Most ideas start innocently.The LJW/KUSports crew was puttering down I-70 last night after KU’s [huge victory][1] over Kansas State in Manhattan, when [Tom Keegan][2] made an interesting observation.”Since I’ve been here,” he said, “this is the best offense KU has had and the second-best defense.”Fair point, but Keegan’s only been here since 2005. I decided to take it one step further and rank all six of Mark Mangino’s defenses and all six of his offenses.So you’re getting a long blog here today, and you’ll probably disagree somewhere. Of course, the 2007 grade is incomplete because we’re not even halfway through the season. But I included them anyway because it’s fun.I’ll do offense today and defense later this week:No. 1: 2007**Key players**: Todd Reesing (QB), Brandon McAnderson (RB), Jake Sharp (RB), Anthony Collins (LT), Derek Fine (TE), Marcus Henry (WR), Dexton Fields (WR).**Summary**: Obviously, the Jayhawks have to keep doing what they’re doing, and there’s no guarantee of that. Still, this offense is by far the most creative we’ve seen since Mangino came aboard in 2002, and I think when it’s all said and done, it’ll squeak by the 2003 team in terms of production. So far averaging 48.8 points and 529.6 yards per game. That will go down, but the hunch here is that it will be remembered as Mangino’s best when we look back on 2007. No. 2: 2003**Key players:** Bill Whittemore (QB), Adrian Jones (LT), Clark Green (RB), Charles Gordon (WR), Mark Simmons (WR), Joe Vaughn (C), Brandon Rideau (WR).**Summary:** Obviously a very potent unit, and the undisputed number one if the 2007 offense trails off. The ’03 team averaged 421.5 yards per game and 29.5 points per contest, including games with 46, 42, 41, 35 and 47 points — in a row. Went to the Tangerine Bowl and got clocked, but it definitely wasn’t the offense’s fault.No. 3: 2006**Key players:** Jon Cornish (RB), Anthony Collins (RT), Kerry Meier (QB), David Ochoa (C), Brian Murph (WR), Dexton Fields (WR).**Summary:** Underrated because of how sour the season went. But this team scored almost as much as the 2003 team did, and Cornish’s school-record 1,457 rushing yards was just part of it. Averaged 29.0 points and 374.2 yards per game.No. 4: 2005**Key players:** Jason Swanson (QB), Mark Simmons (WR), Jon Cornish (RB), Clark Green (RB), David Ochoa (C), Charles Gordon (WR, sometimes**Summary:** Obviously has many points deducted for the awful stretch against Kansas State and Oklahoma, where they sniffed the red zone maybe twice in eight quarters. But once Swanson emerged as the starting quarterback, the fortunes turned. Dropped plenty of points on Nebraska and in the Fort Worth Bowl against Houston. Averaged 22.4 points and 329.7 yards per game.No. 5: 2002**Key players:** Bill Whittemore (QB), Clark Green (RB), Byron Gasaway (WR)**Summary:** Not a great offense, and a part of an awful, awful team. But until Whittemore went down against Missouri, it did some nice things. Scored 44 on Tulsa, 32 on Baylor, 29 on Colorado and 22 on Texas A&M. The ’02 offense averaged 20.7 points and 316.8 yards per game, but many KU fans don’t remember because of convenient amnesia around that time. No. 6: 2004**Key players:** Joe Vaughn (C), John Randle (RB), Brandon Rideau (WR), Adam Barmann (QB), Lyonel Anderson (TE).**Summary:** Not good. A bizzare string of quarterback injuries only worsened the situation, but this offense really struggled to complement a pretty good defense. Scored a combined 25 points against Nebraska, Oklahoma and iowa State, and those three games, all losses, made the season slip away. It did perform well against Toledo and Missouri, but the bright spots are outnumbered by the bad ones. Averaged 23.8 points and 314.5 yards per game. [1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/oct/07/beyond_doubt/?football [2]: http://www2.kusports.com/staff/tom_keegan/