I'll admit it. I thought Turner Gill was losing his 2-6 Kansas Jayhawks football team. KU football had lost four consecutive games -- three of those blowouts -- and there seemed to be nothing good coming from Lawrence. It seemed that every story written or quote from Gill was about the lack of depth, the quarterback problems, or something else that was disrupting their season.
I figured Kansas was going in the tank and the blowouts would continue as they tried to forget a miserable season. I was correct about that when Kansas played the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday.
Well, at least for the first three quarters.
Those Jayhawks were getting dominated 45-17 against early in the fourth quarter on Saturday against Colorado. It was yet another blowout but particularly embarrassing because Colorado, like KU, was winless in the Big 12 to this point.
Fortunately for KU, there's also the fourth quarter Jayhawks. These Jayhawks put up 35 unanswered points and beat Colorado, 52-45.
At the beginning of that fourth quarter, Kansas had every reason to lose. Heck, they basically had already lost. But that comeback shows a lot about this team. It may not be time to give up on the Jayhawks after all. Sure, the 2010 season isn't looking good but this year, Turner Gill's first, is more about establishing a foundation. And delivering big when your back is up against the wall is a big part of that foundation.
Kansas may not win another game for the rest of the year but there will be hope heading into 2011. I've been as hard on Turner Gill as anyone but I'm starting to see some positive signs. I took note when Angus Quigley defended Gill last week saying some things were out of his control and at some point it comes down to the players making a play. That leaders on the team are defending him told me something about the way the Jayhawks players view him. And this fourth quarter comeback confirmed that Gill is doing something right with KU.
It may not translate to many more wins. That's still to be determined. But Kansas will always have a shot if they continue to show life at times like they did on Saturday against Colorado.