Some bookies are calling Nebraska a three-touchdown favorite over Kansas in football Saturday. The KU team has differing intentions, hoping to triumph at Lincoln for the first time since 1968.

But win or lose, Kansas cannot come home with a single key player crippled, particularly a quarterback. The Jayhawks face a horrendous challenge considering resurging NU is so eager to atone for that gigantic upset last fall. Neither senior Adam Barmann nor freshman Kerry Meier can get dinged up if Kansas is to win at least four of its remaining games. This is assuming Meier is able to play and coach Mark Mangino does not have to turn to yearling Todd Reesing for backup or, worse, fill-in for both Barmann and Meier.

The worst fear for a coach when he has to insert a No. 2 man such as Barmann against South Florida is that the new guy will LOSE the game because of jitters, uncertainty, rustiness. If a guy like Barmann can not only avoid such frailties but actually factor in WINNING the game, what a bonus!

Barmann was bonus personified with his clutch performance. What Mangino will decide if both Meier and Barmann are hale and hearty only Mark knows. But on the basis of his solid, gutty performance against USF, seems to me it’s Barmann’s job to lose right now.

Most persistent among the comments about the Kansas offense is that many would like to see junior fullback Brandon McAnderson and freshman waterbug Jake Sharp used in more combinations. Sure, McAnderson is vital for blocking but he’s no slouch as a rusher. Why not throw him into the mix with the quarterback, Jon Cornish and Sharp and create more running and receiving threats? The receiving corps has been adequate but needs to step up several notches.

Another pitfall KU must avoid is again helping some nobody on the Nebraska bench become a dazzler. Year after year that’s happened to the Jayhawks. With the weapons already at its disposal, NU doesn’t need any help unveiling a new one.

It’s notable, of course, that Nebraska will register its 278th consecutive sellout. That string started in 1962 and the record is now 245-33, which is not an encouraging figure for Kansas. When that NU skein started in 1962, the first year for coach Bob Devaney, a “sellout” was about 35,000. Steadily Memorial Stadium underwent expansion, pushing into the fifty-thousands by the mid-1960s.

When Kansas dumped the Huskers up there in 1968, 68,176 watched. Sellout crowds were still in the upper 60s when NU won national titles in 1970 and 1971 because that’s all the barn could hold. Stadium expansion for 1973 boosted the capacity to 73,650, lots of near 78,000-type throngs showed up all the time; this Saturday Kansas will have to cope with an 85,000-level audience screaming for blood the color of their traditional game day attire.

But win or lose, the Jayhawks must return in good physical health. KU is not blessed with the depth that allows teams like Southern Cal to keep rolling. Got a bad feeling about this trip north.

l Wish coaches, including those at KU, had English teachers monitor the interviews by their players to correct their “we have ran” and “they have ate” and “we was robbed” blivvies. Isn’t learning decent language part of the educational guidance that jocks are supposed to get?