Kansas University’s football team is off to its first 2-0 start since 1997 following a 21-3 victory over Tulsa and a 63-14 thrashing of Toledo.

“We just want to let people know you can’t take us lightly,” sophomore receiver/cornerback Charles Gordon said.

Apparently, oddsmakers didn’t get the message. Northwestern (0-2) is a three-point favorite against the Jayhawks for Saturday’s game at Evanston, Ill.

For the third straight week, the Jayhawks will face a quarterback being touted for postseason honors.

KU sacked Tulsa’s James Kilian seven times in the season opener and limited the second-team All-WAC quarterback to 91 yards passing and intercepted him twice.

The Jayhawks came up with two more interceptions against Toledo’s Bruce Gradkowski on Saturday. The junior ranked second in the nation last year when he completed 71.2 percent of his passes, but he was 15-of-28 against KU. Gradkowski finished with 215 yards and two touchdowns, but he lost two fumbles in addition to his interceptions.

“Our defense continues to play very aggressively,” KU coach Mark Mangino said Monday during the Big 12 Conference coaches’ teleconference. “We did a great job against a highly touted quarterback, putting pressure on him. Our pass defense was very good.”

The Jayhawks have outscored the opposition 84-17 and rank 10th in the nation in scoring defense (8.5 points per game) and 11th in the nation in total defense (219.5 yards per game).

KU’s revamped defense will be tested in its first road game by a Northwestern offense that ranks second in the nation in passing (370.5 yards per game). Quarterback Brett Basanez has passed for 741 yards and four touchdowns.

“Northwestern has lost two games to two very good football games, TCU and Arizona State,” Mangino said. “They have an excellent quarterback who throws the ball very well. … They’re a very good 0-2 football team. We have to be well prepared going into Evanston, and we will.”

6Sports video: Jayhawks trounce Toledo

Northwestern lost its season opener, 48-45, in overtime at Texas Christian and suffered a 30-21 loss to Arizona State on Saturday at home. The Wildcats will play host to KU at 1 p.m. Saturday at Ryan Field.

• More stats: KU’s offense ranks 12th in the nation with an average of 42 points per game. … KU ranks seventh in turnover margin at plus-2.5 and seventh in net punting with an average of 43.27.
• Noting Northwestern: Basanez was the Big Ten player of the week after he set a school record with 513 passing yards in the TCU game. .. The Wildcats missed five of six field goals in that overtime loss. … Northwestern doesn’t start fall classes until Monday.
• Last year’s debacle: Northwestern defeated Kansas, 28-20, in a downpour in the 2003 season opener at Memorial Stadium. KU punted on its first two possessions, then turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions. KU finished with five turnovers and also missed an extra-point attempt and a 20-yard field goal.
• Recruits injured: Newton High offensive lineman Adam Welty, who gave Kansas an oral commitment in June, returned to action for the Railroaders’ victory over Goddard on Friday after sitting out Newton’s season-opening loss to Hutchinson because of a minor back injury.

“I’m doing much better now,” Welty said Monday. “It had hurt for quite a while, but after visiting a chiropractor and visiting with our trainer, I recovered pretty quickly.”

Another KU recruit, Ottawa lineman Caleb Blakesley, was scheduled to have an MRI on his injured right knee Monday and should find out the extent of the damage later this week.