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Jayhawks silencing critics with 7-0 start

Next test for Kansas is A&M on Saturday

By PAT GRAHAM
Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. - Kansas coach Mark Mangino hears the same question over and over: Are his Jayhawks for real?

"I'm not going to say if we're for real or not," said Mangino, whose team moved up to No. 12 Sunday in the latest AP poll and ninth in the BCS standings. "You watch the games, you see if we're for real."

The Jayhawks looked for real in a 19-14 win over Colorado on Saturday, their first win in Boulder since 1995.

Kansas (7-0, 3-0 Big 12) has now won seven straight to start the season for only the third time since the team went 10-0 in 1899. The team also started 7-0 in 1968 and 1995.

"The mental toughness of this team is unbelievable," quarterback-wide receiver Kerry Meier said. "We answered a lot of questions [Saturday]."

And proved skeptics wrong. The Jayhawks have been hearing how they were simply a byproduct of a weak nonconference schedule.

Now, they're convincing a nation they need to be taken seriously.

"We aren't surprised by the 7-0 start. We have been working hard since January," linebacker James Holt said. "We knew we had the speed and talent to have a big season. The sky's the limit for us right now."

The Kansas defense showed it can be counted on to step up and win a big game. Kansas forced three turnovers and stopped Colorado on downs twice in the fourth quarter on a day when the Jayhawks' high-powered offense was kept pretty much in check.

After the Jayhawks offense went three-and-out late in the fourth quarter, the defense did its job, securing the win by stopping the Buffaloes on downs. Colorado lost three yards on the final drive before turning it over.

The Jayhawks have now won back-to-back road games in the same season for the first time since 1995. It was a big hurdle in the Jayhawks' attempt to gain credibility. They beat Kansas State on the road two weeks ago.

"All the talk - we can't win on the road - that's got to be over now," quarterback Todd Reesing said. "We've won on the road twice, in two tough places to play."