Kansas Jayhawk Review: Does Jayhawks Win Bring Hope for the Rest of the Season?

In my preview article for this game, I said that the Jayhawks would need to start right out of the gate and score early. They must have read my article.

The Kansas Jayhawks looked impressive for only the second time this season as they dominated the Aggies of New Mexico State, beating them 42-16.

A certain player who looked very impressive was sophomore D.J. Beshears. He accounted for all three of the Jayhawks' first-half touchdowns, including a 96-yard touchdown return in the second quarter.

In the second half, Jordan Webb and Jason Sims took over the scoring and added an extra 21 points in the second half for the Jayhawks.

Altogether, the Jayhawks contributed 501 yards of total offense while holding New Mexico State to just 275. Kansas was favored to win by 23 and won by 26. The Jayhawks finally did what the oddsmakers thought they would do.

So what does this mean for the rest of the season? Kansas can finally put this up-and-down, non-conference schedule behind them and look towards the Big 12 schedule. During these four unpredictable games, the Jayhawks slowly but surely came together as a team. They were a well-oiled machine last night and looked impressive. They need to do that every game now; otherwise they will be massacred by the much better Big 12 teams.

This team is very different from the one that lost to North Dakota State, and it is really good that KU was able to get a decisive win under its belt before conference play starts. I don't expect them to contend for the Big 12 North title, but they have a talented enough team to get two to four wins in the conference and maybe play in a pre-Christmas bowl game.

That might be a bit too optimistic, but they have the talent to at least not get blown out in most games. In fact, the only game I don't expect to be close is against Nebraska in two weeks, but KU has surprised before this season.

Kansas takes a trip next week to Waco, Texas to take on the Baylor Bears. KU has the ability to contend, but they need to do what they did last night; otherwise the Crimson and Blue faithful will go back into their caves until basketball season.