The smooth sailing is over for No. 21 Kansas.

One week after suffering its first defeat of 2008, Mark Francis’ team is heading into choppy waters.

Kansas will spend this weekend in the hurricane-weary sunshine state, taking on No. 18 Central Florida tonight at 6, then in a matchup with No. 15 Florida on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s going to be two tough games for us,” Francis said. “I knew that when I scheduled it.”

Kansas is prepared to put its 5-1 start to the test against two ranked foes on the road — a scenario that has frustrated Francis’ teams since he arrived in Lawrence. From the time Francis took the reins in 1999, the Jayhawks are 2-13-2 against ranked opponents away from the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

That number is even more ominous considering Kansas has been outscored 39-8 during those 17 games. But those were different teams, and Kansas isn’t letting those foreboding statistics keep them from entering the weekend expecting to walk away with positive results.

“You go into it wanting to win both games,” Francis said. “If you go outside of that, then you just kind of see what happens.”

What happens will largely be determined by whether Kansas can bounce back from last Sunday’s disappointing lost to Loyola-Chicago. Though the Jayhawks outplayed the Ramblers for long periods, two defensive lapses and inefficient play going forward cost them in a 2-1 defeat.

Against UCF and Florida, Francis’ team won’t have the wiggle room to make up for those types of mistakes. The Knights are 5-0-1 since losing to Florida State in their season open with victories against Florida and then-No. 18 Illinois.

Florida is 4-1-1, and rolling since losing to UCF. But by the time the Gators face Kansas Sunday at noon, they will be playing their third straight game against a ranked opponent. Part of that trio of games includes a clash with No. 5 Portland Friday evening on the west coast, followed by a cross-country flight to return in time for Sunday’s contest.

“They play in Portland on Friday night then travel all the way across the country Saturday,” Francis said. “They are going to be tired, too. I think it’s just going to be whoever deals with it better.”

Senior midfielder Jessica Bush said she was eager to see how Kansas will emerge from this weekend after hitting its first rough stretch last weekend. Not to mention the weather and the competition both promise to be top notch.

“We are playing in great weather, against great teams and I think this is going to be a good test for us,” Bush said.

Regardless of this weekend’s results, Kansas will emerge from its most difficult test thus far road-tested and prepared for what promises to be a challenging Big 12 slate.

Francis said he scheduled this weekend’s final nonconference tune-up with an eye toward showing his team the kind of commitment it would take to equal or to improve on last season’s third-place conference finish.

“We put that right before conference because I think it gives us a great competition in both games,” Francis said. “You don’t want to schedule two easy games going into the conference. The players are looking forward to the challenge, and I think it’s going to be a really big challenge.”

GOING FOR FOUR

Kansas and UCF have met three times in the history of the programs.

All three meetings have come in the Francis era with the Jayhawks holding a 3-0 series advantage. Two of the three previous games have been played in Lawrence.

Francis said today’s game was the return leg after UCF came to Kansas in 2006.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

The Jayhawks are 2-0 this season away from Lawrence, but this weekend will be the first time they play both games on the road. Kansas was 3-3-2 as the visiting team last season.

Francis said the heat and travel time could play a factor on Sunday, but he was confident of his team’s ability to stay focused and rested during the long weekend.

“I think they are used to having to travel and lug their gear around,” Francis said. “It kind of wears you out, but part of being an athlete at this level is you have to be able to figure that out and deal with it.”

— — Edited by Brieun Scott