Credit should be given to Idaho and Coach Akey

He's the savior of our program, and lends it about its only shred of credibility.But he's into his 70s, and given the 1-4 start to this season, I can't help but think the New Mexico Bowl in 2006 was his peak as a Spartan They've regressed. And I'm starting to pay attention to some of the sentiment out there within Sparta that Tomey is more interested in combing the sandy beaches of Hawaii during recruiting season than chasing down recruits.Later on I would fill him in on how the Idaho announcers were constantly "jocking" their offensive line, when they should have been criticizing SJSU's defensive line for their impotent play. One thing I did agree with the Vandal crew on was them ripping Spartan receiver Jalal Beauchmann for a series of dropped passes, something I've become used to seeing. When the ball flies his way, I tend to really hold my breath.The fourth quarter started to pick up, but not before I informed Geoff that the three-star QB recruit from San Jose that had committed to the Spartans last fall, then de-committed and followed their offensive coordinator to Wyoming, lit it up for the Cowboys that day. The topper was Beauchmann catching the two-pt conversion to knot it up at 22. Unfortunately, him making important catches would not become a trend...8:01PMIdaho was marching but our boy Tanner Burns picked one off and took it back to their territory. They are in a position to start running away with the game if they can score a TD.Man, even as I wrote it I worried that I was jinxing the Spartans Did I ever. Burns, the son of defensive coordinator Keith Burns and one of our favorite emerging Spartans, snagged a pass from Idaho QB Nathan Enderle, one of his three picks on the day.

Being that they had just kicked a field goal to move ahead 25-22, SJSU was in full control. All they needed was to score another TD, and the game might well of been out of reach right then. But...8:03PM Idaho holds, Spartans fail to convert on fourth and 12 Idaho ball on the 35. The offense was otherwise real good, this one falls on the defense IMO.Never expected to be saying that about San Jose State, but it was the easiest conclusion to come to.The Spartan defense, which to its credit has been struck by injuries, played sloppy, inept, undisciplined football. And for a team that was supposed to be relying on its defense this season while the new offensive coordinator tried to bring his unit up to speed, it has spelled disaster.Credit should be given to Idaho and Coach Akey. The turnaround he has made this season, especially given the peril the program was in when Dennis Erickson bolted for Arizona State three years ago, has been remarkable.The Vandals have now beaten San Jose State, Colorado State, and Northern Illinoisall on the roaden route to a 5-1 record. No big deal to a BCS conference program, but a major accomplishment for a team that could mostly only beat FCS schools in recent years.San Jose State, on the other hand, appears to be headed in the opposite direction of the Vandals. Brutal out-of-conference schedule aside, the Spartan barely handled FCS Cal Poly for three quarters at home two weeks ago and let a team it has regularly dominated march into their stadium and steal a victory that was nearly locked up.Sure, the Spartans have a promising quarterback on their hands, to go with some promising running backs in an offense now being run by the mostcompetent offensive coach San Jose State has had since Dave Baldwin was at the helm.But what good is an improved offense when it now has to pick up the slack of a sagging defenseAs for the game texts, they ended in almost the same depressing fashion as the game itself:10:44PM (From Geoff)I think they needed to win today just to assure 4 wins.

They could (bleeping) lose to Utah State this year if they try hard enoughNo offense Aggie fans, we know your team has made some improvements too. And that's even more reason forpessimism in San Jose this season. . ) I don't think Todd Reesing is the best player in the nation. I don't think he's the best quarterback in the nation either.I'm not about to vouch for Reesing as a Heisman contender, the most underrated player in the nation, the best 'little guy' story, or anything like that; I'll leave those exciting pieces of way-overdone to The University Daily Kansan.Instead, I'd like you to take a moment to picture this.At this exact instant, Mark Mangino now has to start from absolutely nothing. He has no players, schedules, facilities, coaches or even agame-plan. He has little more than a vision of his perfect football team, and has to build this team completely from scratch.I can guarantee you, right now and without a doubt, that the first thing Mark Mangino would do is convince 5'10", 200 pound senior quarterback Todd Reesing to come play for Kansas.Mangino could set his sights anywhere in the world; Tim Tebow, Ndamukong Suh, 'Quizz Rodgers, or Robert Quinn. Forget them all. With only the knowledge of what Todd Reesing hasachieved and the understanding of his capabilities, Mark Mangino would immediately focus every penny of his attention on obtaining Reesing.Mangino's style of coaching is not a complex one; it is based on simple principles and sound execution of fundamental football techniques. The good ol' coach would choose Todd Reesing before any other college athlete in the nation to build his team around because it takes a truly special player to make a spectacular success out of such a basic system.For instance...Mangino wants an accurate quarterback who can weigh big risks and still avoid big mistakes. Reesing has 69.3 percent of his passes (seventh in the nation) despite constant issues with dropped passes.Only Riley Skinner and Case Keenum have bettered that percentage while still throwing more touchdowns (15 and 17 against Reesing's 13), and only Nick Foles, Arizona's starter of late, has done so with fewer interceptions (two to Reesing's three).Mangino has to have an improvisational quarterback that can make time for his big, athletic receivers and still take off when need be. Sure Todd Reesing has been sacked seven times, but only Aaron Opelt and Case Keenum have dropped back more and been sacked less (five sacks apiece). Did I mention that KU has one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in all of college footballReesing has also rushed 42 times for 101 yards and three touchdowns so far. Take off seven carries (from the sacks) and the appropriate lost yardage, and you'll notice that Reesing is no slouch as a scrambler either.Mangino needs his quarterback to produce; offenses are best when they move down the field, after all.Todd Reesing is currently tied with many for number six in the touchdowns column (with 13), but only Max Hall of BYU has to compete with more team rushing touchdowns (17) than KU (14). Also, Reesing and A&M superstar Jerrod Johnson are currently tied for ninth in passing yardage. Of the eight signal-callers in front of him, only Max Hall, Riley Skinner and Case Keenum can match his yards per attempt or his completion percentage.Finally, Mark Mangino's system, in order to be successful, needs a quarterback who can win games. He needs a franchise face to take not only the credit, but the blame as well. He must be a motivator, a play-maker, and a leader.Having a quarterback whose team has a great record is a very overrated stat, especially when one looks at KU's schedule so far. However, of every quarterback out there, great or not, only Tony Pike, Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Ricky Stanzi, Greg McElroy, Andy Dalton, Kellen Moore, B.J. Daniels and Todd Reesing still lead undefeated teams.I can promise you that not one of those teams (Cincinnati, Texas, Florida, Iowa, Alabama, TCU, Boise State, and USF) is currently playing defense as poorly as Kansas is or lacks the special teams consistency that Kansas does. None of the aforementioned quarterbacks have had to match opposing offenses, drive-for-drive and 75 yards a pop, in order to sneak out a win the way Todd Reesing has had to for Kansas.I am confident that, of this group, only Tim Tebow could without a doubt motivate his team in a more animated and more effective fashion that Todd Reesing can, and even then, who would you rather have throwing a deep ball in the clutch, Tebow or Reesing I'm not saying the answer is Reesing, but its definitely a fun question to consider.There always have been and always will be many quarterbacks that have much more size, talent, potential, intangibles or trophies than Todd Reesing does, and deservedly so. However, sometimes its just about finding the right guy behind center and putting the right pieces around him.No one fits into every one of these categories as definitively as Todd Reesing, and none could do the job Mark Mangino requires his quarterback to do quite as well.That kind of recognition won't win him many Heismans, but personally I don't think he cares; it's just not his style.Something tells me he'd prefer to leave college as a long-shot, just like he came in. He will still have the satisfaction of knowing that he changed an entire program, won the hearts of ten-thousands upon ten-thousands of fans, andindisputably became the greatest football player in the history of the University of Kansas. . Every team in college football has their "measuring stick" game.