Kansas has 11 wins. Kansas is ranked #2 in the BCS. Kansas will, at worst, play in the Cotton Bowl.
No matter what happens from here on out, even if we lose to MIsery by a hundred thousand billion points, this season is a success.
I pegged this season as a Show-Me season for Mark Mangino, a season that would define just how far he can take teams. We had the non-conference schedule to win 4 games pretty easily, at least as long as we could beat Central Michigan to start out the year, and we had home games against Baylor and Iowa State. That is 6 wins that he should be able to get pretty easily, meaning a 6-6 record would be pretty bad. I would be disappointed and, more importantly, Lew Perkins was on record saying he would be disappointed. 7-5 wouldn't have done a whole lot for me either, and I set the bar at 8 wins. If we got less than 8 wins, we might want to start looking for a replacement. If we win exactly 8, the jury is still out. If we we win more than 8 games, the season would be a success. No matter the circumstances, no matter the margin of defeat in losses, we win 9+ games this season is an unqualified success.
Just because we continued to win, and other continued to lose, prompting a rise in the polls doesn't mean expectations were raised. 9+ wins means this is a successful season, and even if those 11 wins don't get us a Big 12 North Title, don't get us to a BCS Bowl, don't get us to the Big 12 Championship Game, this season is still a success. None of this stuff was expected preseason, nobody saw this coming, not even Mark Mangino. This season has been so much fun, so much joy all packed into a neat 11 game schedule (so far), and no matter how it ends this season is a success.
America knows who Todd Reesing is, and he will be one of the preseason favorites to win the Heisman next season. America knows the story of Mark Mangino, who just might be a Top 10 coach in America. America knows that Kansas isn't just a basketball school now, we are also a football school, a school that has incredible teams in the two biggest college sports. America knows who Kansas is, they know we can score, and they will remember. This season wasn't supposed to be the one where we actually won the Big 12 North, it was the goal (as always) and more realistic than most years, but this was supposed to be the stepping stone to 2008 (which is why we gave up the home game this season to play in Arrowhead, Lew was looking at gaining a neutral location for next year's game, where we figure to be even better). But whatever happens tonight, enjoy it. If we lose, be pissed off. I know I will. But don't let it ruin the season, this was the best season in the history of Kansas football, one game won't ruin that.
With all that said, I'm certainly not conceding defeat. I'm just laying the woodwork for the bandwagon Kansas fans that have come out all season long, the ones that will jump off if we lose just as quickly as they jumped on.
True fans know what is in store for the future of this franchise, we are a program on the rise and one Armageddon at Arrowhead won't change that.
The game is big, huge, ginormous, the biggest game in both programs history. But it won't make the entire season a failure if we lose.
ROCK CHALK!