Angus Quigley News

Husker assistant wary of KU offense despite woes 6:57 p.m. Forget the Jayhawks' recent struggles on offense.

Kansas put itself in a hole immediately, destroying any pregame emotional momentum and putting KU fans in "we're really gonna need some lucky breaks" mode for most of three quarters.

Last night, I went back and watched the tape of the KU-Colorado game, and today I've been combing over the Big 12 stat pack that we get each week.

There were the new faces, and there were the old faces in new places, and overall, Mark Mangino is relatively happy with the changes he made to his defense last week.xxxx Mangino, whose Jayhawks dropped seven spots to 24th in the Associated Press poll after losing to Colorado, used six new guys on defense -- safety Lubbock Smith, cornerback D.J.

Todd Reesing experienced enough emotions on Saturday night to fill up an entire career.

There are turning points for every program, moments that either send a team tumbling down an unforeseen path or keep it heading in the right direction.

Call it fate, destiny or providence to describe what happened in that first meeting between Todd Reesing and Mark Mangino.

It isn't hard to like freshman running back Toben Opurum. Before he ever set foot on the Lawrence campus for school, he spurned the advances of one of the most storied programs in the country - Notre Dame - to commit to the Jayhawks.

The last man standing in the Kansas backfield is talking about motivation. Im motivated by all sorts of things, Jake Sharp says.

Mangino says Lueken chose to leave programKansas coach Mark Mangino said two weeks ago that offensive lineman Ben Luekens status was up in the air.

Coach: Mark Mangino 2008 record: 8-5, 4-4 Big 12 2009 preseason media poll: second in Big 12 North Notebook Briscoe in limbo: Oklahoma couldn't cover Dezmon Briscoe last year, when the Kansas wide receiver set a school record with 269 yards in OU's 45-31 victory.

Ben Lueken update Offensive tackle Ben Lueken's future at Kansas is in question.

Jocques Crawford arrived on the Kansas campus in 2008 as one of the most highly anticipated football recruits in the Mark Mangino era.

Details have faded with time. It was the fall of 2005. He recalls a weekend recruiting trip in Lawrence, Kan.

Todd Reesing , the former Lake Travis star, returns for his senior year after two record-breaking seasons.

Kansas apparently has shored up its biggest weakness heading into preseason camp.

Kansas checks in at No. 22 in the preseason rankings compiled by my colleague Mark Schlabach.