2007 Kansas Jayhawks football team The 2007 Kansas Jayhawks football team ( variously " Kansas " , " KU " , or the " Jayhawks " ) represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision intercollegiate football season of 2007 – 2008 . Looking to improve on the previous season ' s 6 – 6 overall record ( 3 – 5 in the Big 12 Conference ) , the team finished the 2007 season with a 12 – 1 overall record ( 7 – 1 in their conference ) and one of the best seasons in the school ' s 118 years of intercollegiate football . The twelve victories set a new record , and the defeat of the Virginia Tech Hokies in the FedEx Orange Bowl was the school ' s first Orange Bowl victory . Their only loss was versus a North Division rival , the Missouri Tigers , in their final regular season game which denied them sole possession of the division title and a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game . For their achievements the team was awarded the Stanley Tools Breakthrough of the Year Award . Mark Mangino , in his sixth season as the team ' s head coach , received several coaching awards . The team ' s new offensive coordinator was Ed Warinner ( 3rd year overall ) , and their defensive coordinators were Bill Young ( 6th year ) and Clint Bowen ( 7th year ) . The team captains were senior running back Brandon McAnderson , senior tight end Derek Fine , senior defensive lineman James McClinton , and junior cornerback Aqib Talib . The starting quarterback position was held by sophomore Todd Reesing with sophomore Kerry Meier as a backup and wide receiver . They played their home games on Kivisto Field at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence , Kansas . Coaching staff . The team was led by Mark Mangino in his sixth season as head coach . The team ' s twelve wins raised his overall coaching record to 37 – 36 ( . 507 ) and gave him his second bowl game win . At the end of the season Mangino was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the Big 12 coaches and Big 12 Co - Coach of the Year by the Associated Press . Other awards received include The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award , Walter Camp Coach of the Year , Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year , Paul " Bear " Bryant Award , and the Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year . With the departure of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Nick Quartaro at the end of the prior season , Ed Warinner returned from a two - season stint as University of Illinois ' s run - game coordinator and offensive line coach . He brought in a new , more aggressive , faster - paced , no - huddle offense . This was Warinner ' s third season with the Jayhawks since he had previously coached the offensive line and served as run - game coordinator in 2003 – 2004 . Bill Young ( 6th year ) and Clint Bowen ( 7th year ) were defensive coordinators . Tim Beck ( 3rd year ) was the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator . Schedule . ! colspan = 8 | Regular season ! colspan = 8 | Postseason Game notes . Central Michigan . For their season - opening game on September 1 , the Jayhawks hosted the defending Mid - American Conference champion Central Michigan Chippewas in the teams ' first meeting . Central Michigan was led by Butch Jones in his first year as a head coach . Entering the game the Jayhawks had a 5 – 5 record against opponents from the MAC with the most recent result being the double - overtime loss to the Toledo Rockets in the third week of the 2006 season . The Jayhawks dominated the Chippewas in a 52 – 7 win to extend their streak of season - opening victories to four . Southeastern Louisiana . On September 8 , the Jayhawks hosted the from the Southland Conference . With the Lions led by first - year head coach Mike Lucas , it was the teams ' first meeting and only the second for the Jayhawks versus a Southland opponent ; the first was a win at home versus the to begin the previous season . The Jayhawks also recorded their first shutout since 2000 . Toledo . On September 15 , the Jayhawks hosted the Toledo Rockets for their third game in four seasons and fourth overall . Led by head coach Tom Amstutz in his seventh season , the Mid - American Conference team had defeated the Jayhawks the previous year in Toledo in a double - overtime loss . This 45 – 13 win gave the Jayhawks a 3 – 1 record versus the Rockets and a 7 – 5 record versus opponents from the MAC . Florida International . For their fourth and final non - conference game on September 22 , the Jayhawks hosted the FIU Golden Panthers of the Sun Belt Conference in the teams ' first meeting . FIU was led by first - year head coach Mario Cristobal . Kansas State . Todd Reesing led the Jayhawks to victory in Manhattan for the first time in eighteen years . Aqib Talib sealed the game by picking off Josh Freeman ' s pass with less than two minutes left in the game . The Jayhawks got their first touchdown on Kansas State ' s home field since 1999 when Jake Sharp , apparently stopped for a short gain , burst out of a gang of tacklers and sped 20 yards to make it 7 – 7 with 9 : 11 left in the first half . Sharp had picked up 14 yards the previous play . The victory was KU ' s third in the last four Governor ' s Cup games against KSU , and increased their all - time lead in the Sunflower Showdown to 64 – 36 – 5 . Baylor . Lightning delayed the start of the game 2 hours . Reesing passed for 186 yards as the Jayhawks were 6 – 0 for the first time since 1995 . Texas A & M . This was the Jayhawks ' 9th meeting with the Texas A & M Aggies . A & M entered the game leading the series 7 – 1 , and had only lost the first meeting in Lawrence in 1974 . Kansas was the only Big 12 team that A & M was undefeated against , ever since the Big 12 formed in 1996 . Kansas was the first top 10 team , excluding Oklahoma and Texas , to play at Kyle Field since 2002 . A & M had compiled a 6 – 3 record for games played against top 10 teams ( other than OU and Texas ) at Kyle Field . In their previous meeting in 2006 , A & M outscored Kansas 21 – 18 . One day prior to the game , Las Vegas casino s favored Kansas to win by three points . Kansas entered the game with a 16th - ranked rushing offense , 25th - ranked passing offense , and a 3rd - ranked scoring offense . Kansas ' rushing defense ranked 4th , pass defense ranked 10th , and overall defense ranked 5th . Kansas also had ranked 9th in the weekly BCS standings . A & M came into the game with a 5th - ranked rushing offense , and a 111th ranked passing offense . The pass defense ranked 100th , scoring defense ranked 42nd , and overall defense ranked 73rd . In the game , KU running back Brandon McAnderson rushed for a career - high of 183 yards , and quarterback Todd Reesing completed 21 of 33 passes for 180 yards . Through the first three quarters , the Jayhawks shutout the Aggies ' 5th - ranked rushing offense and held them to only 56 yards . A & M running back Jorvorskie Lane had only rushed for 24 yards the entire game . KU gained a 13 – 0 lead in the third quarter , after kicker Scott Webb kicked two field goals and Reesing led his team to a 54 - yard touchdown drive on 6 plays . In the fourth quarter , Reesing led his team to a 43 - yard touchdown drive on 4 plays . For the first time since 1909 , the Jayhawks improved to a 8 – 0 season record . This was also the first time that KU won in Texas since 2001 ( not including bowl games ) . Nebraska . The Nebraska - Kansas series is the longest uninterrupted series in college football at 102 years . < ref name = " ESPN N / K recap " > < / ref > In the 2007 meeting , Kansas beat Nebraska 76 – 39 . The Jayhawks set an all - time record for most touchdowns and most points scored by a Nebraska opponent . Their 48 points in the first half was the most ever scored against Nebraska in the first half ; and it came one point short of tying the record for most points scored on Nebraska in a half . With the win , Kansas took their record to 9 – 0 for the first time since 1908 . < ref name = " Fox Sports N / K " > < / ref > Fox Sports reported , " It was only the second victory for Kansas in the last 39 games against Nebraska , which appears to be coming to pieces in the fourth season of embattled coach Bill Callahan . " Oklahoma State . The Kansas Jayhawks game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys attracted a great deal of attention . This was due to the match up between both potent offenses . The crucial match up was that between cornerback Aqib Talib and star Cowboy wideout Adarius Bowman . In the 2006 matchup between the two , Bowman had 13 catches for 300 yards . However Bowman left the game with an injury after the first half . In the first half , he was held to 22 yards on 4 cathces with no touchdowns . The game was broadcast to 63 percent of the nation on ABC as the top primetime college football game of the week . The Jayhawks went to 10 – 0 for the first time since 1899 . Iowa State . The victory over Iowa State brought KU ' s record to 11 – 0 , the first time in school history that the football team won 11 games in a season . As a result , the Jayhawks were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week . Missouri . On November 24 the Jayhawks met the Missouri Tigers at Arrowhead Stadium , in Kansas City , Missouri , in the final regular season game of the year . Known as the Border Showdown , this year ' s annual contest was the most significant in recent years as the winner would claim the Big 12 North Division title , advance to the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game in San Antonio , Texas , and likely claim the top spot in the BCS rankings and national polls with a win . The game received considerable media attention , and the ESPN College Gameday crew were at the game . It drew 80 , 537 , the second - highest attendance in the 35 - year history of Arrowhead Stadium . The Jayhawks entered the contest with an eleven - game winning streak since losing the final game of the 2006 season against their cross - border rivals in Columbia , Missouri , by a score of 42 – 17 . But they would leave with their second straight loss versus the Tigers and a 6 – 6 series record since the formation of the Big 12 Conference . Rankings . According to the Big 12 Media Preseason Poll , the Jayhawks were projected to finish fourth in the Big 12 North Division . Following their victory over Iowa State , the Jayhawks reached their highest ranking in school history when they were ranked second in the nation in all four major polls ( Bowl Championship Series , Associated Press , USA Today and Harris Interactive ) . Previously , the 1968 team was ranked third by the Associated Press for three weeks . Entering November , the University of Kansas was the only school with its football team and men ' s basketball team both ranked in the top ten .