ISU’s Rhoads en route to bowl game, KU’s Mangino struggling

As the regular season winds down in the Big 12 Conference, teams are trying to extend their playing days by one more game.

In college football, bowl games have become more than just one last game for programs with winning seasons. They allow teams fortunate enough to be invited the chance to practice together for nearly an additional month as some of their opponents are at home for the holidays.

For Iowa State and first-year head coach Paul Rhoads, a bowl berth was a long time coming after the previous staff under Gene Chizik had departed empty handed.

"The (fans and players) were ecstatic," Rhoads said during Monday morning's Big 12 coaches teleconference. "Three years out of a bowl game – four years I guess you would say – and the fact that we accomplished it in our first year as both players and fans and alumni and everybody supportive of this program were ecstatic.

"We're anxious to see what opportunities lie ahead and more eager and challenged to approach it with the ability to win that final game," he said.

Surviving a brutal conference and winning the six games it takes to become bowl eligible is a certain stepping stone on the path to national success for most, if not all, college football programs.

For Rhoads, whose hiring was questioned largely by the media and Cyclone faithful after Chizik, a former Texas defensive coordinator and big-name hire, left to become the head man at Auburn, the path has been rocky in his short tenure. But he has remained unwavering in his approach week-in and week-out.

"In order to get (the players) to believe, I think you just had to go to work," Rhoads said. "We set expectations early to be in the position we're in right now and are just as thankful as can be to have fulfilled them to this point."

The Cyclones seem to have bought in to Rhoads' blue collar, workman-like attitude and completed their season at 6-6.

But just as making a bowl game after a long hiatus is a step in the right direction for a program, missing out on a bowl berth after establishing success can be a big step backward.

Kansas and head coach Mark Mangino are looking to avoid taking that dreaded misstep in their annual border war with rival Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., this Saturday.

The Jayhawks' record sits at 5-6, but KU can reach a school-record third-straight bowl game with a win over the surging Tigers.

Mangino, who is being investigated by KU's athletic department for allegedly verbally and physically assaulting current and former players, said the focus isn't on him as the 2009 campaign comes to a close.

"This senior class deserves the opportunity to go to a bowl game," Mangino said. "If you look what these kids have accomplished up to this season, it's remarkable."

This group of KU seniors, which includes four-year starting quarterback Todd Reesing, has been the first in Kansas history to go to two consecutive bowl games. They also made up the core of players who traveled to Miami and defeated Virginia Tech in the 2007 Orange Bowl en route to a 12-1 record.