Bill WhittemoreâÂÂs knee injury appears to be of the season-ending variety.

âÂÂItâÂÂs unlikely that heâÂÂll play Saturday,â Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino said of his junior quarterback after WednesdayâÂÂs practice at Memorial Stadium. âÂÂBarring some kind of miracle between now and Saturday, weâÂÂll start the game with Zach Dyer.âÂÂ

Whittemore damaged the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Oct. 26 during the third quarter of KUâÂÂs 36-12 loss to Missouri at Columbia, Mo.

Mangino had hoped Whittemore would be able to return this season, but the junior has not played in the last two games and apparently will watch SaturdayâÂÂs season finale against Oklahoma State from the sideline.

âÂÂIf we were competing for a championship or something like that, weâÂÂd probably give it a shot,â Mangino said. âÂÂBut itâÂÂs still a little loose and thereâÂÂs still too much soreness for him to do it.âÂÂ

Kansas (2-9, 0-7 Big 12 Conference) wonâÂÂt be playing for a championship. In the nine quarters Whittemore has been sidelined, the Jayhawks have scored just seven points.

Those points were scored on Jonas WeatherbieâÂÂs 50-yard touchdown pass to receiver Byron Gasaway last Saturday against Nebraska. KUâÂÂs longest completion of the season gave the Jayhawks a glimmer of hope, but Weatherbie tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee later in the first quarter.

That left KU with two inexperienced quarterbacks. Brian Luke missed eight weeks after breaking the thumb on his passing hand in the preseason, and Mangino has said the red-shirt freshman should be used only âÂÂif pressed into duty.âÂÂ

Joe Hogan, a true freshman from Sallisaw, Okla., is taking a red-shirt season.

âÂÂBeing the last game, I know Coach doesnâÂÂt want to use a red-shirt,â Dyer said. âÂÂIâÂÂve been there and I know the offense. ItâÂÂs a real unfortunate situation that we had two quarterbacks go down. ItâÂÂs a position that in the spring we had considerable depth, and right now it seems that we only have one guy. If thatâÂÂs the case, IâÂÂm willing to help out.âÂÂ

Dyer will help out by moving from safety to quarterback, which is where he started the season before losing his job to Whittemore.

Dyer, who switched to safety five games ago, split MondayâÂÂs practice between offense and defense while coaches and trainers evaluated WhittemoreâÂÂs progress. Dyer focused on quarterback Tuesday and Wednesday.

âÂÂHeâÂÂs throwing the ball very well – surprisingly well considering heâÂÂs been using that shoulder the last three or four weeks to tackle,â Mangino said of Dyer, who ranks sixth among KUâÂÂs tackling leaders.

Dyer will lead the Jayhawks against an OSU team (4-5, 2-3) looking for its first road victory.

âÂÂItâÂÂs definitely a winnable game for us,â said Dyer, who started four games at quarterback during his sophomore season. âÂÂWe want to go out on a good note after a difficult season.âÂÂ