The last two weeks have done wonders for confidence and morale within the Kansas University football program.
Interim head coach Clint Bowen detailed some of the team’s progress of late at his weekly press conference Tuesday, as the Jayhawks (3-7 overall, 1-6 Big 12) prepare for a weekend trip down to No. 23 Oklahoma (7-3, 4-3).
Here are some of the highlights:
• **Bowen commended KU’s players for a tough preparation week leading up to TCU**. Their perseverance showed on game day, as they came out of the locker room ready to play.
• **It doesn’t get any easier this week, at OU**. Bowen has a tremendous amount of respect for Bob Stoops’ body of work, first as a D-coordinator and now as the Sooners’ head coach.
• **The OU defense will get after you and make you have a bad day**… This will be a tremendous challenge for the Jayhawks.
• **The bottom line is KU lost to TCU. A loss is “never acceptable.”** Their expectations are they have Big 12 football players and they take the field to win. The improvement and preparation continues each week and players are seeing positive results on the field. Losing is never easy, though.
• **You would like to know what your opponent is going to do**. OU announced QB Trevor Knight won’t play this week. Last week against Texas Tech they came out in the second half and ran the ball a ton. It shows the diversity of OU’s offense. They were losing that game and changed the game plan to build a comfortable lead.
• **Now Oklahoma has a QB run game, with replacement Cody Thomas**. The Sooners brought in a guy who can do similar things to Knight, as well.
• **KU’s offensive line did a nice job against TCU’s front**. They’re all starting to play better as a group, communicate better as a group. They didn’t have any TCU guys running free to the quarterback. That allowed Kansas QB Michael Cummings to look down the field.
• **The Jayhawks have confidence after the past couple of weeks**. They know now if they show up in the week and prepare, the system brings results. There also is confidence from hanging around with a good TCU team that many outside of the program expected to steamroll Kansas.
• **Bowen has said KU has to match opponents’ physical play.** Big 12 teams will “big boy” you if they can. Players are starting to grasp they need to fight back and win the physical part of games.
• **WR Nigel King has had more success of late**, and some of that is a plan to get him the ball more. Also, King has gone out and made some special plays.
• **Cummings’ toughness is underrated**. If you’re playing at this point in the season your body doesn’t feel good. Cummings can be counted on to battle through the game’s discomfort.
• **TE Jimmay Mundine has had a “tremendous” year**. It’s been fun to watch him have the kind of games the staff knew he was capable of. A lot of his runs after catches show his athleticism. Guys who can do more than one thing have a chance to play at the next level, and Bowen hopes Mundine gets that opportunity… They knew the senior TE had talent and now he is a bigger part of the game plan.
• **Senior offensive lineman Ngalu Fusimalohi will be out** for the remainder of the season.
• **O-lineman Junior Visinia went in and handled the game well,** mentally and physically, as a true freshman. He hasn’t let the game get too big for him.
• **When other coaches praise Bowen, that means something to him.** For someone of Gary Patterson’s stature to talk him up, it meant a lot to Bowen.
*– Listen to the entire press conference: [Clint Bowen: ‘A loss is never acceptable’][1]*
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/podcasts/press_conferences_postgame_interviews/2014/nov/18/clint-bowen-loss-never-acceptable/
