The Jayhawk football team is noting the changes they're experiencing ever since Gill & Co. arrived:

Huldon Tharp: Football isnt for the weak hearted. 1200+ yards of sprints, things are changin here in lawrence and were gettin after that title.

Bradley McDougald: TGIF!! By far toughest workout this morning but it was well needed! Got a lil business to take care of.....

Tyrone Sellers: is gettin' better little by little.

Daymond Patterson: about to put in this extra work.

This is just a sampling. And there are others, but I think that this shows that the team is working hard to prepare themselves to succeed next season. And it shows that the coaching staff has a priority to get everyone in shape and ready to win.

Thoughts?

If you take a look at individual leaders in the various statistical categories, you won’t find a Jayhawk in the top five. Points per game, assists, rebounds, and shooting percentage all boast the names of players outside Lawrence. Yet, in terms of team categories, Kansas ranks third in scoring offense (90.3) and fourth in 3-point percentage (44.2). It appears that the whole of this Jayhawk team is greater than the sum of its parts.

Granted, these stats are somewhat skewed. According to ESPN’s InsideRPI, Kansas has not played a team in the top 50 and has a strength of schedule that ranks 133 in the nation. That is just a little better than Missouri State and Harvard, and just a little lower than New Mexico State. It’s true, the Jayhawks have been feeding on bottom feeders for the first five games of the season. As such, the bench has been a revolving door for players who won’t see as much time come February and March. Bill Self has been using these early season games as additional tune-ups to mess with matchups and style variations. So, to see that nary a Jayhawk arrives in the top five of the individual categories is not too much of a surprise.

Still, this version of Kansas basketball is fantastically good. Their adjusted scoring margin of 26.9 places them in the same tier as Duke, Syracuse, Texas and Purdue. Nine players are averaging more than 10 minutes a game, and three of them have double-digit points-per-game averages. Xavier is shooting 53% from 3-point range and the team boasts a 1.7/1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The stats can pile up in favor of a Kansas Jayhawks team that is ready to feast on better competition. Still, on a mere aesthetic level, Bill Self has a team that appears to do everything well. It is always said that a jack of all trades is a master of none. Yet, what happens when a team appears to be a master of all? Visually, the Jayhawks have taken solid grasps of each game played thus far. Even the Memphis game, which eventually went down to the wire, still ran through the game plan that Self had intended. Xavier is living up to expectations. Sherron seems pleased to have some freedom to pass the ball to the open man. Cole is dominating the paint yet again to the tune of averaging just under a double-double in points and rebounds. Even the Morris twins have made vast improvements in the short-range game.

We will see, and begin to understand, a lot more about this Kansas team in the next month or so. Games against Michigan, Tennessee, as well as the begin of conference play, will be true litmus tests to demonstrate how much the Jayhawks can achieve. It is difficult to interpret statistics gleaned from such an easy schedule and extrapolate to determine how great this team actually can be. Still, it appears that at least for the time being, the Jayhawks are just whetting their appetites for a feast in March.

I'm not entirely sure how credible the site is... but footballcoachscoop.com is reporting that Harbaugh is the top choice and that he and Kansas are in contract negotiations.

Reportedly, the announcement will be made before Tuesday and the contract with range between $2.5 to $2.75 million a year.

http://www.footballcoachscoop.com/Scoop.html

It seemed coincidental at the time, but Harbaugh appointed his dad to the Stanford staff for the upcoming bowl game. Am I just picking straws to think that he did this for the purpose that he knew he wouldn't coach the game after signing on to become the head coach elsewhere?

As a former journalist, I know that when a story breaks... prognostication is sure to follow. This 'guessing game' is exactly that... a game. Of course, until anything is made certain through a press release or conference, we are all just trying to play a failed game of telephone.

Still, it is of note when reporters with contacts bring to the forefront two pretty important names. This article puts forth Harbaugh and Sumlin.

I won't go into details about their tenure in the NCAA D-1 football ranks... But it is interesting to note this author's benign response to the much-hyped probability that Harbaugh would bolt to Michigan as soon as possible.

Just curious what the RCT community thinks about Mr. Keegan's points. (I, in no way, am an advocate of all of Mr. Keegan's theories... just a consumer of news information and thought it was pertinent to the discussion)

I like to read around... Call me whatever you want but I like to consume information from a number of sources.

Well, in my daily travels, I came across this at foxsports.com.

Their bowl projections after week four: http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/10134182/Week-4-bowl-projections-

Notice that we are picked to play in the Insight Bowl. Apparently they liked us so much last year, we got an invitation to come back. Pardon my disrespect if I say, "Had a great time, but I've got a better date..."

The Insight Bowl, if you remember, pits the Big 12 # 6 against the Big 10 # 6.

That means the 'insightful' individuals at foxsports.com think there are six  teams in the Big 12 better than KU (this assumes Oklahoma and Texas both make BCS bowls). According to these bowl picks, they are, in order of rank:

1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Nebraska
4. Missouri
5. Oklahoma State
6. Texas Tech

Please comment below and tell me I'm not alone in my utter confusion.

The NY Times had an article about the detail of the wildcat formation. It includes a video with the OC from Arkansas David Lee.

Quite fascinating, but perhaps the most interesting detail is in the amount of opportunities it opens up from the single formation. Counters, end-arounds, power runs up the middle, play action passes. Essentially, it's a whole other position the DC of the opposing team needs to account for in preparation.

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/dolphins-and-wildcat-offense-heres-how-they-did-it/

Take a look and let us all know what you think.

Kansas stud cornerback Aqib Talib is projected as a late first round/early second round prospect. Being a Jayhawks fan and watching nearly every game this year and the years past, I can say he is a manbeast.

I wouldn't be surprised if he landed in the Dolphins lap. In fact, I would go as far to say that he is a future pro-bowler in the NFL. He is a physical specimen and no real injury problems (which for the Dolphins is a good start).

Either way, we do need help in our seconday. I think Talib would be a solid addition there.