COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Suddenly, Kansas Isn’t Flat Anymore

Is gloating permitted in the press box? If so, we remind everyone of a preseason prediction featuring Kansas as an upset winner of the Big Eight Conference and, pray tell, a longshot pick to win a national championship.

So look, Ma: The Jayhawks have cracked the national rankings for the first time in 16 years.

And where was Kansas quarterback Chip Hilleary the last time the Jayhawks were making poll history?

“Uh, 1976 . . . I was probably taking my afternoon nap after kindergarten class,” he said.

The Jayhawks, bless their Rock Chalk hearts, went into a deep slumber themselves after that brief brush with greatness. Nolan Cromwell, then a senior quarterback for Kansas, was injured in an October game and, poof, the program began its free fall into football jokedom.

Now look at Coach Glen Mason’s Jayhawks: They are 3-0, ranked 24th in both polls, rated No. 4 in total offense, rated in the top 20 in seven other major NCAA statistical categories, have held opponents to about a 12-point average, have outscored opponents by 29, 52 and 33 points and play Cal tonight on ESPN, Kansas’ first national television appearance since 1986.

“The community is up and about and they’re seeing things,” Hilleary said. “They finally get to see a little bit of excitement in the fall instead of waiting for the winter (and basketball).”

Mason isn’t quite as buoyant, which figures. Coaches are famous for straight faces.

“We’re not ready to put our feet up and celebrate, because there’s nothing to celebrate,” he said.

This is sort of true. Kansas started last season 3-0 and promptly lost five of its next seven games. But even if Mason won’t admit it, this team is significantly better than last season’s Jayhawks. Just ask around.

“I’ve seen them coming,” Colorado Coach Bill McCartney said. “I’ve seen the progress on their team. Glen has come in and just stayed the course. He knows what he’s doing. It’s just been steady.”

And this from Nebraska’s Tom Osborne: “I’ve had them in the top 20 from the start. The way they’re playing right now, they might be in the top 10. They’ve got as good a chance as anybody to win the Big Eight this year. I think they’re overlooked.”

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While on the subject of success stories, take a peek at Boston College, which made its first appearance in the AP poll after five consecutive losing seasons.

For various reasons, the program atrophied after the glory days of Doug Flutie in the mid-1980s. There was talent, but not enough to sustain it and certainly not enough to keep Coach Jack Bicknell on the payroll. So off went Bicknell and in came Tom Coughlin, who went 4-7 last year and is 3-0 this season.

“To be honest with you, we’re right on schedule where we want to be,” he said.

The Eagles, ranked 25th, haven’t exactly played a schedule of champions (Rutgers, Northwestern and Navy--combined scores: 114-20), but that will change. Michigan State, despite its 0-2 record, should give Boston College a tough time Saturday. After that, Coughlin’s team travels to West Virginia and then to Penn State. Win two of those three and Boston College needs to apologize to no one.

It could happen. The Eagles returned 10 of 11 defensive starters and have already recorded two shutouts. Quarterback Glenn Foley could start at any school and for a pleasant change, Coughlin has a solid running game.

As for the top-25 ranking, Coughlin nearly yawned when it was mentioned.

“It’s just a sign of progress,” he said. “I’m not overly excited about that. It gives us a reference point. What we’re doing is being reinforced on a national level.”

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How good is freshman quarterback Koy Detmer? Good enough that Colorado Coach Bill McCartney burned his redshirt season by inserting him into the Buffalo lineup midway through last Saturday’s game against Minnesota. Trailing, 17-0, in the third quarter, McCartney pulled starter Duke Tobin (who had replaced injured Kordell Stewart) and held his breath. Detmer completed 11 of 18 passes for 184 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Stewart, nursing an injured ankle, is expected to start against Iowa on Saturday, but McCartney rests easier, nonetheless.

“He just went in the game as a youngster and took over,” McCartney said of Ty Detmer’s younger brother. “He did the things you expect older kids to do.”

Strange how this worked out. Detmer, after setting the Texas high school record for passing yardage, nearly went to his brother’s alma mater, Brigham Young. But there was quarterback gridlock there, so he went to Colorado, where McCartney had recently installed a new passing offense. Smart move.

“Right away in our early practices, I could tell that he had better preparation than most of the kids coming into our program,” McCartney said. “His skills are further developed than most freshmen. Physically, he could use a redshirt year.”

Too late now.

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Those chowderheads at ABC got exactly what they deserved after choosing Notre Dame vs. Michigan State instead of last Saturday’s best matchup, Nebraska vs. Washington. Rather than learn from last year’s doomed broadcast--Notre Dame 49, Michigan State 10--ABC blew off the No. 2 Huskies and No. 12 Cornhuskers for another thrilling Irish-Spartan rematch. Final score: Notre Dame 52, Michigan State 31. And if Coach Lou Holtz hadn’t pulled his starters at halftime, the margin would have been much worse. . . . No wonder Ohio State Coach John Cooper wanted to kiss and make up with running back Robert Smith during the off-season. Without Smith, the Buckeyes squeaked past Bowling Green, 17-6, two Saturdays ago. With Smith, who was playing despite injured ribs, they beat Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, 35-12. So cocky were the Buckeyes that they left a message on the visiting team locker-room blackboard. It read: “Big East? Good night.” . . . Three more reasons why Notre Dame won’t win the national championship: 96th out of 107 teams in total defense, 38th in scoring defense, 51st in rushing defense. . . . We understand why Miami got 43 first-place votes in the AP poll, why No. 2 Washington got 15, why No. 3 Florida State got two and even why No. 5 Texas A&M; got one vote. But what sort of moonshine was one AP voter chugging when he or she awarded No. 7 Alabama (and overrated, at that) a first-place spot? The USA Today/CNN coaches poll had it right: Miami 45 votes, Washington 15. Everyone else: nothing.

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So much for Syracuse’s national championship aspirations. Had the Orangemen been able to reach their Nov. 21 game against Miami without a loss, who knows what might have happened. “Maybe it’s time to take that next step,” Syracuse Coach Paul Pasqualoni said. “We didn’t take that next step (last) Saturday night, I can tell you that.” . . . Strange but true: Nebraska’s Osborne, while praising the Washington personnel, said that Arizona State’s defense has a chance “to be the best we’ve played.” What? Better than Washington’s? Reason: Osborne said he still can’t believe the Sun Devils’ 19-0 victory against Louisville last Saturday, when the Cardinals were held to minus-78 rushing yards and 13 total net yards. “I’ve seen some shutouts before, but I don’t think I’ve seen anybody with (13) total yards,” he said. . . . Texas A&M; is on the verge of becoming the first 4-0 team in recent memory to replace its starting quarterback. It hasn’t happened yet, but if Jeff Granger has another game like his last one--eight for 23, 148 yards--Coach R.C. Slocum is prepared to stick him on the bench.

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Houston’s John Jenkins, whose team beat Illinois, 31-13, last Saturday, continues to make lots of friends in the coaching community. Rather than instruct his quarterback to run out the clock, Jenkins happily watched as Donald Douglas threw a long touchdown pass on the final play of the game. Jenkins offered some lame excuse about always throwing when the defense cheats up, but the truth is Houston was delivering a pay back for last season’s 51-10 loss to Illinois. Very classy. . . . Only two teams in the Southwest Conference have winning records: Texas A&M; and, if you can believe it, Southern Methodist. . . . Miami has played only two games, but already Coach Dennis Erickson is mentally exhausted. The reasons are simple enough. Hurricane Andrew destroyed part of his house, as well as those of some of his assistants and players’ families. And then there are the pressures of defending a national championship, as Miami is doing. “It’s been long,” he said. “It just feels like, to be honest with you, like we’ve already been through a season. It feels like we’ve been here all year. It starts to wear on you. It wore on me.” No wonder Erickson is counting the moments until the Oct. 3 game against Florida State. When the schedule cranks up, so will the Hurricanes. “It’s probably the best therapy you can have,” he said. . . . Two Miami updates: Quarterback Gino Torretta, who suffered a bruised left shoulder against Florida A&M;, is OK. And running back Stephen McGuire, making his return from knee surgery, gained 40 yards in 13 carries against Florida A&M.; If the Hurricanes plan on winning a second consecutive national title, they will need McGuire, who led the team in rushing in 1990 and 1991. So far, Miami’s average gain per rush is 3.3 yards, down one yard from last season.

Top 10

AS selected by staff writer Gene Wojciechowski

No. Team Record 1. Miami 2-0 2. Washington 3-0 3. Florida State 3-0 4. Colorado 3-0 5. Texas A&M; 4-0 6. Michigan 1-0-1 7. Notre Dame 2-0-1 8. Tennessee 3-0 9. Penn State 3-0 10. Ohio State 3-0

Waiting list: Alabama (3-0); UCLA (2-0); Virginia (3-0); Kansas (3-0); San Diego State (1-0-1).