Kansas vows not to overlook Louisiana Tech

    Kansas heads to Tampa next week to face No. 17 South Florida in what figures to be the 14th-ranked Jayhawks’ first big test of the season.
    There is one little bit of business to take care of between now and then: Louisiana Tech.
    Normally, a game like this, against a smaller school from the Western Athletic Conference, would be nothing more than a tuneup for Kansas, a way to smooth things out before it really gets tough.
    This one’s got the Jayhawks’ attention.
    “When we scheduled this game, I knew it would not be an easy game,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. “Let’s put it this way: It will take our best effort to win the game and that’s what I expect from our players.”
    So what’s the big deal about Louisiana Tech? The Bulldogs have won eight games the last two seasons combined, finishing no higher than fifth in the WAC. Fresno State or Boise State they’re not.
    The fear of Louisiana Tech comes from its knack for knocking off bigger schools. The Bulldogs have done it to California, Oklahoma State and Michigan State, twice to Alabama and Mississippi State, including last week’s surprising 22-14 win over the Bulldogs.
    Overlook Louisiana Tech and Kansas’ national-title aspirations will crash far sooner than last year’s surprising run that didn’t end until the Big 12 Championship game.
    “They have our complete attention,” Kansas center Ryan Cantrell said.
    Louisiana Tech grinded out its win over Mississippi State, gaining confidence from three turnovers in the third quarter and then dominating the fourth, holding the Bulldogs to six total yards and no first downs.
    It was Louisiana Tech’s first win over a BCS school since beating Michigan State in 2003 and its first over a Southeastern Conference school since beating Alabama in 1999.
    Now, after running over the band to celebrate that win, the Bulldogs need to see if they can compose themselves and pull it off again.
    “We really can’t pat ourselves on the back too much because we’re going on the road against a top-10 team that finished 12-1 last year,” Tech coach Derek Dooley said. “They were a top 5 scoring team on offense and defense, so we’re not going to catch them sleeping. If we don’t come to play, we’re going to get embarrassed.”
    Kansas opened the season in predictable fashion, getting 256 yards and three touchdowns passing from quarterback Todd Reesing in a 40-10 win over Florida International. It was KU’s fifth straight season-opening win and its 15th in a row against non-conference opponents at Memorial Stadium — no surprise for a team that typically has a soft pre-conference schedule.
    Another rout, but the Jayhawks clearly have some areas to shore up.
    FIU, 1-11 a year ago, pressured Reesing several times, forcing an interception from a team that didn’t have its first turnover until the third game last season. Kansas’ top two running backs, Jake Sharp and Jocques Crawford, combined for 61 yards on 20 carries. The Jayhawks also gave up a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown.
    “As a lot of people saw, getting the first win under your belt isn’t as easy as a lot of people think it is,” Cantrell said. “There are a lot of things that we still need to work on.”
    Still, it’d be quite an upset if LaTech was able to pull it off. Kansas has confidence coming off a 12-1 season and has won its last four non-conference games by a combined score of 278-54, including a 23-21 win over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.