Frequent flyers

The Jayhawks will learn their bowl fate at 7 p.m. Sunday, but standout cornerback Aqib Talib won’t be around for the announcement.

Talib is flying to Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday as part of festivities for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to college football’s top defensive player.

The 6-foot-2 junior is one of five finalists for the award. The winner will be honored at a banquet Monday.

Just as soon as Talib returns to Lawrence, KU offensive lineman Anthony Collins will leave for Orlando, Fla., next week for the Outland Trophy presentation. Collins is one of three finalists for that award, which will be passed out Dec. 6.

No top four

Kansas would get an automatic BCS berth if it finishes in the top four of the BCS standings. Currently, the Jayhawks are No. 5.

But the Jayhawks’ being idle this week won’t help them in that regard. No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Georgia are idle, too, and BCS analyst Jerry Palm doesn’t see Kansas sneaking into automatic top-four territory.

In fact, Palm predicts that Kansas will drop in the BCS standings, perhaps behind Virginia Tech, LSU and maybe even Oklahoma.

“I don’t think four is a realistic scenario,” Palm said. “But it doesn’t mean they can’t get into the BCS.”

Don’t even think about it

The inability to move up all but eliminates Kansas from taking the back door into the BCS National Championship Game if both Missouri and West Virginia lose.

“They’re one of the few teams where I can’t come up with a scenario that gets them into the title game,” Palm said of Kansas. “If you look at the top nine, I’ve got scenarios for seven of them. But Kansas isn’t one.”

CFL boys

Two recent KU grads just finished up their rookie seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Former KU defensive end Charlton Keith signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats midway through the 2007 campaign and compiled 24 tackles and four sacks. The Tiger-Cats finished 3-15.

Former Jayhawks running back Jon Cornish played primarily on special teams for the Calgary Stampeders, who finished 7-10-1. He had two carries for 30 yards as a running back.