MIAMI — When Mark Mangino went to Kansas, he knew changing a woebegone football program into a winner would be a major challenge.
So Mangino modeled his Jayhawks regime to be complete in all three aspects of the game, not just offense or defense or special teams.
Those parallels will be on display tonight, when No. 8 Kansas (11-1) — perhaps the biggest surprise in college football this season — makes its first Orange Bowl appearance in 39 years against the fifth-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies (11-2), champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“When I first arrived at Kansas, it was disappointing,” said Mangino, who was 25-35 in his first five Kansas seasons before this season’s big turnaround earned him AP national coach of the year honors. “There were days that I was frustrated and said this ought to be better. The University of Kansas deserves better than this in their football program.”
An Orange Bowl trip certainly qualifies as something better, especially for a Kansas team that didn’t even head to a postseason game last year.
For Virginia Tech, this is about history, getting to the 12-win mark for the first time and giving fans one more reason to cheer a year that will be remembered as the one following the April 16 on-campus massacre in Blacksburg in which 32 students and professors lost their lives.
“It’s just what needs to happen,” said coach Frank Beamer, who has the Hokies in their 15th straight bowl game. “It’s what needs to get done. Virginia Tech needed to rally around a football team. So we’ll rally together and be stronger and tighter than ever. And I think that’s what has happened.”
Orange Bowl at Miami
No. 8 Kansas (11-1) vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech (11-2)
Time: 6 p.m. today. TV: KDVR-31.
Facts and figures: It’s the 21st meeting between the current Big 12 and current ACC members. The ACC leads the series 11-9. Nine of the 20 previous meetings have decided the national championship. … Kansas is making its 11th bowl appearance (4-6) and has won three of its past four bowl games. … AP coach of the year Mark Mangino is the first Kansas coach to lead three Jayhawks teams to bowl games. … Kansas is 2-16 vs. the ACC. … Kansas is first in turnover margin (plus-1.58 per game), second in scoring offense (44.33 points per game) and fifth in scoring defense (16 points per game). … Kansas is just shy of becoming the fourth school in the country to have a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver this season. QB Todd Reesing has thrown for 3,259 yards, RB Brandon McAnderson has rushed for 1,050 yards and WR Marcus Henry has 994 receiving yards. … Virginia Tech is making its 20th bowl appearance (7-13), and its 15th consecutive bowl game appearance. … The Hokies are second in the nation in scoring defense (15.5 points per game), fourth in passing defense (97.93), and fifth in rushing defense (86 yards per game). … Frank Beamer is 6-8 in bowl games all time.
The Associated Press
