The guys with Kansas on their chests defeated the team with red jerseys by 35 points.

Wouldn’t you love to read that identical sentence in Sunday’s paper?

It’s a great deal tougher to hammer a traditional football powerhouse by 35 points than it is a Division II basketball team, but at least the football team will have the backing of a loud, capacity crowd Saturday when a struggling Nebraska team visits Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning.

The basketball players will be among the masses.

“Homecoming, it’ll be exciting,” senior point guard Russell Robinson said of the 11 a.m. kickoff. “I’ll be there cheering them on. I’ve been to every home game except the blowout game. I drove around and I couldn’t find parking.”

Robinson couldn’t remember which blowout that was, just as several weeks from now many won’t remember that it was Pittsburg State that Kansas beat, 94-59, Thursday night in Allen Fieldhouse.

It doesn’t matter. The nonconference season served its purpose for the football team, just as the exhibition opener did for the basketball team. In it, the Jayhawks showed why KU is the only school with both its football and basketball programs ranked in the nation’s top 10.

“I love it,” Robinson said of the football team. “I think they’re doing a great job. They’re staying humble, is the biggest thing I’ve noticed. They’re not getting full of themselves, but at the same time are playing with a lot of confidence.”

The most common favorite football player mentioned by the basketball players was junior left tackle Anthony Collins.

“I’m real cool with him,” Robinson said. “I like what he does. The offensive line, they’ve got a tough job. They’ve got to protect the quarterback. Aqib (Talib) is pretty good, obviously, and I like (Todd) Reesing. He’s done a great job of coming in and leading the team.”

Robinson said he and Collins played against each other in an AAU basketball tournament.

“My team beat his team by about 30 points,” Robinson said. “Blew ’em out. I didn’t remember it, then he started talking about it and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, now I remember.’ We’ve played at the Rec a lot. He can jump for a big guy. He can dunk, which is pretty good for a guy his size.”

Robinson said fear of injury kept him from playing football. His speed, agility and confident playing style suggest he would have been a good cornerback.

Sherron Collins, a superstar receiver and defensive back for Crane Tech in Chicago, was asked if a KU player’s style reminded him of himself as a football player.

“A little bit,” he said. “I’ve got to go with Aqib. I played both sides of the ball like he does. He’s a great player.”

The Rod Stewart without the mullet called Anthony Collins, “One of my closest friends. I know all the football players. I always go to the games. Everyone on the team is a fan of the football team. I’m supporting them all the way. I hope they go all the way. I think they could. The way they’re playing, I can’t really see too many teams beating them.”

It was Collins who before the season started predicted “10 or 11 wins” and was the first to say he couldn’t see too many teams being able to beat the Jayhawks. So far, so perfect, Anthony.