Sunday, December 30, 2007
Hokies, Jayhawks a dichotomy in preparation philosophy
Aaron McFarling
Recent columns
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The buses pulled up 15 minutes late. It was comical, really. Here was a police escort taking four Virginia Tech buses to practice, and they were still 15 minutes late. You'd think the cops, flashing lights and all, could get you there faster.
Anyway, the buses stopped. Out came coach Frank Beamer. Then out came the assistants. Then a stream of players in shorts, holding their shoulder pads. They looked tired, all of them, like a chain gang heading toward the world's largest boulder.
A handful stopped to chat.
"We're just going to have fun," receiver Josh Morgan said. "Enjoy the weather and have fun."
About an hour later, at the campus of Barry University halfway between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, Kansas All-America cornerback Aqib Talib walked off the practice field. His bald head, glowing in the South Florida sun, dripped with sweat. He was not wearing shorts. He was wearing full pads.
"It's hot," he said. "Like two-a-days. But we're out here working hard. It's going to pay off."
Back in Fort Lauderdale, where the Hokies were engaged in a light workout, Beamer addressed the media.
"We're going to keep everything exactly like we would for a normal week.," he said "The practices, the times, the whole thing will be just like we prepared for the ACC championship game."
Back at Barry, where the Jayhawks had just smacked each other around for a couple of hours for the second straight day, Kansas coach Mark Mangino addressed the media.
"We went full contact here for two days, practiced roughly two hours a session," he said. "I'm pleased with our first two workouts here. They've been heavy workouts, but that's the way we do it. Our players responded very well."
Notice the difference? I'm not saying one's right and one's wrong. I'm just saying.
The right approach and the wrong approach will reveal themselves Thursday, when Tech and Kansas meet in the Orange Bowl. The winner will have done it correctly. The loser? Well, when was the last time a loser did anything right?
But for now-- sorry, Coach Foster -- the lunch pail belongs to Kansas. If you're looking for a team that shows up, punches the clock, knocks heads and goes home, you will not find it this week in the Hokies. You will find it in the Jayhawks.
They were the ones chugging Gatorade during workouts and panting as they trotted off the field. The Hokies were the ones looking comfy in half-gear.
The Hokies were the ones breaking in a new tailback, after starter Branden Ore got himself suspended for the first quarter of Thursday's game by showing up late to a practice. The Jayhawks had their own problems. Two -- count 'em, two! -- players didn't show up for the first meeting in Florida this week.
OK, so maybe they were stranded at the airport because of snowy weather over the holidays. But still -- they obviously weren't thinking about the team!
"Those kids must have called George Matsakis 25 times apiece," said Mangino, referring to the director of football operations, who oversees such things. "Our players are very conscientious. I said, 'You can't do anything about weather.' They said, 'Well, you said even if the weather delayed us we'd be in trouble.' I said I was just saying that to make sure you all got here, but I understand."
Hmm. Maybe there's a reason Kansas is the least-penalized team in the nation.
But hey, Mangino didn't write the book on bowl success. He's 1-1 so far -- one blowout win, one blowout loss. That doesn't make him much better than Beamer, who's 6-8 in bowl games. Beamer obviously thinks that record has little to do with the bowl week workload, because that has not changed. Same 2 a.m. curfew early in the week, then steadily getting earlier as game day approaches. Same mental-first, physical-second philosophy.
"It's pretty much the same routine every year," Morgan said. "Same practice schedule. Of course it's different game plans because it's been a different team every year."
Against this team, Beamer ought to win. Tech is better. The oddsmakers say it, the ACC hopes it, and the eye test confirms it.
The Hokies have more talent. Maybe a late bus or a light practice makes not one bit of difference.
We'll find out Thursday.
