Kansas receiver Johnathan Wilson (81) is taken down by Kansas State linebacker Jarell Childs in KU’s loss Thursday at Memorial Stadium. The Jayhawks have had trouble finding the end zone lately.

After watching its offense score just three touchdowns in the last nine quarters, Kansas University football team’s coaching staff is searching for ways to cross the goal line more easily.

This week, that search starts and ends in practice, where a new wrinkle has been installed that the Jayhawks are hoping will lead to more points on gameday.

“Take it to the end zone,” senior Angus Quigley said. “Whoever it is, wherever we’re at, if you have the ball on the fourth play (of a drill in practice), you’re going to the end zone. We’re trying to get a finish and a score mentality on this team, and I think it’s going to be good for us.”

We’re not just talking a token gesture here, either.

Whether it’s a toss sweep from the other 20-yard line or a quarterback scramble from inside the five, when a player has the ball in his hands on every fourth play of practice, he’s expected to sprint to the end zone without looking back.

“It’s a mental thing,” offensive coordinator Chuck Long said. “Getting across the goal line is just as important as catching the football or whatever the case may be.”

KU’s struggle to score points this season has been masked somewhat by the offense’s ability to move the ball and sustain drives in most contests. The KU offense has run 73 drives during its first six games, and only 11 of those ended with the Jayhawks punting after failing to pick up a first down. That means KU has picked up at least one first down — often times more — on 85 percent of its drives this season. The reason that success rate has not led to more touchdowns stems from the fact that the Jayhawks have done a poor job of taking care of the football and have struggled to finish those drives.

“We’ve been pretty good from the 30-yard line to the 30-yard line, offensively,” KU coach Turner Gill said. “But in putting points on the board, we have not been effective.

Gill continued: “We’ve converted some third downs, but we’ve had too many third downs to be converting. So that means we haven’t done very well on first down.”

The reason for that, at least through Quigley’s eyes, speaks to the mental approach of the team.

“We just have to start faster,” Quigley said. “Right now, guys are kinda going out thinking and letting it come to them instead of going out and attacking. We have to get in that attack mentality. We have shown that, but it has to be consistent. No one needs to yell at you or scream, you should know as a players, ‘Hey, I jumped offsides. That’s on me.’ So players need to become more accountable, and once we all do that and everybody gets on that page, I think we can be pretty good. We’ve gotta stop digging ourselves holes and killing ourselves.”

Added KU quarterback, Jordan Webb, who, on Tuesday, admitted there have been times this season when he tried too hard to make a play: “We want to get off to a fast start. Everybody does. But if we don’t, we’re gonna keep grinding, keep sawin’ wood, and we’re gonna find our way into the end zone.”

Asked if the things plaguing the KU offense were fixable, Webb said: “It really is. We watch the film, and it’s just a couple things that I miss or someone else is missing. Once we fix those, we’re gonna be all right.”

Quigley back on top

This week’s depth chart revealed that senior running back Angus Quigley, the team’s starter in Week 1, was back in the top spot heading into Saturday’s game against Texas A&M.

Quigley, who finished the K-State game with 70 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, earned the job back as much for his production as for his ability to hang on to the football.

“It’s a little bit of who we’re playing and a little bit of what he did and that he deserved an opportunity to play,” Gill said. “(Leading rusher) James Sims still is gonna come in, he’s gonna get his reps, so it’s really more of a starting thing than to say Quigley’s gonna get more reps than Sims or Sims is gonna get more reps than Quigley. They’re both gonna play.”

Quigley, who just recently returned to 100 percent after nursing a leg injury, said he was up for whatever his coaches had in mind.

“As a captain, I’m expected to lead this team, so whatever role there is for me I’m going to step up and take that role on and give everything I’ve got in that role,” he said. “If they want me to carry the ball, I’m gonna do that. If they want me to block, I’m gonna do that. Whatever it takes.

}I’m at the point right now of whatever it takes to help this team get where it needs to be.”

Injury report

A couple of Jayhawks are listed as questionable heading into this weekend’s homecoming showdown with A&M.

Senior safety Phillip Strozier, who missed the Kansas State game, and wide receiver Christian Matthews both are likely to be gametime decisions for this week. In addition, Gill said senior offensive lineman Sal Capra, who missed the final quarter and a half of the KSU game, was probable and that senior cornerback Chris Harris was medically cleared to play after getting “dinged” in the first quarter against K-State.

The only other notable injury news was that freshman safety Keeston Terry, who has been out because of a leg injury since the second half of the loss to Southern Miss, would continue to be evaluated this week and may play.

Two Jayhawks recognized

Return man D.J. Beshears and wide receiver Daymond Patterson both found their names on college football analyst Phil Steele’s midseason all-conference teams, which were released Tuesday.

Beshears, a sophomore from Denton, Texas, ranks second in the Big 12, and 13th in the nation, with a 29.9-yard kickoff-return average. He has five returns of at least 30 yards this season, including a 96-yard touchdown return against New Mexico State.

Patterson, a junior from Mesquite, Texas, is averaging six receptions and 50 yards per contest, numbers that rank ninth and 11th, respectively, in the Big 12. Patterson’s receptions-per-game average is tied for 38th in the nation, and he leads the Jayhawks with three plays of 20 or more yards this season.