SoonerofAlabama
10/11/2011, 09:34 PM
http://www.kansan.com/news/2011/oct/11/show-or-shut-time-football-preps-oklahoma/?sports
The stage won’t get any bigger for Kansas during the 2011 season.
When the sun sets in Lawrence this Saturday night, Memorial Stadium will just begin to come to life. The Jayhawks will be playing under the lights, at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, against the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, with ESPN2 airing the game to a national audience.
The bigger stage and opponent for Kansas increases the responsibility of the players to hold up their end of the bargain this week — a task that won’t be easy, especially after the Jayhawks 70-point debacle at Oklahoma State Saturday.
But one player had a simple for message for how the team could take responsibility. “Primetime 8 p.m. versus OU, show up or shut up,” junior safety Lubbock Smith wrote on the a wall in the team’s meeting room, responding to the added pressure this week.
“It’s a matter of trying to separate the boys from men,” Smith said. “We play against OU this Saturday. They’re number three in the country, either you’re going to show up, or you’re going to shut up.”
Smith said he chose not to write about forgetting the Oklahoma State game, because the game is one they cannot forget. He said he looks at failure as a chance for opportunity and that this team has an opportunity to see if they really want to play and be a great competitor or just go through the motions.
He said he did not want to call out any particular players when writing the show up or shut up comment, because if they lose, they all lose together. Individual mistakes on the field are understandable, but this week people are really going to see if they are pushing forward and trying to win, Smith said.
Senior linebacker Steven Johnson said that the writing on the wall has been a rallying call this week for the team to stay positive.
“We’re staying positive as a group and it’s hard to do that after the past couple of weeks,” Johnson said. “When you stay positive, anything can happen. You don’t want to go negative ‘cause then everything will go downhill.”
For the Jayhawks, the Sooners provide an intimidating challenge. They bring in the sixth-best total offense in the country, with a defense that allows 15.6 points per game.
“It’s a great challenge for us, we’re looking forward to it. It’s one of the top offenses in the nation and they have some of the top receivers in the nation,” said Tyler Patmon, a senior defensive back.
Just as Smith preached about the opportunity the Jayhawks have in the matchup against the daunting Sooners, coach Turner Gill did not deny the excitement that comes along with playing a top football team during “Prime Time.”
“It’s human nature to get excited about playing good football teams,” Gill said. “We always talk about how you only get a few opportunities, so you better make the most of them. This is another opportunity for us to try and make the best of.”
The stage won’t get any bigger for Kansas during the 2011 season.
When the sun sets in Lawrence this Saturday night, Memorial Stadium will just begin to come to life. The Jayhawks will be playing under the lights, at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, against the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, with ESPN2 airing the game to a national audience.
The bigger stage and opponent for Kansas increases the responsibility of the players to hold up their end of the bargain this week — a task that won’t be easy, especially after the Jayhawks 70-point debacle at Oklahoma State Saturday.
But one player had a simple for message for how the team could take responsibility. “Primetime 8 p.m. versus OU, show up or shut up,” junior safety Lubbock Smith wrote on the a wall in the team’s meeting room, responding to the added pressure this week.
“It’s a matter of trying to separate the boys from men,” Smith said. “We play against OU this Saturday. They’re number three in the country, either you’re going to show up, or you’re going to shut up.”
Smith said he chose not to write about forgetting the Oklahoma State game, because the game is one they cannot forget. He said he looks at failure as a chance for opportunity and that this team has an opportunity to see if they really want to play and be a great competitor or just go through the motions.
He said he did not want to call out any particular players when writing the show up or shut up comment, because if they lose, they all lose together. Individual mistakes on the field are understandable, but this week people are really going to see if they are pushing forward and trying to win, Smith said.
Senior linebacker Steven Johnson said that the writing on the wall has been a rallying call this week for the team to stay positive.
“We’re staying positive as a group and it’s hard to do that after the past couple of weeks,” Johnson said. “When you stay positive, anything can happen. You don’t want to go negative ‘cause then everything will go downhill.”
For the Jayhawks, the Sooners provide an intimidating challenge. They bring in the sixth-best total offense in the country, with a defense that allows 15.6 points per game.
“It’s a great challenge for us, we’re looking forward to it. It’s one of the top offenses in the nation and they have some of the top receivers in the nation,” said Tyler Patmon, a senior defensive back.
Just as Smith preached about the opportunity the Jayhawks have in the matchup against the daunting Sooners, coach Turner Gill did not deny the excitement that comes along with playing a top football team during “Prime Time.”
“It’s human nature to get excited about playing good football teams,” Gill said. “We always talk about how you only get a few opportunities, so you better make the most of them. This is another opportunity for us to try and make the best of.”