photo by: Nick Krug

West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen and Kansas interim head coach Clint Bowen meet at midfield to shake hands following the Jayhawks' 33-14 loss to the Mountaineers on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Clint Bowen’s second weekly press conference as the Kansas University football program’s interim head coach didn’t provide anything ground-breaking on what’s next for the Jayhawks (2-3 overall, 0-2 Big 12).

Bowen didn’t announce who will start at quarterback or divulge any other immediate changes. The depth chart, in fact, looked exactly the same as it did a week ago. But he gave some insight on the vibe within the football facilities those days, and shared a little bit about some of his philosophies on playing time.

Here are the highlights from Bowen’s Tuesday afternoon media session:

• The players did a great job in the first week of the transition from Charlie Weis to Bowen. KU played a “very good” West Virginia team on the road and he thought the players performed for four quarters, which was a goal.

• Oklahoma State has some youth but is playing at a very high level, having only lost to Florida State.

• KU held WVU to a field goal on four first-half drives. On each of those, the defense gave up one big play, then settled back down.

• Kansas held the WVU offense in check in the second half. (The Mountaineers’ only TD came on a kickoff return.) Players showed they would compete for four quarters. There are no moral victories, but that was positive.

• There is no negativity or animosity between the relatively successful defense and the at times inept offense.

• KU will make a decision on one of its three quarterbacks this week: sophomore Montell Cozart, junior Michael Cummings and sophomore T.J. Millweard all will get a chance to prove themselves at practices. They’re all in this to win, too. KU has backups at other positions who get pulled, but that doesn’t get written about. The players understand they are all working together.

• The offensive coaches are looking for anything they can do in the system, with their personnel to make sure they can sustain drives and move the ball down the field.

• Bowen talked with the offensive coaches and coordinator John Reagan without getting in their face or in their business about it, following another slow day for the KU offense. There are some things Bowen thinks could help the offense out.

• One offensive solution for Kansas would be making sure senior receiver Tony Pierson gets his touches. There will be an effort to make that happen. A lot of time at WR, him getting the ball is dependent on other people.

• Junior receiver Nigel King had his number called at the right times on Saturday. Bowen didn’t see any extra focus on Pierson from WVU leading to King’s productivity.

• As a defensive coach, you have to stop/take away the run first. That makes life difficult offensively if you can’t throw the ball and loosen up the defense. That has been one of KU’s major issues. KU’s offense has to find a way to make defenses honest.

• This is college football. It’s fair to your team to have the mentality that if one guy is playing better, he will play Saturday. Competition is never-ending. It doesn’t stop.

• Junior RB De’Andre Mann was injured at WVU. But he will be fine, and is expected to play.

• Everyone thinks it is simple to run down and cover a kickoff, but that is a decision-making process on the fly. KU has to get better in that aspect of the game in order to not give opponents an edge.

• Being a true freshman corner, like Matthew Boateng, is like carrying a big, red flag around with you. Offenses will pick on him, but he will develop. Boateng has a bright future.

• On the unexpected in his first week: Game day was a little more exciting and his heart was pumping, but he has been in the business long enough to feel very comfortable.

• On KU’s running backs: Corey Avery, a true freshman, is holding up well. Mann checked out pretty well after getting hurt. They have freshman Joe Dineen, too, and there are things they can do to take the burden off of the “two starters.” Pierson lining up in the backfield is always an option.

• Avery is handling things well. He has some “God-given ability” and has some size and natural instincts to run the ball.

• Millweard has been at No. 3 on KU’s QB chart for a reason. Cummings and Cozart better fit what the offense wanted to do from a game plan standpoint each of the previous weeks of the season, and that is why Millweard has been No. 3 on the depth chart to this point.

• Senior corners JaCorey Shepherd and Dexter McDonald came through against some pretty good wide-outs at WVU. They didn’t need help in coverage. They handled their business and that was a big part of why KU was successful in the second half.

— Hear the complete Q&A: Bowen: Competition will determine who plays for KU