ESPN College Football

Only a month ago, Kansas senior quarterback Jason Swanson was buried on the Jayhawks' depth chart with little hope of ever playing again.

The Kansas offense was a joke, prompting linebacker Nick Reid to call out his underperforming teammates during a four-game losing streak earlier this season. Coach Mark Mangino's job security was tied to his inept offense. Things were looking so bleak that Kansas fans were counting the hours until the start of basketball season.

What a difference two weeks make.

After convincing victories over Missouri and Nebraska during that span, the Jayhawks have rebounded under Swanson to come within a game of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2003. The quarterback change has resuscitated a sputtering offensive unit and boosted interest in the program to its highest levels under Mangino, who had fans chanting his name when he left the field after the Nebraska victory that snapped a 36-game losing streak to the Cornhuskers.

These are heady football times indeed for the Kansas program. Fans have ripped down the goal posts at Memorial Stadium twice in the last two weeks and deposited them in nearby Potter Lake.

Swanson, a former scout team quarterback, has returned to lead the Jayhawks during their recent spurt heading into Saturday's game at No. 2 Texas. A victory over the Longhorns or next week against Iowa State will give Kansas its first winning regular season since 1995.

	“	I definitely didn't think that this would happen, but I was aware that I could do something if I got my opportunity. I'm a football player and I've been doing it since I was 6 years old. I knew I was capable of running the offense. I just needed the chance. ”
		—Kansas QB Jason Swanson

"I definitely didn't think that this would happen, but I was aware that I could do something if I got my opportunity," Swanson said. "I'm a football player and I've been doing it since I was 6 years old. I knew I was capable of running the offense. I just needed the chance."

After three other quarterbacks had struggled earlier this season, Mangino looked to Swanson almost in desperation. The new quarterback has responded with statement victories over Missouri and Nebraska over the last two weeks.

The recent offensive burst has supported Kansas' underrated defensive unit, which has developed into one of the Big 12's best. The Jayhawks lead the nation in rushing defense (64.11 yards per game), and are fifth in total defense (273.9 yards per game) and 16th in scoring defense (18.22 points per game).

"It's not just the defense," defensive end Charlton Keith said. "Right now we are getting recognized as a total team that can compete. It's coming for us."

The change started when the offense was taken over by Swanson, a transfer from City College of San Francisco who received scant playing time earlier in his career at Kansas.

Before college, Swanson wasn't even sure he wanted to play football during most of high school. He received an offer of a music scholarship at Michigan State after matriculating at the San Diego School for the Performing Arts before transferring to Lincoln High School because of its football program. He still plays the clarinet, violin, saxophone, flute and piano.

Kansas coaches worried that Swanson was too laid-back for his own good when he arrived at college. And after getting some playing time late last year, Swanson was held back during spring practice with a leg injury.

After appearing overweight when he returned for fall practice, Swanson fell deeper into Mangino's doghouse. That's when he volunteered to run the scout team offense, hoping that work would keep him from becoming too rusty.

Swanson played well in relief against Colorado, leading Mangino to turn to him against Missouri. With a 3-4 record, he figured his team had little to lose, considering his offense had scored just 23 points and was barely averaging 200 yards per game in its first three Big 12 games.

"Jason has ability and he's a talented young man," Mangino said. "If he ever has a bad play, he's able to forget about it and move on. He's becoming more in tune with what opposing defenses are doing. He's being a very good manager for our offense."

In his first start, a cautious offensive performance helped spark the Jayhawks to a 13-3 victory over Missouri. But the offense exploded for 428 yards in a convincing 40-15 victory over Nebraska last week as the Jayhawks had two 100-yard rushers (Jon Cornish and Clark Green) and a 100-yard receiver (Mark Simmons) in the same game for the first time since 1980.

The Jayhawks celebrated by having a team picture taken under the scoreboard after the game. Mangino learned that trick from his old boss, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who always has pictures taken after what he considers "significant" victories.

"A lot of fans and friends came up to me [and] hugged me after the game," Swanson said. "It was almost like I was doing them a favor. And it was a great feeling for me to help them out after all that history they had been through."

Swanson's biggest test will come Saturday in Austin against Texas. Few observers give them much hope of even being competitive against the Longhorns.

The game against Texas will be a rematch after the Longhorns' close escape last season in a 27-23 victory in Lawrence. The Jayhawks appeared to have pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when wide receiver Charles Gordon caught a pass for a first down that would have allowed them to run out the clock.

But Gordon was flagged for an offensive pass interference call on the play and Kansas was forced to punt. Texas then drove down the field for the game-winning touchdown. In his postgame press conference, Mangino accused referee Freeman Johns of making the call so the Longhorns could continue their drive toward a berth in a BCS game.

The Kansas coach said the call was influenced by "dollar signs" before apologizing later that night. He was fined and reprimanded by the Big 12 the following week. After the game, Mangino said: "Normally, I give credit to our opponents. But I'm not going to do that today because our kids outplayed them and should have won the game, deserved to win, and it just didn't work out."

Mangino said last year's game didn't have any extra motivation for his team this season.

"No, this is just another game," he said. "Any games that we won or lost last year are history. Our only focus is on the game at hand. We're not going to worry about all the side issues. We just have to be ready to play."

But several Jayhawks said their close loss last season has given them confidence they can compete with the Longhorns.

"It shows that we can play with them," Reid said. "I've thought about this game a thousand times since last year. It stings to think about it right now, but luckily we have a chance to go down there and do something about it."

Mangino's comments from last year apparently caught the attention of Texas coaches, who distributed a set of newspaper clippings, which highlighted those quotes, to Longhorn players.

Texas quarterback Vince Young told several reporters he is "ticked off" at Mangino and will use that anger to prepare him for Saturday's game.

"The [thing] to me is how they disrespected us last year, saying they outcoached us and outplayed us," Young said. "It's still fresh in my mind now. I'm going to make sure that I tell the guys this whole week what they said. It kind of upset me. I know it upset our guys and upset our coaches."

But other Texas players said they won't be as angry as Young.

"They obviously showed disrespect. But I'm not the type of person to get angry at a coach," defensive tackle Rod Wright told reporters. "Mangino's not going to line up and play."

Mangino's new quarterback will, however. And for that, the Jayhawks couldn't be happier.

"Jason playing was definitely uplifting for everybody," Kansas linebacker Banks Floodman recently told the Wichita Eagle. "He brings us a little swagger, and that's catching for all of us. Having him out there has only been a positive."

Tim Griffin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.