Ever since the remarkable 2007 Orange Bowl season the KU defense has been questioned. It was the easy scapegoat for the 8-5 campaing last year, and again this season after the Jayhawks gave up 70 points in the first two Big XII contests.

The 'Hawks defense has yielded 26.3 points per contest since defeating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. That number isn't terrible until you hold it up under the microscope and do some comparing. If you throw out non-conference games through that stretch, the KU defense is allowing another 10 points per game. Also, during its Orange Bowl run the Jayhawks only gave up a stingy 16.1 points per game.

Those stats are stark evidence that defense wins championships. An offense can only hold up for so long, and when quarterback Todd Reesing doesn't play particulary well (or makes a number of mistakes like in the Colorado game) the 'Hawks will get beat by inferoir teams.

With that being said, the loss to Colorado could actually benefit them. Look for running back Jake Sharp to have his best game of the season, and the 'Hawks win a shootout: 38-35.