photo by: Carter Gaskins

Kansas running back Dom Williams (25) makes a cut with linebacker John Lillig (51) tries to cover him during practice on Saturday, August 4, 2018.

As far as bye weeks go, the Kansas football team’s became far more eventful than most when head coach David Beaty fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Doug Meacham during the Jayhawks’ break from their 12-game schedule.

But according to the players who went through it, the midseason interruption also served its intended purpose.

Redshirt senior linebacker Joe Dineen said the Jayhawks (2-4 overall, 0-3 Big 12) made the most of a dialed-down week of practices and a free Saturday.

“We stayed in shape. We had some workouts where we just ran, just like striders and stuff like that,” Dineen described of how this past week differed from a typical week of game preparation. “But the practices were really beneficial, because we just focused on fundamentals and getting back to perfecting our craft. But they weren’t long practices. They got us in and out. Focused a lot on Texas Tech, so we got a jumpstart on them without having to use up all of our legs and energy that usually comes with a full week of practice.”

Senior quarterback Peyton Bender described KU’s off-week practices as “very efficient” sessions.

“Weren’t out there for too long. Just kind of went back to the basics, fundamentals of what we’ve been taught since spring and fall camp,” Bender said. “And just some of the guys that were kind of banged up were able to get some extra time to rest and recover and get healthy going into this week.”

Veteran Jayhawks such as redshirt senior defensive tackle Daniel Wise insisted the hiatus from typical in-season repetitions wasn’t accompanied by anything special.

“More like we just got rest, took advantage of the bye week. Just refreshed, hit the reset button,” Wise said ahead of KU’s trip to Texas Tech (4-2, 2-1). “Now we’re back to football for six more weeks.”

According to fourth-year KU coach Beaty the practices since the Jayhawks’ third consecutive loss, Oct. 6 at West Virginia, have gone well, especially those this past week, which he labeled as productive and deliberate.

“I thought our guys handled it really, really well. We focused on recovery of their bodies and making sure everybody is good for the home stretch. Remarkably in pretty good shape after coming off six games without a bye, so that’s a little longer that we have had in the past, which I was pleased to see that,” Beaty said, adding strength and conditioning coach Zac Woodfin and head football athletic trainer Owen Stanley deserved credit for taking care of the players on that front.

Beaty said this season’s KU roster is more “mature” than those he’s coached in past seasons because it has more upperclassmen and that leads to a more professional approach to taking care of their bodies.

The presence of so many veterans — 11 different players have started 15 or more games at KU — also helped the team get off to a solid start in its preparation for this Saturday’s game against the Red Raiders (2:30 p.m. kickoff, FOX Sports 1).

“(Monday’s) practice coming in after a couple days off, lots of times that is not the greatest, but there was definitely a hop in their step,” Beaty reported, “which I was glad to see. I thought they really did a good job getting back. I think they’re excited getting back on that Big 12 playing field, getting ready to go again.”

KU hasn’t won a Big 12 game since Beaty’s second season, when the Jayhawks knocked off Texas in overtime, in November of 2016. They, of course, will see nothing but conference competition from here on out, with this week’s trip to Lubbock, Texas, followed by back-to-back home games against TCU and Iowa State, then back-to-back road games at Kansas State and Oklahoma, with the season concluding on Black Friday, at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, where the Jayhawks will take on Texas.

Dineen hopes the idle week ahead of that stretch will pay off.

“It’s kind of something to look forward to once you start playing, and actually this year it fell at a perfect time for us,” Dineen said. “In years previous it’s been like after the first three games and stuff like that, so it’s been tough. This year it fell at a great time and I think a lot of us are fully healthy and ready to attack these last six.”