Kansas University’s football squad has taken a giant leap this season, winning more games (six) than it had in the previous two years combined (five).
In Mark Mangino’s second season as coach, the Jayhawks (6-6 overall, 3-5 Big 12 Conference) earned bowl eligibility after enduring a 2-10 record and a winless Big 12 campaign a year earlier.
Much of the credit for the Jayhawks’ quick turnaround goes to an improved offensive line. After allowing 33 sacks and 232 yards lost last season, KU allowed 18 sacks for 120 fewer yards.
Mangino moved junior Tony Coker from right tackle to right guard and switched senior tight end Adrian Jones to left tackle. Center Joe Vaughn arrived from Northeastern Oklahoma to anchor the line, Danny Lewis took over at right tackle and red-shirt freshman Bob Whitaker emerged at left guard.
With little depth behind them, the five starters have played virtually every snap. After Kansas earned its all-important sixth victory with a 36-7 win Saturday over Iowa State in the regular-season finale, it all seemed worth it.
“Three years of frustration, lots of hard work,” said Lewis, a senior in his third year at KU after transferring from Phoenix Community College. “You finally see the fruit of your labor. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was a great feeling.”
The revamped line entered the season as KU’s biggest question mark. Instead, the Jayhawks put together one of the best offensive seasons in school history.
KU’s average of 29.9 points a game dwarfed last year’s meager 20.7 average and ranked fourth in school history. Kansas set single-season school records for average yards per game (418), passing touchdowns (23) and tied the record for completions (235). The Jayhawks’ average of 256.83 yards passing ranked second in school history.
Kansas showed increases of 417 yards rushing, 798 yards passing, 1,215 total yards, 14 touchdowns and 118 points in the same number of games as last season.
Senior quarterback Bill Whittemore once again missed three games — and part of a fourth — because of an injury, but improved on his junior numbers.
KU’s captain saw his rushing numbers dip slightly — from 547 yards and 11 touchdowns to 450 and nine — but Mangino made it clear he wanted his quarterback to pass more and run less.
Whittemore actually has thrown fewer passes this season than last, but he has more to show for his efforts. He has completed 139 of 222 passes for 2,142 yards — the fourth-highest total in school history — with a school record 16 TDs and four interceptions. That’s compared to 1,666 yards, 11 TDs and six picks last year when he was 151 of 305.
“Bill means a lot to our program,” Mangino said. “He’s been a fine player and a quiet leader. He’s a guy that just makes plays, and kids respect him for it.”
The Jayhawks also showed signs of promise when freshman Adam Barmann completed 67.1 percent of his passes (57 of 85) for 564 yards with four TDs and five interceptions.
‘Everybody expects great things from him,” Mangino said. “He expects great things from himself.”
KU’s line has given its quarterbacks more time to throw, and an improved receiving corps has helped improve its passing yards per game average from 190.5 yards last year to 257 this season.
The Jayhawks hadn’t had a single 500-yard receiver in the previous two years, but sophomore Mark Simmons (771), red-shirt freshman Charles Gordon (696) and junior Brandon Rideau (568) each have eclipsed the mark.
Sophomore running back Clark Green continued to be the offensive workhorse with 881 yards and six TDs on 190 carries, and 41 catches for 434 yards and touchdown.
Defense continues to be the program’s biggest stumbling block. Kansas has allowed averages of 28.3 points and 392.6 yards per game, but those numbers are down from 42.2 and 472.4 last season.
“You have to believe in these kids,” Mangino said. “These kids have worked hard. We work as hard as any team in this conference and maybe harder than some. We’ve made big strides.”
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