Grading the Jayhawks: vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Nothing substantial, the game is in the past and will be looked upon as an aberration on both sides of the ball in a month. Still, grades are needed to crudely evaluate the players, so here we go.

Quarterback -- A++
I. Love. Todd. Reesing. More on his impact on this team later in the week, including his masterful, helmet-sticker-worthy performance on Saturday. 30-41 for 356 yards and 6 TDs? Record broken throughout, including the most points in the history of Kansas football? An A++ if I've ever seen one.

Runningback -- A+
Not as special as Reesing, mostly because of the soft spot I have in my heart for Sparky, but still quite a day. Brandon McAnderson's story is quite an underdog one in his own right, one of many strewn across this entire team.

Wide Receivers -- A+
Didn't drop any passes, as far as I remember, and got open consistently. Of course, I could get open against the Huskers secondary right now, so that isn't saying much. Dez Briscoe had himself quite a day, a national coming-out party if you will, further proving himself to be the most talented WR on this team.

Offensive Line -- A+
Largely flawless performance by the O-Line, Reese had all day to throw more often than not. Plus, the usual car-wide holes were there for BMac and Jake Sharp. Again, more on the offensive line's impact on this season later on this week...

Defensive Line -- B-
We didn't get much pressure at all all day long. We did a pretty good job on the limited runs they ran, but our biggest weakness on defense is getting pressure on the QB, and that was highlighted Saturday. I love Russell Brorsen and John Larson as much as the next guy, two great stories, but the fact is that they need to create more pressure. James McClinton had an off-day, at least for him, but I like to think he is saving up for this week's big matchup in Stillwater.

Linebackers -- C+
I know that James Holt was blocked in the back on the 62 yard swing pass to Marlon Lucky for the Huskers'  second TD, but it is still inexcusable for him to get that open. Mike Rivera is still missing tackles, and even Holt and JoMo missed a couple Saturday. I am 92.4% sure that it was an aberration, everything except for runners slipping through Rivera's failed attempt of arm-tackling, so I'm no too worried. But still...

Secondary -- D-
I don't give a crap that they got 4 picks. I don't care that Joe Ganz was making career start #1. Fact is, the entire unit played horrendously in the first half, and despite improving their play following halftime adjustments I had to blame the 39 points on someone. And Ganz did throw for more than 400 yards. This still only semi-worries me, despite the impending threat of the wide-open Pokes offensive attack, led by Aqib Talib-burner Adarius Bowman. Yes, I am trying to motivate Aqib. You hear that Talib? You got burned by Maurice Purify, how are you gonna fare against ABow?

That's all I got. Great day by the offense, not quite the same thing for the defense. The offense isn't really that good, the defense isn't nearly that bad.

Actually, I think Saturday's game was more of a disappointment than any other this season. I love scoring, sure, but no way we can outshoot Mizzou or Oregon. Our defense needs to show up and play from here on out, and I think they will.

ROCK CHALK!