Award watch

Todd Reesing can add another feather to his hat: The sophomore quarterback earned mention as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award on Monday. Fifteen players were chosen as semifinalists for the award, given after the season to the nation’s best quarterback based on criteria such as academics, character, skills and accomplishment. Reesing, in his first season as a starter, is 150-of-253 for 1,985 yards and 19 touchdowns and has not thrown an interception in his last three games. Fans can vote to help determine the winner at www.daveyobrien.com. The winner will be named Dec. 6.

No road problems

Kansas coach Mark Mangino attributed his team’s recent success on the road to a raised confidence level. The players grew comfortable in their roles during the non-conference season and built on strong performances against Kansas State and Colorado early in Big 12 Conference play. “When we played well out on the road in our first game in Manhattan, our kids really understood that they had a chance to be a good football team,” Mangino said. “They knew that they were a confident team and a good team and could perhaps win a bunch of games.”

How to handle success

Despite the Jayhawks’ confidence, Mangino credited his team’s ability to put success to the side and handle a new opponent each week. As one of only five undefeated teams remaining in the nation, Kansas is certainly bowl-bound and could be headed for a BCS berth. The importance of staying grounded and focusing on the task at hand is something coaches have stressed, Mangino said. “They’ve really been a smart bunch of kids to work with,” Mangino said, “and I think they understand that if they take the task at hand and just stay focused on that, the other things tend to take care of themselves.”

Keller out for season

The Kansas coaches and players will have plenty of things to prepare for before Nebraska visits Memorial Stadium on Saturday, but quarterback Sam Keller isn’t one of them. Keller is sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury he suffered last weekend against Texas. Joe Ganz will take over as the signal-caller, but Kansas has not seen much of the inexperienced junior. “We don’t know a whole lot about him because he hasn’t played too much,” Mangino said. “I don’t know how different they’ll be, but I’m sure they’ll run schemes that feature his strengths.” Ganz, a junior, has completed nine of 16 passes for 139 yards in his career.

Nationally televised

Another victory means another national television appearance for the Jayhawks. The team’s Nov. 10 game at Oklahoma State will start at 7 p.m. and appear on ABC, Sunflower Broadband channel nine. This weekend’s game against Nebraska will be shown on Fox Sports Net, Sunflower Broadband channel 36, at 11:30 a.m.