florida International University (FIU) from 200 ...
.
At No. 24 Kansas State
Todd Reesing led the Jayhawks to victory in Manhattan for the first time in eighteen years. Aqib Talib sealed the game by picking off Josh Freeman's pass with less than two minutes left in the game.
The Jayhawks got their first touchdown on Kansas State's home field since 1999 when Jake Sharp, apparently stopped for a short gain, burst out of a gang of tacklers and sped 20 yards to make it 7–7 with 9:11 left in the first half. Sharp had picked up 14 yards the previous play.
The victory was KU's third in the last four
Governor's Cup games against KSU, and increased their all-time lead in the
Sunflower Showdown to 64–36–5.
The Wildcats came into the game ranked 24th in the nation. It was the Jayhawks first win over a ranked team since 2003 when the Jayhawks defeated 23rd ranked Missouri 35–14.
Baylor
Lightning delayed the start of the game 2 hours.
Reesing passed for 186 yards as the Jayhawks were 6–0 for the first time since 1995. It was the Jayhawks first game as a ranked team since September 28, 1996.
At Colorado
At Texas A&M

This was the Jayhawks' 9th meeting with the
Texas A&M Aggies. A&M entered the game leading the series 7–1, and had only lost the first meeting in
Lawrence in 1974. Kansas was the only Big 12 team that A&M was undefeated against, ever since the Big 12 formed in 1996. Kansas was the first top 10 team, excluding
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
and
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, to play at
Kyle Field since 2002. A&M had compiled a 6–3 record for games played against top 10 teams (other than OU and Texas) at Kyle Field. In their previous meeting in 2006, A&M outscored Kansas 21–18. One day prior to the game,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
casino
A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s favored Kansas to win by three points.
Kansas entered the game with a 16th-ranked rushing offense, 25th-ranked passing offense, and a 3rd-ranked scoring offense. Kansas' rushing defense ranked 4th, pass defense ranked 10th, and overall defense ranked 5th. Kansas also had ranked 9th in the weekly
BCS standings. A&M came into the game with a 5th-ranked rushing offense, and a 111th ranked passing offense. The pass defense ranked 100th, scoring defense ranked 42nd, and overall defense ranked 73rd.
In the game, KU
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
Brandon McAnderson rushed for a career-high of 183 yards, and quarterback Todd Reesing completed 21 of 33 passes for 180 yards. Through the first three quarters, the Jayhawks
shutout
In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...
the Aggies' 5th-ranked rushing offense and held them to only 56 yards. A&M running back
Jorvorskie Lane had only rushed for 24 yards the entire game. KU gained a 13–0 lead in the third quarter, after kicker Scott Webb kicked two field goals and Reesing led his team to a 54-yard touchdown drive on 6 plays. In the fourth quarter, Reesing led his team to a 43-yard touchdown drive on 4 plays.
For the first time since 1909, the Jayhawks improved to an 8–0 season record. This was also the first time that KU won in Texas since 2001 (not including bowl games).
[
]
Nebraska
The Nebraska-Kansas series is the longest uninterrupted series in college football at 102 years. In the 2007 meeting, Kansas beat Nebraska 76–39. Their 48 points in the first half was the most ever scored against Nebraska in the first half; and it came one point short of tying the record for most points scored on Nebraska in a half. With the win, Kansas took their record to 9–0 for the first time since 1908.
Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...
reported, "It was only the second victory for Kansas in the last 39 games against Nebraska, which appears to be coming to pieces in the fourth season of embattled coach Bill Callahan."
At Oklahoma State
The Kansas Jayhawks game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys attracted a great deal of attention. This was due to the match up between both potent offenses. The crucial match up was that between cornerback Aqib Talib and star Cowboy wideout Adarius Bowman. In the 2006 matchup between the two, Bowman had 13 catches for 300 yards. However Bowman left the game with an injury after the first half. In the first half, he was held to 22 yards on 4 catches with no touchdowns. The game was broadcast to 63 percent of the nation on ABC as the top primetime college football game of the week.
The Jayhawks went to 10–0 for the first time since 1899.
Iowa State
The victory over Iowa State brought KU's record to 11–0, the first time in school history that the football team won 11 games in a season. As a result, the Jayhawks were featured on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' the following week.
Vs. No. 3 Missouri
On November 24 the Jayhawks met the Missouri Tigers at Arrowhead Stadium, in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
, in the final regular season game of the year. Known as the Border Showdown, this year's annual contest was the most significant in recent years as the winner would advance to the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game in San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Texas, and likely claim the top spot in the BCS rankings and national polls with a win (No. 1 LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
lost 50-48 in triple overtime the previous day to Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
), which would be a first for both schools. The game received considerable media attention, and the ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
College Gameday crew were at the game, the first time the Jayhawks had been featured as College GameDay's Game of the Week in football. It drew 80,537, the second-highest attendance in the 35-year history of Arrowhead Stadium. The Jayhawks entered the contest with an eleven-game winning streak since losing the final game of the 2006 season against their cross-border rivals in Columbia, Missouri, by a score of 42–17. But they would leave with their second straight loss versus the Tigers and a 6–6 series record since the formation of the Big 12 Conference.
Vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech (Orange Bowl)
Rankings
According to the Big 12 Media Preseason Poll, the Jayhawks were projected to finish fourth in the Big 12 Northern Division.
Following their victory over Iowa State, the Jayhawks reached their highest ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items, often recorded in a list, such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than", or "ranked equal to" the second. In mathematics, this is known as a weak ...
in school history when they were ranked second in the nation in all four major polls (Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...
, Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
and Harris Interactive). Previously, the 1968 team was ranked third by the Associated Press for three weeks.
Entering November, the University of Kansas was the only school with its football team and men's basketball team both ranked in the top ten.
Rankings
Statistics
Team
Awards
Due to the success of the season, multiple awards were given to the team during the season. Below is a list of awards given. The only awards not provided are Honorable Mention All-Big 12 and weekly awards.
; Mark Mangino, coach
* Consensus National Coach of the Year
* Big 12 Coach of the Year
; Aqib Talib, CB
* Consensus 1st team All-American
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
* 1st team All-Big 12
; Anthony Collins, T
* 1st team All-American
* 1st team All-Big 12
;James McClinton, DT
* 1st team All-Big 12
;Joe Mortenson, LB
* 1st team All-Big 12
; Todd Reesing, QB
* 2nd team All-Big 12
;Brandon McAnderson, FB
* 2nd team All-Big 12
; Marcus Henry, WR
* 2nd team All-Big 12
;Marcus Herford, WR/KR
* Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year
* 2nd team All-Big 12
References
{{Kansas Jayhawks football navbox
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
Kansas Jayhawks football seasons
Orange Bowl champion seasons
Kansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the college football, intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas. The program is classified in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I Bowl Subdivi ...