Moments That Popped: Kansas 55, Middle Tennessee 0

After a pair of losses and a week off to follow them, the Kansas football team returned home on Saturday and returned to its winning ways in the process, drubbing overmatched Middle Tennessee 55-0 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The game, which moved KU to 2-2 overall in the final tune-up before 8 straight Big 12 games in the next 8 weeks, followed exactly the kind of script that the home team would've liked to see.

Score in bunches, dominate defensively and give the fans something to feel good about.

KU racked up a school-record 706 yards of offense — topping the previous mark of 651 vs. Vanderbilt in 1985 — and also recorded the first shutout since the 2008 team knocked off Louisiana Tech 29-0.

It's certainly worth noting that Middle Tennessee came into Saturday's game with two losses and had not exactly lit the world on fire in its first four games. But, still, KU needed to do exactly what it did against this team, both for the fans to see it and for the Jayhawks themselves to regain a little bit of confidence.

The Jayhawks are on the road for back to back weeks — at Utah next week and at Kansas State on Oct. 17 — before returning to The Booth for a homecoming battle with Baylor on Oct. 24.

Next week's game is set for a 9:15 p.m. (central) kickoff on ESPN.

Here's a look back and some of Saturday's action.

LIKES

• Edwards up for the task – It was asked this week whether KU running back Dylan Edwards was ready for a bigger workload with Yasin Willis likely out for the rest of the season with a foot injury. He answered it in a resounding way, rushing 20 times for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 20 carries tied a career high for Edwards, who looked good finding room to run and out-running defenders around the edge all afternoon. The KU coaching staff said earlier in the week that Edwards wants the carries and the extra work, and he showed clearly that he knew how to handle them and what to do with them, as well. He won't find it nearly as easy the rest of the season against Big 12 defenses, but it was on Saturday and he and the KU O-Line took full advantage. As a team, the Jayhawks rushed for 480 yards, which is the fifth highest single-game team rushing total in KU history.

• Defense dominates – Middle Tennessee traveled just 28 yards in 8 plays on the opening drive of the game, and, from there did not have another drive last more than 5 plays all afternoon. That's not bad luck. That's good defense. KU was good in coverage, great at pressuring the quarterback and solid against the run. The numbers certainly showed it, too, as Middle Tennesse gained just 136 yards all day — 81 through the air and 55 on the ground — and did not score. It wasn't just the points and yardage totals that made this a dominant effort. Middle Tennessee never settled into anything resembling a comfort zone because of how much the KU defense harassed them. Never was that more evident than on the takeaway Leroy Harris III, who did his best Von Miller impersonation by simply ripping the ball out of the hands of the Blue Raiders' ball carrier early in the 2nd half to force the lone turnover of the game.

• Bam's back out there – He had been working toward a return since going down in the first quarter of the season opener, and it was good to see linebacker Bam Crouch get some extended action and make the kind of impact that people expected him to make throughout the first half o f Saturday's blowout. He looked fast, explosive and physical and finished the day with 1.5 tackles for loss in limited action. After the game, Crouch said it was tough for him to wait out his return, but he said he got closer with God during that time and leaned on his family to help him believe that he would be back and he made his presence felt almost immediately, coming up with a big tackle on 3rd-and-11 on Middle Tennessee's first drive of the day to force a punt.

• A Chase Jenkins sighting – Rice transfer Chase Jenkins, who opened the season as KU's third-string quarterback behind Marshall and Cole Ballard, played the end of the third quarter and all of the fourth for the Jayhawks, showcasing his rushing and passing ability in the process. It was in garbage time and the Blue Raiders were worn down by that point. But it was still good for Jenkins to get into the game and see some live reps. It was good for KU to see what he looked like out there in case he's needed in the future. And it was a reward for Marshall to get a few series off after helping put the game away through three quarters.

DISLIKES

• More up-and-down passing – It wasn't by any means a bad day throwing the ball for KU's starter, but he did still have a few bad throws and moments, adding another layer of inconsistency to his season thus far. The KU coaches will tell you that it's all part of his growth and development and that, as long as you're seeing the good moments and he's learning from the bad ones, things are heading in the right direction. Marshall was a little erratic early in this one, but seemed to settle in the more the game went along. A big part of that was his willingness to take the check-down throws that were there when things didn't develop down the field. One pass did develop down the field, when Nahzae Cox hauled in a touchdown pass in the front corner of the end zone on one of the best-thrown balls by Marshall this season. After the win, Marshall referenced those missed throws in the first half, and, for my money, him understanding that they're there and lamenting that he didn't hit them is a good sign that he understands what he needs to do to get both better and more consistent.

• Tate Nagy & Kasen Carpenter injuries – You hate to see injuries surface for any team any time, but this KU team seems to have had its share this season already and certainly did not need any more. Yet, there they were on Saturday, playing with both punt returner and wide receiver Tate Nagy and starting center Kasen Carpenter missing most of the game because of injuries. Anderson Kopp, whose dad, Kevin, raised the flag pregame, handled a good chunk of the snaps at center after Carpenter went out, with guard Amir Herring getting plenty of work, as well. Keaton Kubecka and Bryson Hayes were back to return punts.

• Kickoff coverage – Leipold noted that the kickoff coverage on Saturday was the Jayhawks' lone blemish. And it really stemmed from one big return that, obviously, did not hurt the Jayhawks in the long run because it did not lead to points. Down the road, though, against better Big 12 teams, it certainly could, so it'll be a good thing for the staff to harp on all week as they prepare to head to Utah next weekend.

WHAT THE?

• Khi Cummings-Coleman goes wild – It was mop-up time and his carries didn't matter much to the final outcome, but man was it fun to watch former KU defensive back Khi Cummings-Coleman run the ball out of the backfield for the Jayhawks. Cummings-Coleman, who was recruited to Iowa State as an offensive player, moved over to running back to add depth to the room after Yasin Willis was injured in London. Cummings-Coleman ran like he was in a video game, juking, diving, sprinting and fighting for every yard he got. That included the final yard of a 24-yard touchdown run late in the 4th quarter that put KU up 55-0. The redshirt-sophomore from Minneapolis finished the day with 48 rushing yards and a touchdown on 4 carries to go along with 1 reception for 19 yards.

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