Ryan Wood's KU football notebook

Undefeated Jayhawks rank 9th in BCS

Jayhawks fall in at number nine in the Bowl Championship Series standings after winning in Colorado.

New rankings

KU's 19-14 road victory at Colorado on Saturday has shot the Jayhawks even higher up the national rankings.

Kansas is ninth in the latest Bowl Championship Series rankings, 10th in the USA Today coaches poll, 11th in the Harris Interactive poll and 12th in the Associated Press poll.

The last three are voted on by humans, while the BCS rankings combine the USA Today and Harris polls with six computer rankings to spit out an average.

KU's BCS average this week was 0.6479, after getting a 0.5710 last week. The highest possible average is a 1.000.

Wheeler fine

KU defensive end Jeff Wheeler, after getting a clutch sack in the fourth quarter Saturday, appeared to favor his right arm as he left the field.

Coach Mark Mangino, though, said Wheeler should be fine.

"He practiced (Sunday)," Mangino said. "He's a little sore, but the trainers said he's full go, and it should not be any issue at all."

Up next

Texas A&M put on a ground-game clinic against Nebraska in a 36-14 victory on Saturday, rushing for 359 yards on 66 carries.

Running back Jorvorskie Lane, a 270-pound bowling ball, had 130 yards and four touchdowns, while quarterback Stephen McGee carried the ball 35 times for 167 yards. Texas A&M improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 Conference play with the victory.

KU's run defense has been good for three years now, and it was strong in holding a run-happy Colorado team to 2.0 yards per attempt. That sets up an intriguing matchup for Saturday's game, which will kick off at 6 p.m. and be televised on ESPN2.

The Jayhawks opened as a three-point favorite on Sunday night. They're 6-0 against the spread this season.

More like this

KU jumps to third in latest BCS rankings 26 comments / November 11, 2007
Computers say KU better than USC, Florida 56 comments / October 15, 2007
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 39 comments / November 26, 2007
Commentary: Texas Tech enters new territory November 3, 2008
Ryan Wood's KU football notebook 34 comments / October 29, 2007

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sevenyearhawk (anonymous) says...

Get ready to stuff the Round Mound of Touchdown!

October 22, 2007 at 7:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dsmith84 (anonymous) says...

two words, one philosphy: Gang Tackling.
Javorskie Lane is built like coach mangino, except with some speed and athleticism. He will bounce off of diving shoulder tackles is nearly unstoppable inside the 5 yard line.
Perhaps equivalent to Jordy Nelson as a "hold this guy in check and all other things fall into place" type player.

October 22, 2007 at 7:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

jayhawkinatl (anonymous) says...

They have a Jared Lorenzen playing running back, huh?

October 22, 2007 at 7:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

McGuzzo23 (anonymous) says...

The can't pass going to have to stack it up in the middle. I think our secondary can hang if we stack it up all game long, and if they don't want to pass we can get some more pressure, but I have faith in Bill Young to make the right call not me. It was a blast in Boulder, Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

October 22, 2007 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

txrockchalk (anonymous) says...

FYI - For KU fans heading to College Station this weekend, here is a link to some KU Alumni Association tailgate event info:

https://www2.ku.edu/cgiwrap/kualumni/...

October 22, 2007 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Lane will be the toughest back we have seen so far because of his combo of size, speed and strength. I hope the guys are tackling low, because taking him on high is asking to get drug ten yards downfield until someone comes to help, or get thrown off immediately.

The biggest key is to get penetration so that Lane can't get a full head of steam. Make him run east and west rather than getting his shoulders squared to the line.

A&M's defense is more suspect than previous units, I think. We can move the ball on them. We just have to avoid Lane keeping our offense off the field. Go Hawks!

October 22, 2007 at 9:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

rev79 (anonymous) says...

Lane, lane, lane - He's not used to having 250 pound linebackers like Rivera and moertensen hitting him either. We have some bruising linebackers, The big question for me is whether or not old "iron hands" Marcus Henry can hold onto the football when it is thrown his way!?

October 22, 2007 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

troutsee (anonymous) says...

Remember, every team has run on the Huskers. The Huskers are pitiful this year. I've been telling you guys this ever since NU played Wake. Even though NU won, Wake ran on them at will.

We will beat the luckiest team in America on Sat. in College Station.

October 22, 2007 at 10:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

I like this matchup with aTm. They're playing RIGHT into KU's strength--run defense. I like our chances of being able to stop aTm's offense. I just hope Wheeler is OK.

aTm's QB is much better with the feet than he is with his arm. He's a serviceable passer, at best.

aTm has a pretty bad pass defense. But I was shocked how much pressure Colorado put on Reesing Saturday, so hopefully he'll have more time to pick apart aTm.

October 22, 2007 at 10:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

Lane is overrated. They offer the ball to him on the dive in the option game. Mortensen and Big #93 will take away that dive. Then you need Rivera and Holt blowing up the QB and a safety taking away the pitch man. We have the best LB corps in the Big 12. We have sure-tackling DBs. I love our chances.

October 22, 2007 at 10:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

When I say Lane is overrated......He couldn't handle the speed of the Miami game. They shut him down before he ever got started. I think he only had 2 or 3 carries the whole game. Stuff that dive on the read option and it's all downhill for Steven McGee.

October 22, 2007 at 10:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

thetagger (anonymous) says...

It wasn't necessarily that Colorado had a good pass rush... it was that their coverage was really good. Most, if not all, of the time that Reesing was rushed, it was after 3-4 seconds of looking for (and not finding) an open receiver. I was really impressed with CU's coverage, but isn't it SO nice to have a mobile quarterback who can scramble? It is so much fun to watch this team. Beak the Aggies!!

October 22, 2007 at 10:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

KU (anonymous) says...

Good call, thetagger. Colorado is ranked pretty high in pass defense compared to aTm. They did have great coverage. If we can give Reesing time, he should be able to pick aTm apart. I can't see aTm scoring more than 17-20 points on KU, even in College Station.

If we can continue the trend of winning the turnover battle, we should be able to score more than enough to win.

October 22, 2007 at 10:29 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

leikness (anonymous) says...

OK, call me crazy, but I was in the 10th row right behind the KU bench on Saturday and I think Mangino looks like he's lost a little weight.

October 22, 2007 at 12:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )