Looks like the expectation monster struck again. The size of this beast, though, rivals Jupiter.

What people have remembered about Kansas University cornerback Charles Gordon, a preseason All-American, through the first two football games isn’t rosy. Being caught three steps behind a streaking Florida Atlantic receiver. A ball just out of his reach, and caught, by an Appalachian State receiver. A pass-interference penalty where Gordon wasn’t even looking at the ball.

The other 75 or so plays he was in? Business as usual – and forgettable as a result.

“He’s graded very well,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “Charles is a solid guy. He had a chance to get a pick there (against Appy State), and normally he does. He played it well on the inside hip, but the guy threw it perfectly. Just made a great throw.

“Charles is fine. He’s doing well, and he’s a key guy for us on defense.”

Gordon’s thoughts seem to reflect Mangino’s. He blames the missed pick against Appy State on a slight timing error on his jump. As for getting burned against FAU?

“It’s going to happen,” Gordon said. “Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey : everybody’s been beat. It’s going to happen. I’m going to continue to play aggressive and take my chances at the ball when I get the opportunity.”

Seems nobody around the KU team is the least bit concerned about Gordon, a third-team All-America selection in 2004. The junior led the nation last season with seven interceptions, but Gordon had none during the nonconference slate last year – just like this season.

His first as a sophomore came in game five against Nebraska, then he picked off seven balls in the last seven games.

Gordon said teams weren’t throwing away from him. And the few times they’ve gotten the best of him, he hasn’t pouted.

“He expects to make them. To me, if you get a guy who’s not down on himself or not mad for at least a couple of seconds, you don’t want him out there anyway,” cornerbacks coach Earnest Collins said. “But the key to it all is you get down, you think about the mistake you made, and you go on to the next one.

“Coach’s motto is, ‘The next play is the most important play.’ That’s really, really what you’ve got to have, mentality-wise, as a corner.”

Gordon – who rarely played offense in the first two games – seems to have taken that attitude to heart. And, as shy as he seems, it doesn’t seem his confidence has wavered.

“It’s just little things right now that haven’t gone my way,” Gordon said. “But hopefully, it’ll all come together pretty soon.”

¢ Good situation: Freshman quarterback Kerry Meier returned to practice Monday after missing time to combat a heart ailment.

His return puts four capable quarterbacks – Brian Luke, Adam Barmann, Marcus Herford and Meier – together in what Mangino calls a “good, positive situation.”

Meier still is a candidate to take a red-shirt season, and Herford is a situational option. With Luke pegged as the starter, the million-dollar question is when – and to what degree – the slingers will be used after Luke, or if they’ll be used at all.

“We’ll have a basic plan before we go in about how we’re going to do things and who we’d like to use,” Mangino said. “But we’re going to start Brian Luke, there’s no question about that. It’s what we do from there, and how we do it and who we do it with.”

¢ Bring a buck: KU is hoping each fan attending Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech will bring a dollar to be donated to the Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. “This is an excellent way to underscore our efforts to aid the hurricane victims,” athletic director Lew Perkins said. “We know our generous fans will do what they can to help.”

¢ Players of the week: The KU coaching staff announced linebacker Nick Reid as defensive player of the week for his efforts against Appalachian State. Also, running back Jon Cornish was named offensive player of the week, and punter Kyle Tucker received special-teams honors.