Portfolio 09
The University Daily Kansan — Mon., Oct. 17, 2005 — Page 1B
Phillips: Reid my lips: Step up, offense
By Michael Phillips
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Forget winning one for the Gipper.
Forget winning one for the little boy in the stands.
No, the Kansas Jayhawks should win one for Nick Reid.
The senior linebacker led the defense in nearly every statistical category Saturday, racking up 15 tackles and two sacks.
“I was exhausted,” he said. “I felt like we were out there the whole game.”
They almost were. The defense was asked to play for about twice as long as the offense, but you never would have guessed that by watching Reid’s play.
Reid is every cliché in the book. He gives 110 percent, takes it one play at a time and doesn’t have an ounce of quit in him.
Losing is never fun, but losing with Reid on your team adds an extra level of frustration.
This year’s Kansas defense should be contending for a Big 12 North championship. Instead, it watched helplessly from the sideline as Oklahoma’s defense outscored Kansas’ offense 7-3.
“It’s getting kind of old now,” Reid said. “I really thought we had a chance to win the game.”
This was a big game to win, too. The Jayhawks were supposed to march into Kansas City, Mo., and proclaim in front of a national television audience that they could hang with the big boys of the conference.
Instead, a half-filled stadium saw a half-complete effort from Kansas.
“It’s definitely a fight to not point fingers,” Reid said, “but when we point fingers, we’ll just start to go downhill.”
This might not have been Reid’s last visit to Arrowhead Stadium. He has a chance to play football on Sundays for a living. But he’s such a competitor that right now all he wants is for the Jayhawks to win. Heck, even a touchdown would be nice at this point.
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino insisted there was no tension between the offense and defense. Reid said there hadn’t been any noticeable change during practices.
“We’ve been taking it to the offense since day one,” he said. “So that’s nothing new for us.”
Mangino acknowledged the disappointing offensive performance and promised he wouldn’t let up until his team got it right.
“It’s frustrating for me, too” he said.
There won’t be much time to put another Band-Aid on the wound. In two weeks, Missouri is scheduled to visit Memorial Stadium for the homecoming game, where fans will expect a Kansas victory.
Reid and the defense will be there to make the case that they are the best defensive unit ever to wear the crimson and blue.
The offense is on its own.
“I have nothing to say to them,” Reid said. “They can figure it out for themselves.”
Let’s hope they do. And if not for their own sake, then for Nick Reid’s.