That’s all that separates Kansas University’s football from being the best defense in the nation against the run.

Six feet.

KU enters Saturday’s game with Nebraska with the nation’s second-best run defense, allowing just 69.5 yards rushing per game. Big 12 Conference foe Oklahoma is the leader at 69.3 yards per game.

Both have played eight games. Oklahoma has allowed 554 net rushing yards, while Kansas is two yards behind at 556.

Diving deeper into the numbers:

¢ KU has allowed 556 yards on 279 carries (1.99 yards per carry), while OU has given up 554 on 253 carries (2.19 ypc).

¢ Oklahoma’s number dwindled dramatically thanks to a game against … Kansas. On Oct. 15, KU rushed for 11 yards on 22 carries against the Sooners, the lowest dip of the Jayhawks’ midseason offensive funk. The Sooners rushed for 96 yards against KU, making the Jayhawks’ average rise.

¢ KU’s poorest effort against the run this year was a 133-yard outburst way back on Sept. 10 by Appalachian State, the only NCAA Division I-AA team on the schedule. Take that game out — just for fun — and KU has averaged 60.4 yards per game and 1.7 yards per carry against I-A opponents.

Overall, Kansas has the 10th best defense out of 117 I-A teams eligible for rankings, allowing 290.88 yards per game. It’s also fourth in tackles for a loss, eighth in preventing third-down conversions and sixth in kickoff return-yardage defense.

The numbers are enough to make anyone’s head blow up, which is why KU coach Mark Mangino takes care of important business before diving into stat-geek mode.

“That’s probably something I look at later in the week,” Mangino said Sunday. “Right now, we’re focused on trying to shore up things. Wednesday or Thursday I go through stats.”

Mangino said no expectations had been passed statistically because no expectations were set statistically in most cases.

“We don’t do that,” he said. “One stat we tell our kids we think is important is turnover margin.”

Uh-oh. KU is ranked 99th there with minus-6 (15 takeaways, 21 giveaways).

¢ Another noon start: KU will kick off its game with Nebraska at noon Saturday, the second straight noon start for a non-televised game at Memorial Stadium. In the past, the Jayhawks started non-televised conference games at 1 p.m., but with all the night games played this year, KU decided an earlier start was more desirable.

“They’ve played a lot of late games this year,” associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said, “and they just wanted to play earlier.”

• 6Sports video: Defense stops MU’s Smith (11-01-05)
• 6News video: KU employee injured in goalpost frenzy (10-31-05)

¢ New goalposts: Marchiony said Monday that new goalposts would be up by Friday. KU fans stormed the field and took off with the old goalposts after KU’s 13-3 victory over Missouri on Saturday. The new poles are expected to cost $7,500.

¢ Fans reimbursed: The last time Nebraska was in town in 2003, nearly 25 cars with Nebraska license plates were the victims of tire slashings. At the time, KU officials promised each car owner a free ticket to the next KU-Nebraska game in Lawrence. Marchiony said KU delivered on its word, sending free tickets through the NU athletic department. “We just hope that nobody is stupid enough to do that again,” Marchiony said of the slashings.

¢ Young honored: KU defensive coordinator Bill Young was awarded the Master Coaches Survey Game Ball for leading the KU defense in a 13-3 victory over Missouri. The MCS gives a game ball to an offensive player, defensive player and offensive and defensive coordinator every week. It’s an advisory poll consisting of 16 former coaches, 10 of whom are College Football Hall of Fame members.