Kansas University’s defense has struggled in two games against multi-talented quarterbacks.

The Jayhawks (1-2) will face their most versatile opponent to date when Josh Harris leads Bowling Green (2-0) against KU in a 6 p.m. game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

“For a guy who people said couldn’t throw the ball,” Falcons coach Urban Meyer said, “Josh Harris has provided everything we could ask for at the quarterback position.”

And then some.

In the season-opener at Iowa State, KU was able to limit quarterback Seneca Wallace to 22 yards rushing and kept him out of the end zone. But Wallace passed for 234 yards in a 45-3 victory in Ames, Iowa.

A week later, Jason Thomas led Nevada-Las Vegas to a 31-20 victory in Las Vegas by passing for 144 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for 74 yards and two TDs.

KU, coming off a 44-24 home victory against Division I-AA Southwest Missouri State, now faces the challenge of stopping a triple threat.

In victories against Tennessee Tech and Missouri, Harris rushed 28 times for 85 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also thrown for 438 yards and two touchdowns and ranks third in the nation in scoring with 15 points per game.

Harris, the son of former NFL tight end M.L. Harris, added a 34-yard touchdown reception against Missouri in a 51-28 victory.

“He can throw the ball really well,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “They like to run him, and I’m not just talking about scrambling around. I mean designed run plays. He carries the ball, and he looks like a tailback carrying it. He doesn’t make many bad decisions. He plays with a lot of confidence. He understands the system very well and he knows what plays to get them into.”

Harris, who played at the same high school as former KU quarterback Chip Hilleary (Westerville, Ohio, North), moved into the starting lineup with three games left in the 2001 season. The Falcons have scored 208 points in the five games the 6-foot-3, 225-pound junior has started. Bowling Green has scored 40 or more points in four of those games, including 92 points in two games this season.

Harris, however, is just one of many weapons the Jayhawks will be tracking.

Senior Robert Redd ranks seventh in the nation in receiving yards per game (137) and leads Bowling Green with 15 catches for 274 yards and three TDs.

Sophomore James Hawkins is coming off a 112-yard game against Mizzou, and senior tailback Joe Alls had 119 yards rushing against the Tigers.

And, junior kicker Shaun Suisham has made all five of his field-goal attempts.

Bowling Green’s offense has been most potent in the first half, scoring on 14 of 15 possessions.

Last week, KU knocked SMS quarterback Ryan Porter out of the game. If anything should happen to Harris on Saturday, senior captain Andy Sahm is a former starter who has passed for 3,961 yards and 27 TDs in his career.

Kansas can’t overlook Bowling Green’s defense, either. The Falcons rank fifth in the nation against the run with an average of 46.5 yards allowed.

“Our defense has been great at making plays in key situations,” Meyer said. “Our coaches came up with a great game plan to hold down Missouri’s running game.”

The Falcons, in fact, limited MU to 55 yards rushing on 30 attempts.

It’s the first road game of the season for Bowling Green, which defeated Missouri last year in Columbia, Mo.

“It’s a great opportunity,” KU linebacker and co-captain Greg Cole said. “Anytime somebody beats your archrival you want to beat them, so we’re going to get after them.”

Players of week: Mangino announced last week’s players of the week after Wednesday’s practice. Freshman Clark Green was offensive player of the week after rushing for 131 yards and two touchdowns in KU’s victory against Southwest Missouri State. He also led KU with four receptions for 54 yards.

Senior linebacker Greg Cole was defensive player of the week. He made seven tackles, including a sack, against SMS. Freshman Greg Heaggans was the top special teams player after setting a school record with 195 yards on four kick returns.

Freshman offensive lineman Skye Peterson and sophomore linebacker Greg Tyree were the scout team players of the week.