Jayhawks hopeful for Big 12 football schedule

By Matt Tait     Sep 30, 2010

With the start of Big 12 Conference play looming, the Kansas University football team is not hiding its intentions.

“It’s like a new season is starting,” junior wide receiver Daymond Patterson said. “You get a chance to fight for that Big 12 North title and try and make it to that Big 12 championship. I think when conference comes, you turn it up a level.”

So, then, is it accurate to say that the Jayhawks, who had their ups and downs during the non-conference schedule, actually believe they can win the North in 2010?

“Definitely. Definitely,” senior safety Olaitan Oguntodu said. “Playing in the Big 12, you take care of the North and that’s the opportunity you have. We don’t believe in selling ourselves short. That’s not the plan that coach (Turner) Gill has laid before us. We believe in striving for excellence.”

Some coaches drive that goal home every day. Others use gimmicks and off-the-wall motivational tactics to remind their players what they’re playing for. Not Gill.

“I’m not going to say we talk about it every day or every week, but we talked about it in the beginning of the year,” Gill said. “We’re just like everybody else, (winning the Big 12 is) a goal of ours and this is the first step.”

Said freshman quarterback Jordan Webb, who will start the first Big 12 game of his career on Saturday: “It’s definitely exciting, because these games are what matter the most. Every game is important, but when you get to conference play those games take a little more meaning.”

Though KU’s 2-2 start was not exactly what many had hoped for, Oguntodu said all that the Jayhawks endured during their first four games made them a stronger team.

“I think we are ready,” Oguntodu said. “We have prepared. We have faced some trials in our non-conference games. They have helped us come to expect to have ups and downs within the game and be able to bounce back. That is something that we have been pleased with this season. That is a sign of our defense maturing and our team maturing and getting better.”

The buzz word Oguntodu used when describing where his team was at was “identity.”

“I think we have an identity, surely as a defense we have an identity,” Oguntodu said. “I love the fact that I can run up to a pile and our linebackers have already made the play. That’s awesome. That’s awesome.”

Gill agreed and said improvement should be easier to come by now that the groundwork is in place.

“After four ballgames, I think everybody has a better understanding of who we are, what we are, and what we’re trying to do,” Gill said.

PREV POST

Around the Web in 7 Days: A Briefing about Baylor

NEXT POST

36230Jayhawks hopeful for Big 12 football schedule

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.