What the Kansas Jayhawks Have Learned Thus Far

If the Jayhawks want to win even one more game this season, they're going to have to take some things away from the past two weeks.  Fortunately, if there really are a thousand lessons in defeat, Mark Mangino and company have plenty to work with.

Coordinators may be the most important members of a football team.

I hear that Mark Mangino has always been very even with the amount of time he spends observing both sides of the ball.

Until last week, that is, and it has shown.  Ed Warriner is a good coordinator, but it's evident that Mangino has shifted his focus to helping Clint Bowen save his job since the Iowa State game.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's time for Warriner to face a little of the scrutiny I normally reserve for Bowen. 

In KU's two losses, the defense has shown vast improvements.  Ed Warriner, on the other hand, has contributed ineffective formations, horrendously slow and repetitive play-calling, 736 yards, six turnovers, and the impossible decline of Todd Reesing.

Lubbock Smith will be the next Jayhawk defensive star.

This red-shirt freshman safety plays risky, downhill football.  Unlike some of his fellow defensive backs, however, he has plenty of speed and athleticism to make up for it.  It's refreshing to see a young safety play with a head of steam.

Smith will get burned, especially this season as he steps in with so little experience against such quality competition.  However, by next season, he may help Kansas fans forget about Darrell Stuckey.  In fact, the beginnings of their careers are even similar...

If Smith continues to improve and gets some help from either Strozier or newcomers Prinz Kande, Dexter Linton, and Darian Kelly next year, Kansas' deep backs will be just fine.

Todd Reesing is human.

Reesing has rarely had a bad game in his career, let alone a bad one followed by a horrendous one.  I have a feeling Todd may not come out firing on all cylinders next weekend either, but I'm not worried that he will continue to have such a negative impact.

Colorado caught Reesing off guard; he was jumpy and simply tried to do too much.  I hate to be picky, but yesterday he appeared to be too calm.  Unfortunately, Oklahoma is not a good team to linger in the pocket or make quick decisions against.

Todd Reesing will look better next week; he couldn't look much worse.

Jacob Branstetter is a great Jayhawk.

Hey, not all lessons are negative ones.

Many were upset when Mangino elected to have Branstetter attempt a 57-yarder yesterday, and it may not have been the right call, but Branstetter simply did what he was asked to do.  Whether the wind was at his back or not, he deserves to be congratulated for shattering his previous career long and actually putting KU on the scoreboard.

Branstetter is a great Jayhawk because this feisty, undersized, ball-hawking kicker is exactly the kind of athlete that Mangino has built this team on.  Young guys could learn a lot from him.

Toben Opurum should be Kansas's No. 1 running back.

He didn't match up particularly well against OU's stacked front line, but he still ran 13 times for 59 yards while Jake Sharp continued to struggle.

There was no excuse for not giving Opurum more opportunities against Colorado, though.  Jake Sharp's quickness may slow down a pass rush, but he was clearly ineffective against Colorado.  Opurum is the kind of bruiser who wears pass rushes out. 

KU's offense isn't built to run a lot.  When running plays are called, the Hawks don't need big plays; just shorter chains.  Opurum is the better man for that job right now, and his blocking abilities and underrated hands don't hurt either.

The Sunflower Showdown could make or break KU's entire season.

Who would've thunk it?  Even Wildcat fans couldn't have foreseen this kind of topsy-turvy season in the North.

KU could likely visit Manhattan 5-3 during a tremendous down-slide.  Kansas State, on the other hand, will likely be 5-4 after traveling to Norman, hungry for a bowl bid and every last piece of the Jayhawks they can get their hands on.  Bill Snyder knows KU has been on top of this particular series in his absence.

If KU doesn't win that contest, they may have to beat Missouri, Nebraska, or Texas just to become bowl-eligible.  However, I'll try not to look too far ahead just yet; Texas A&M laid a good blue-print for Kansas' trip to Lubbock this Saturday.

Hopefully the Jayhawks give it a very strong look-over.

So the Hawks certainly have some work to do, but I'm not giving up on them yet.  There have been as many positives as negatives over the past two weeks, even if they're a little harder than normal to find.

The 2006 season in the North has only further-proved the fact that sometimes the ball only has to bounce the right way once to turn things around.