Mark your calendars for Dec. 31. On this date, the Jayhawks will complete their nine-win season with a victory against Illinois in the Insight Bowl. Illinois fans will have more to gripe about with Kansas athletics than Bill Self leaving the Fighting Illini to coach Kansas basketball in 2003. Mark Mangino will be labeled a genius and Kansas football will have posted their best season in more than 10 years. All of this may sound crazy, but there is reason to believe in this year’s football team.

You may ask ‘how can Kansas improve its record after losing the Big 12 Conference’s leading rusher and school record-setting running back, Jon Cornish?’ The popular belief amongst pundits is that Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas State will improve off of winning seasons, leaving no room for Kansas in the Big 12 North.

Cornish will not be in the backfield this season, but that’s OK. Look for Jake Sharp and Brandon McAnderson to carry the ball a lot this season. Sharp, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry last season, will add speed, while the 235-pound McAnderson will be effective running up the middle.

At the quarterback position, the decision of whether to start Kerry Meier or Todd Reesing is still up in the air, but the position will be improved. Ed Warriner has returned to Kansas as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and he will provide more consistency at the position by calling the audibles himself.

On defense, the Jayhawks have eight returning starters, including Aqib Talib, arguably the best cornerback in college football. Last season, opponents racked up a whopping 269 passing yards per game against the Jayhawk defense. With the return of Talib, opponents will rarely test him, so the Jayhawks will need the other cornerback, Kendrick Harper, to step up if they want the defense to improve.

At home, the Jayhawks have compiled a record of 19-5 during the past four seasons, and there is no reason this success will not continue. In non-conference play, Kansas is hosting games against reigning Mid-American champions Central Michigan, as well as Southeast Louisiana, Toledo and Florida International. Since 1991, Kansas is 14-2 in their home openers and will hit the ground running by defeating Central Michigan. Victories against Southeast Louisiana and Florida International will come easily, and the Kansas will seek revenge against Toledo after a heartbreaking road loss last year.

The Jayhawks will avoid frequent Bowl Championship Series contenders Oklahoma and Texas in Big 12 play. At home, Kansas will face some of the conference’s weaker teams in Baylor and Iowa State, as well as a homecoming game against Nebraska.

This year, Kansas will make up for its fourth quarter meltdown against Baylor on the road last season and likely repeat its blowout victory against Iowa State. During the past three seasons, the Jayhawks have put up an impressive fight against the Cornhuskers, including a shellacking of the ‘Huskers two years ago in Lawrence. The Jayhawks lost 14-8 to the ‘Huskers in 2004, and 39-32 in overtime last season in Lincoln, Neb. Kansas will come up with a victory at home once again, but likely in a game that is much closer than the match-up in 2005.

On the road, Kansas will have to face its demons. It has suffered a 3-16 road record over the past four years. This season it will face Kansas State, Colorado, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State on the road. If the Jayhawks can manage a victory in just one of these road games, they could potentially go into their final regular season game against the Tigers at 8-3. Missouri is the hype of the Big 12 North this season, and it would be nice if Kansas’ defense could tame quarterback Chase Daniel enough to pull away with an upset victory and possibly win the Big 12 North.

Since the Big 12’s inception in 1996, Kansas has not posted a record better than 3-5 in conference play. If Mangino and his team can build off of their success of the past few seasons, then we may see the Jayhawks battle the Fighting Illini on New Year’s Eve in Tempe, Ariz.

— Edited by Joe Caponio