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Bill Whittemore’s second start as Kansas University’s quarterback wasn’t as good as his first.

Then again, the Fort Scott Community College transfer played well enough Saturday night against Southwest Missouri State for the Jayhawks to earn their first victory of the season.

“Bill took good command of the offense,” coach Mark Mangino said after KU’s 44-24 victory at Memorial Stadium, “but he made some poor decisions he’d like to have back.”

Whittemore completed 22-of-42 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions on Sept. 7 at Nevada-Las Vegas. He also ran for a TD in KU’s 31-20 loss.

Saturday night against SMS, Whittemore completed 10-of-18 passes for 112 yards with two interceptions. Both picks led to SMS touchdowns.

“I take full blame for those,” he said. “It kept Southwest Missouri State in the game longer than they needed to be. The offense kept its head up, though. We tried to stay positive.”

The Jayhawks had reason for optimism. After Greg Heaggans’ 100-yard kickoff return on the first play of the game, Kansas never trailed.

KU (1-2) had its best offensive game to date with 314 total yards, including 168 rushing. The Jayhawks had gained a meager 138 yards rushing in the first two games combined.

The fact that Kansas posted those numbers against Division I-AA Southwest Missouri State didn’t diminish the Jayhawks’ enjoyment of their first victory.

“Confidence is the main thing we wanted to get out of it,” said Whittemore, who also rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns. “We’re learning as we go. The offensive line did a heck of a job tonight. You couldn’t ask anything more from them. That goes to show we have come a long way. The first game of the season we didn’t do much on offense.”

Whittemore came off the bench in the season opener and replaced fellow junior Zach Dyer in a 45-3 loss.

“Like any young guy that’s new to a system Â he’s in his second start Â he made some mistakes,” Mangino said, “but he did an awful lot of good things.”

Mangino also praised the Nashville, Tenn., product for improving on making good checks at the line of scrimmage.

Case in point: with the game tied late in the first half, Whittemore found running back Clark Green all alone on the left side of the field for a 26-yard gain.

Green was his third option on the play.

“I found him,” Whittemore said, “and I was amazed at how wide open he was.”

Whittemore and Green hooked up again two plays later for a 22-yard gain. The quarterback later capped the 10-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that gave Kansas a 21-14 halftime lead.

As for Green, a red-shirt freshman from Tampa, Fla., had his best game yet as a Jayhawk. He led KU with 131 yards rushing and four catches for 54 yards.

“That takes a lot of pressure off,” Whittemore said of Green’s exploits. “There’s nothing better as a quarterback than to hand the ball off, carry out your fake, turn around and see him still going. It was good.”

Heaggans honored: Heaggans was named Big 12 Conference player of the week for special teams. The red-shirt freshman set a KU record with 195 yards on four kickoff returns. In addition to his TD, Heaggans had a 52-yard return that helped set up another score.

“He personifies what we’re trying to do at Kansas,” Mangino said Monday during the league’s teleconference. “All he does is work hard. He never complains. He’s one of the first guys on the practice field and one of the last to leave. That’s the kind of attitude we need to be a quality football team.”

Texas running back Cedric Benson was named offensive player of the week, and Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman was defensive player of the week.

Party animal: So what did Mangino do to celebrate his first victory as a college head coach?

“I didn’t do anything,” he said with a chuckle. “I just went home and spent time with my family and went to bed.”

Did you know: KU athletic director Al Bohl is a 1970 graduate of Bowling Green. Bohl served as athletic director at another Mid-American Conference school, Toledo, from 1987 to 1996

Up Next: KU plays host to Bowling Green (2-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Falcons, who are coming off a 51-28 victory against Missouri, are 101/2-point favorites.