As Jason Swanson walked down Mass. Street a few hours after Kansas defeated Nebraska 40-15 Saturday, he didn’t feel like a big man on campus.

The senior quarterback was dressed in the suit football players wear before every game and should have been easily spotted by the multitude of fans downtown celebrating the Jayhawks’ first victory against Nebraska since 1968.

But the only people congratulating him were his girlfriend and her mom.

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The lack of attention didn’t surprise or bother him. He’s too modest to expect superstar treatment, even after ending a 36-game losing streak to Nebraska this year and an 11-game losing streak to Kansas State last season.

“Not a lot of people know who I am without having a jersey on,” Swanson said. “People don’t talk to me very often on campus. I just feel like a normal student.”

People might not roll out the red carpet for him now. But in coming years, he could be one of the most fondly remembered quarterbacks in Kansas’ history.

Despite playing in only a handful of games, the victories he earned and the streaks he ended will forever be part of Jayhawk lore. No matter what he does the rest of his college football career, he’ll be brought up whenever Jayhawk trivia is played.

“I’ve got one of those college trivia games asking weird off-the-wall questions,” Swanson said.

“It will be kind of interesting to see it in a game one day when I’m older, playing with my kids.”

This was only a dream to Swanson 10 weeks ago. Before the season, he was recovering from a knee injury, and most experts considered him the fourth-best quarterback on the team.

Swanson said he kept his head up and hoped for the best, but he knew it would take hard work and patience to get back to 100 percent.

Just cracking the active roster looked tough.

Seeing legitimate playing time seemed far-fetched.

Leading Kansas to victory appeared impossible.

But as the season wore on, Swanson began to improve, and the quarterbacks in front of him — junior Adam Barmann and senior Brian Luke — struggled so mightily that Kansas’ offense failed to score a touchdown in consecutive games.

As the weeks passed, Swanson moved up the depth chart.

Before the K-State game, he was named offensive scout player of the week. The following week, he was promoted to backup quarterback.

Then, against Colorado, he got his chance. Luke suffered an injury during the first half, and Swanson was sent into the game.

Instantly, the offense improved.

A unit that couldn’t gain 100 yards against Oklahoma racked up more than 350 against Colorado. Running backs were suddenly breaking off long runs; wide receivers started catching fade passes; and, most importantly, the Jayhawks began scoring touchdowns.

Swanson led Kansas to 13 points in the loss to Colorado and the same total the following week in a victory against Missouri. Then, against Nebraska’s highly regarded defense, the Jayhawks exploded for 40 points, with senior wide receiver Mark Simmons, junior running back Jon Cornish and senior running back Clark Green each having 100-yard games.

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino said Swanson was learning how to read defenses and managed a game well, but that alone didn’t explain the offense’s complete turnaround.

Not even Swanson could figure it out.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I just tried to keep doing what I was doing the previous six or seven weeks. I’m not sure why we started scoring points. I guess you’d have to ask them what clicked in their heads.”

Simmons said Swanson improved the offense because even when he made mistakes he approached the next play with confidence.

Senior linebacker Kevin Kane said Swanson’s demeanor rubbed off on everyone on the field.

“He’s a savvy player,” Kane said. “He’s not afraid to take chances. The rest of the offense feeds off that attitude, and he’s just given them a spark.”

The rejuvenated offense has helped the Jayhawks get back into bowl contention. With one more victory, Kansas will qualify for its second postseason game in three years.

Swanson said he would do everything he could to snag that last victory, not because he wanted glory or to finally be noticed on campus, but just to extend the time he has remaining to play football and be around his teammates.

He said his friendship with them was what he enjoyed most since he transferred to Kansas from the City College of San Francisco after his sophomore year.

“Grinding out nine to 10 months of work can seem pointless after a while. Even make you ask ‘Why am I doing this?’” he said. “But if you have guys that are really good and positive, it gets you through those tough times. It really makes it enjoyable.”

Swanson said he was 95 percent sure his football career would be over after this semester. So, if Kansas becomes bowl eligible, that feeling will last until late December.

If not, Swanson only gets two more weeks.

Either way, he said he would leave Kansas happy that he got to experience a true college atmosphere and play in big games.

When it’s finished, he’ll turn into a normal guy with a regular job.

Until he hears his name called on a trivia card. Then, maybe he’ll feel like a big man on campus.

— Edited by Tricia Masenthin