photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas safety Lubbock Smith tries to keep up with Baylor receiver Kendall Wright during the third quarter Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010 at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

These usually hit the web site a little sooner than 3 p.m. but I have to be honest. There’s just not a lot to say about last week’s drubbing at the hands of Baylor.

Sure, I could point out all of the negatives that came out of the game. But haven’t we done enough of that already? The Jayhawks got whipped. They were whipped in every sense of the word and there’s nothing they can do about it until next Thursday, when they welcome Kansas State to town for the Sunflower Showdown.

Of course, that’s not entirely true. Even though they have a bye on Saturday, the Jayhawks will be able to practice this week and I’m sure their practices will be spirited at worst and downright nasty at best.
If anything positive came out of the 55-7 loss to Baylor, it’s that the Jayhawks left Texas embarrassed. And being in such a state typically drives people to work harder, prepare longer, dream bigger and play meaner.

All of the above are necessary for this team to turn things around.

Alarmists will say the Waxing in Waco is the beginning of the end for this team. If they can’t beat — scratch that — if they can’t compete with Baylor then how in the heck are they going to find a way to beat or compete with anyone else in the Big 12? Colorado beat Georgia. Iowa State rocked Texas Tech. And Texas Tech’s not on the schedule this year.

No need to be alarmed though. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about this Kansas team — and there may only be one thing — it’s that the Jayhawks respond favorably to losses. Lose to North Dakota State in Week 1, beat No. 15 Georgia Tech in Week 2. (Who cares if Tech may have been a tad over-rated). Lose to Southern Miss on the road in Week 3, drub New Mexico State at home in Week 4. That one was the Jayhawks’ most complete game of the season.

So, in a way, the loss at Baylor really doesn’t change much. The Bears were favored by 9 points. They were supposed to win. And the loss fits right in with the pattern of KU’s season thus far.

One problem. There were reasons to point to while explaining the loss to NDSU. The Southern Miss game had its reasons as well. There may be plenty of reasons (or are they excuses?) to explain the loss to Baylor but none of them explain why the Jayhawks were so thoroughly dominated in every aspect of the game.

The only way to answer the critics is to put this one in the past and move forward just as Turner Gill and the Jayhawks have done all season. It might be harder to do because of the magnitude of last Saturday’s beatdown, but look at it this way, if Gill and the Jayhawks do respond positively — yet again — then maybe there is hope for this season and beyond.