Jayhawks look to avenge last season's loss to Baylor

 

Top 25 Overview

LAWRENCE, KS - 12:37 PM ET Kansas plays its first game as a ranked team in 11 years at home against Baylor. The Jayhawks beat rival Kansas State last Saturday for its first road win over a ranked team since 1995. The Bears have dropped two in a row -- both in conference play.

Complete Top 25 Overview

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
BAY	3-4	153	227	2-1	1-3	0-1	0-3
KU	6-0	302	57	5-0	1-0	1-0	2-0
· Complete Standings

Record When Scoring... (Since 2001)
	20 OR MORE	30 OR MORE	40 OR MORE	50 OR MORE
BAY	21-16-0	15-2-0	7-0-0	2-0-0
KU	31-18-0	24-9-0	14-1-0	4-0-0
	LESS THAN 20	LESS THAN 30	LESS THAN 40	LESS THAN 50
BAY	3-35-0	9-49-0	17-51-0	22-51-0
KU	2-25-0	9-34-0	19-42-0	29-43-0

TEAM AVERAGES & NCAA RANKS
OFFENSE	TM	PER GAME AVERAGE / NCAA RANK
Total Yards	BAY	351.3 / 87th
	KU	491.1 / 6th
Passing Yards	BAY	288.5 / 28th
	KU	306.8 / 16th
Rushing Yards	BAY	77.9 / 114th
	KU	196.6 / 28th
Points Scored	BAY	18.2 / 106th
	KU	44.3 / 3rd
Full Team Stats: Baylor | Kansas

Individual Leaders

Baylor Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Floren... 62.0 1786 6 9 Griffi... 65.2 481 4 0

Kansas Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Reesin... 62.6 3118 18 9 Meier 66.7 70 0 0

Baylor Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Finley 61 315 5.2 1 Salubi 47 292 6.2 2

Kansas Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Opurum 133 554 4.2 9 Sharp 95 400 4.2 4

Baylor Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Wright 60 690 11.5 4 Gettis 49 606 12.4 3

Kansas Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Brisco... 70 1095 15.6 7 Meier 92 931 10.1 6

Full Player Stats: Baylor | Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- After waiting 11 years to climb back into the Top 25, No. 20 Kansas doesn't want its ranking to slip away after only one week.

"We just arrived there," coach Mark Mangino said with a big grin. "We just broke the Top 25."

The Jayhawks (5-0, 1-0) are also eager to show off their new and improved pass defense to the same Baylor team that torched them for 394 yards through the air a year ago.

Erasing an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 36-35 victory, the Bears shocked Kansas with the third-biggest comeback in Baylor history. The setback probably kept the Jayhawks from going to a second consecutive bowl game and no doubt went a long way toward making Kansas' pass defense the worst in the nation.

So far this year, the Jayhawks, one of 11 unbeaten teams in major college football, have one of the country's best pass defenses, allowing 160 yards a game.

In a 30-24 victory at Kansas State last week, the Jayhawks made two key second-half interceptions.

"Obviously, all the guys that played in that game last year want to avenge that (loss) and have a better showing this year," quarterback Todd Reesing said. "We are not going to talk about revenge. We are just going to talk about how it is the next game."

The Bears (3-3, 0-2 Big 12) are coming off a 43-23 loss at home to Colorado. Both teams love throwing the ball, and Saturday's game will showcase two sophomore quarterbacks who've been busy erasing school records.

Reesing has thrown for 1,670 yards and twice set the Kansas record for most yards passing in a game by a sophomore. Baylor's Blake Szymanski established his school's record for touchdown passes by a sophomore in the season's third game.

With 15 touchdown passes, Szymanski needs five to pass Shawn Bell's single-season team record. He's on pace for 304 completions, 3,630 yards passing and 30 touchdown passes, which would all shatter team records.

Reesing has 17 touchdown passes, a sophomore record for the Jayhawks. If he gets a touchdown pass against the Bears, he'll tie the school record for consecutive games throwing a TD.

One of Szymanski's favorite targets is running back Brandon Whitaker, who had 11 catches for 166 yards against Colorado and has 86 career catches for 584 yards.

"They throw the ball a lot," Mangino said. "It will be a good test for our defense and our pass defense, but I'm really feeling good about that group and how they're reacting."

The defensive strategy should be obvious, said Kansas tackle James McClinton.

"Sack, sack, sack, sack city," said McClinton, who has bitter memories of his trip last year to Waco. "I know my defensive ends are going to like it. Russell Brorsen and John Larsen are going to love it."

For the Bears, it will be the second consecutive week they've faced a team coming off a big win over a ranked opponent. Colorado had just knocked off then-No. 3 Oklahoma before traveling to Waco.

"I think this is a stiff test for our pass defense," Mangino said. "This team throws the ball very well, they mix up the run, they have a lot of guys catching the ball and they distribute the ball very well. They put stress on your defense in a lot of areas. I think this will be a good challenge for our defense."