Brooks: CU, KU Eyeing First Conference Win

BOULDER - As they say (and very, very often) in his profession, Turner Gill is worrying about the things he can control - and who he might be working for in 2011 is not among them.

Gill, Kansas' first-year football coach, was hired by Lew Perkins, who won't be around next season as KU's athletic director.

But Gill has more on his mind now than KU's AD search; his first Jayhawks team has Colorado coming in this weekend, and the word in Lawrence is the Jayhawks see this as a "get-well" Saturday before they embark on a brutal closing stretch.

The "get-well" part might be a little over-the-top; it'll take more than one weekend and one potential 'W' for Gill's program to reach the level he and his new (and as of yet unnamed) AD hope to achieve.

But you've got to start somewhere, and Gill's launch point is getting that first Big 12 Conference win. Ditto for CU and fifth-year coach Dan Hawkins; like the Buffaloes, the Jayhawks are 0-4. At the halfway point of Big 12 play, they're the only pair of winless teams in league play.

According to Matt Tait, KU beat writer for the Lawrence Journal-World, the Jayhawks might be eyeing Saturday as their best chance to win a Big 12 game before finishing against nationally ranked Nebraska (No. 9), Oklahoma State (No. 19) and Missouri (No. 14).

Hawkins was asked on Monday's Big 12 coaches' teleconference (1) whether playing another winless conference team is necessarily uplifting for either squad and (2) whether that murderer's row awaiting KU puts any added pressure on KU to win this week.

Hawkins, by the numbers:

(1) "I don't know; I guess you'd have to talk to Turner and see what their situation is. I mean, for us, it's that same old boring stuff. We try to take each week for what it is at face value. I don't think you get into a whole lot of . . . every week there's teams that win or lose that shouldn't. I don't place a whole of credence in what has gone on in the past, just because things can change in a week. So we don't try to overplay or downplay anybody because of their record or what's gone on."
(2) "I don't know . . . like I said, that's on their shoulders. I'm not going to try to get in their helmet that much."

Gill didn't field those questions on the conference call, but he was asked about the potential pitfalls in working for someone other than the guy that hired him.

"Those are things I have no control over," he said. "The only thing I can do is go out and teach and develop our players and do the best I can. That's what I'm going to focus on. They hired me to do a job here, and that's what I'm here to do and that's what we're going to do as a staff.

"We believe in what we're trying to get accomplished and our style of coaching and schemes. We're still trying to mesh together our whole, what we have as a football team - trying to get the players at the right place. Again, I have confidence in the administration, in who they end up hiring, that they're going to give us the opportunity to build a winning program."

RIDING THE ROLLER COASTER: The Gill Era opened with a disturbing 6-3 home loss against North Dakota State. The next weekend, also in Lawrence, the Jayhawks defeated then-No. 15 Georgia Tech 28-25.

Then came a loss at Southern Mississippi (31-16) and a home win against New Mexico State (42-16). The first four weeks of Big 12 play brought losses of 55-7 (at Baylor), 59-7 (vs. Kansas State), 45-10 (vs. Texas A&M) and 28-16 (at Iowa State).

Considering KU had been outscored 159-24 in its first three conference games, that 12-point loss last weekend in Ames, Iowa, was considered something of a breakthrough.

Gill attributed the runaways in the first three weeks to turnovers and offering opponents short fields: "It's a lot tougher to hold teams out of the end zone; we've got to do a better job of that."

Against the Cyclones, he said simplification on both sides of the ball contributed to a closer game. In fact, the Jayhawks led 9-7 at halftime.

"I thought we simplified some things and didn't give a whole lot of different schemes and things we had in our game plan," Gill said. "We just tried to let our guys play and I think they did a good job doing that. And then we had a little bit better rotation at our linebacker spot to try to give guys a little better breaks.

"So I thought our coaching staff did a little better job of helping our players in game planning, and our guys bought into it and played well."

Still, the Jayhawks remain last in the conference in scoring defense (33.1 points a game) and scoring offense (16.1).

QB DECISION COMING LATE: The CU defense likely won't know who will be directing the KU offense until Thursday, possibly later. Because of injuries to redshirt freshman Jordan Webb (shoulder) and sophomore Kale Pick (concussion), Gill started junior college transfer Quinn Mecham against the Cyclones. In his first start, Mecham completed 22-of-33 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown.

"We at least are going to have the other two guys who weren't available last week (Webb and Pick)," Gill said. "They all are probably going to have a chance, but we've got to see how healthy, particularly Jordan, see where his status is and then kind of go from there."

Hawkins said the QB uncertainty isn't an issue in preparing for KU: "I think they're very similar in what they try to do to you for the most part. Obviously, each guy brings a little something different to the table. But I think in terms of what they're trying to do schematically, it's similar type stuff.

Pick started against North Dakota State, but was replaced in that game by Webb, who engineered the upset of Georgia Tech. Webb's seven-game passing totals: 108-of-185 for 1,114 yards, 7 TDs, 6 INT. Pick's four-game passing totals: 21-of-36, 193 yards, 1 INT.

CU DEFENSE WEARING DOWN? In October, the Buffs lost their leading tacklers - safety Anthony Perkins and linebacker Jon Major - to season-ending knee injuries. That was after losing starting nickel back Parker Orms in the opener to a season-ending knee injury. His two replacements - Travis Sandersfeld and Paul Vigo - went down shortly thereafter with lower leg injuries.

Those injuries, coupled with an offense that has hardly been injury-free (starting quarterback Tyler Hansen and co-starting running back Brian Lockridge are out for the season), have contributed to big numbers by the Buffs' last three opponents.

Baylor had 543 yards in total offense, Texas Tech 430, Oklahoma 635. That's 1,608 in three games against three offenses that are ranked in the top half of the conference in total offense. If you're wondering, Baylor is No. 2 (490.4), OU is No. 4 (473.4), Tech is No. 6 (432.9).

"We've played very good teams, you know . . . very prolific offenses that kind of spread you out and get you in space," Hawkins said, adding that the defense is using inexperienced players because of the rash of injuries.

ALREADY BOWL READY: CU needs to win three of its final four games to get to six victories and become bowl eligible. Hawkins says the "tangible and intangible things with the entire season" always have his attention, but right now the focus is on KU.

That's a good place to focus, but the bowl picture finds the Buffs playing catch up.

Five Big 12 teams - Missouri, Nebraska, Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State - already have seven wins each. Three more teams - Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas A&M - are a win away from bowl eligibility with five victories each. And Texas and Texas Tech are each 4-4 - two wins shy of the magic number.

But here's your pertinent math: The Big 12 has eight guaranteed bowl slots and could land another couple of teams in the postseason as a BCS bowl at-large entry or a national championship game participant.

In CU's case, the more Big 12 teams that qualify at the upper end of the BCS, the better.

If the Buffs - competing in their final Big 12 season - reach six wins, they'd better hope there aren't seven or eight other Big 12 teams qualified for the postseason.

Would a tie go to the departing school? Hey, just asking.

BUFF BITS: Hawkins said no update was available yet on the injury status of receiver/punt returner Travon Patterson (ankle) . . . . KU's leading returning rusher was Toben Oporum, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound sophomore. But Gill and his staff saw Oporum, of Plano, Texas, as a defensive end, where he's played in six games and has 10 tackles (two solo). Gill says the new position is allowing Oporum, who averaged 4.2 yards a carry and scored nine TDs last season, to "use his instincts and athleticism . . . every game he's getting better." . . . . CU is No. 10 in the Big 12 in total offense (341.2 yards a game), KU is No. 11 (323.5), Iowa State No. 12 (320.9) . . . . With 104 yards rushing in its past two games, CU has dropped to No. 11 in the conference in rushing offense (129.2) . . . . CU and KU are either No. 11 or No. 12 in 25 of 32 team statistical categories . . . . Hawkins was 1-3 against former KU coach Mark Mangino, who directed the Jayhawks to three bowl games in his eight seasons at the school. Mangino resigned under pressure with a 50-48 record. His 50 wins were the second most in KU history.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU