Don’t sound the alarm. Don’t jump off the bandwagon. Kansas’ loss against South Florida might help the Jayhawks more than a win ever could.

The Jayhawks’ loss to the Bulls on Friday night momentarily took the life out of a busy Friday night in Lawrence. It stung and it hurt fans, but after a brief pause, life continued as usual. Kansas’ 2008 season will continue as well.

In sports, there is no such thing as a good loss or an ugly win. A loss is always bad, and a win is always good. It doesn’t matter how it’s done, as long as you have more points than your opponent when the clock hits zero.

Kansas couldn’t quite get the job done against the Bulls. However, if such a thing as a good loss did exist, the 37-34 loss on Friday would be one.

The team has moved on so to speak. It’s time to prepare for Sam Houston State and former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar. However, you can bet that they are still thinking about Friday night. They are thinking about what went wrong, what almost was and what can no longer be. Perfection is out the window, but every other possibility remains.

But how does a tough loss help? Wouldn’t it be better to have a close win and be 3-0? With a very difficult schedule coming up, a loss does something a win could not. It teaches.

The most important lessons are the toughest to learn. Kansas learned the hard way what has to be done to be among the college football elite.

Last year’s team learned the same lesson. Last year against Missouri, the team didn’t show up early on and as a result they fell behind 21-0. The lead could not be overcome and the Jayhawks fell for the first and only time in 2007.

The team learned from its mistakes. When they took the field against Virginia Tech in January for the Orange Bowl, it was the aggressor. The Jayhawks were no longer stuck in the headlights like they were at Arrowhead Stadium in November.

The things that went wrong against Missouri — only 42 yards rushing, two turnovers given up, zero turnovers forced and a serious lack of pressure on Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel — were fixed against Virginia Tech.

Kansas forced three turnovers, only gave up one, rushed for 95 yards, sacked the Hokies five times on the night and took home a bowl of oranges.

So what did Kansas learn about this year’s team on Friday night?

It learned it must develop a killer instinct. Things never got going in the third quarter. It looked as though Kansas assumed South Florida wouldn’t adjust at the half and fight back. They didn’t anticipate the crowd reawakening in Tampa or losing control of the momentum. They were wrong and now they know.

I wouldn’t expect to see it happen again. Todd Reesing and Company won’t let it. The proud Kansas defense that returned nine starters from one year ago won’t let it.

Kansas now knows that without a run game, no lead is safe. Kansas rushed for a miserable 61 yards on the ground, averaging 2.9 yards-per-carry. The defense became exhausted after quick three-and-out offensive possessions in the third quarter. Kansas needs to be able to wear down a defense on the ground. Look for an increased emphasis on that against Sam Houston State and Iowa State. Maybe junior running back Angus Quigley will finally see some first-half action.

Kansas must create a pass rush. Bulls quarterback Matt Grothe had twice as much time than Todd Reesing did to throw. Grothe, a running quarterback, rarely had to use his legs as he comfortably surveyed the field from a safety bubble created by his offensive line. Look for Kansas to experiment with new blitzes and defensive packages. In a conference such as the Big 12 where quarterbacks will rip your secondary apart without thinking twice about it, you need a solid pass rush.

Finally, Kansas learned that sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way. Sometimes receiver Daymond Patterson will act like a freshman and not like a veteran star, as he did the first two weeks. Sometimes he will accidentally perfectly defend a would-be-touchdown pass from Reesing to Jonathan Wilson. Sometimes interceptions will slip through the Kansas defender’s hands and sometimes the questionable challenges will fall the other way.

You have to shake it off and keep going. It’s the way life and football go.

— Edited by Andy Greenhaw

— — Edited by Andy Greenhaw