After two long – and sometimes frustrating – weeks of tinkering, Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino thinks he finally has found the perfect look for his defensive secondary.

Mangino said Sunday that, after various shake-ups, he expects to use a starting secondary that will feature Darrell Stuckey and Phillip Strozier at the safety spots, Justin Thornton and Daymond Patterson at cornerback and Chris Harris as the nickel back.

“We’re pretty set,” said Mangino, whose team improved to 6-3 (3-2 in the Big 12) with Saturday’s victory over Kansas State. “We feel good about that group. In fact, I feel a lot more comfortable about that arrangement than I have about our secondary all season.”

It was easy to feel that way in the wake of Saturday’s performance. In rebounding from back-to-back trouncings by Oklahoma and Texas Tech, the Kansas defense allowed just 355 yards of total offense – their second-smallest total against a Big 12 opponent this year – and held Kansas State to 21 points, seven of which came on a garbage-time touchdown with less than a minute remaining in the game.

It was hard to find an aspect of the defense that was sub-par. The pass rush was as good as it has been all season, recording three sacks and forcing Wildcats quarterback Josh Freeman into three interceptions. Linebacker James Holt, meanwhile, had one of his best games as a Jayhawk, finishing with three tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Perhaps the biggest difference, however, was that the ever-changing parts of the secondary, many of whom are playing positions they never before have at the college level, seem finally to have become accustomed to their new roles.

“Last week I only got to practice corner for three days before I played in a game against the No. 1 offense in the country (Texas Tech),” said Thornton, who started the Jayhawks’ first seven games of the season at safety. “So this week was a little better, a little easier. I recognized some things a little quicker and (was able to) to break on some balls.”

“This week was a lot more comfortable,” added Stuckey, one of the only members of the starting unit that hasn’t changed positions this year. “It was their second game out there, and they did a good job. I think they’re a lot more comfortable and a lot more confident in themselves and the people around them.”

Before we anoint the Jayhawks’ defense cured of its defensive ills, however, it’s worth noting that the Jayhawks’ most recent success came against a 4-5 (1-4 in the Big 12) Kansas State team that will be hard-pressed to work its way into bowl-eligibility this season.

Still, no one was complaining Saturday, as the Jayhawks were quite content to enjoy their first defensive conquest in weeks.

“You never like to say this, but maybe we needed last week,” said Mangino of the team’s 63-21 lashing at the hands of the then-No. 8 Red Raiders. “I think it opened our eyes to areas that we need to be better. … I don’t care for those kind of lessons. I’d prefer not to have those. But this football team, you have to give them credit, they took a negative and turned it into a positive. “

Notes:

Kansas not satisfied with bowl eligibility: There was a time, not so long ago, when the prospect of gaining bowl-eligibility would have been quite enough for Kansas’ football team.

But when you’ve reached the top of the mountain – when you’ve gone 12-1, earned a BCS invitation and returned home with a bowl full of oranges – your goals tend to change.

“We’ve got to keep going,” said Stuckey after Kansas became bowl-eligibile for the fourth straight season Saturday. “We can’t be satisfied where we are now. We can’t be content.”

The Jayhawks are currently in a tie for first place in the Big 12 North with Missouri. With games against both schools remaining on the schedule – along with a home contest against No. 5 Texas – Kansas is in position to make a run for its first berth in the Big 12 championship game in school history.