Rutgers heads to Kansas for winnable road game
LAWRENCE, KAN. » The last time Kansas walked off the field at Memorial Stadium, there were a few thousand fans left that couldn’t believe the Jayhawks had just lost an overtime opener to Nicholls State.
Things have certainly changed in two weeks.
The Jayhawks return home Saturday to face Rutgers after their first road victory in 46 games, and with a chance to beat backto-back Football Bowl Subdivision foes for the first time since Mark Mangino was coach. And with it comes an opportunity to show all those fans who had thrown in the towel just one game into the season that they should keep paying attention.
“It’s everything,” linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. said. “The fans deserve a better product than what we put on the field two weeks ago, and I think hopefully we can go out there and perform a lot better.”
Kansas (1-1) still has a long way to go before it can compete with the upper echelon of the Big 12, but a win over the Scarlet Knights would be a welcome step in the process.
Rutgers beat Texas State in its opener but was trounced by fourth-ranked Ohio State last week. So while the Scarlet Knights pose a considerable test, they are also precisely the kind of Power Five opponent that the Jayhawks feel confident they can beat.
“We don’t worry about last week anymore,” Jayhawks safety Mike Lee said. “We’re focused on Rutgers. We know they’re a good team. We’ve got to keep watching film and keep doing what we’re doing to compete with them Saturday.”
The Scarlet Knights likewise think the Jayhawks are the perfect get-right opponent after they were blitzed by the Buckeyes. Kansas may be coming off a rare road win, but it hasn’t won a home game against an FBS opponent since beating Texas in overtime a couple years ago.
It’s also an important game for third-year coach Chris Ash, who spent his first year struggling to set a foundation, and last year won three Big Ten games to show considerable progress.
“Kansas has some good players, and any time you go on the road against an opponent from another Power Five conference like the Big 12, anything can happen,” he said. “We have to help some of our younger players get better in a hurry as we move forward here through the rest of the season. Like I talked to the team, we won’t let one loss on the road against a top-five opponent, one of the best teams in the country, determine our future or determine our season.”