Monday Morning Wheaties: Houston

After five straight losses in gut-wrenching fashion, the Kansas football team finally found its way back to the win column over the weekend, rather easily, too.

Behind a hot start by the KU offense and an historic day by cornerback Cobee Bryant, the Jayhawks rolled over Houston, 42-14, to move to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 play.

All of that and more will be pinpointed in this week’s Monday Morning Wheaties.

You’ve seen the tomahawks on the back of the Florida State helmets, the buckeye tree leaves on the Ohio State helmets and the paw prints on the back of the Clemson helmets.

Each Monday, we take one last look back at the week that was and hand out different amounts of the iconic breakfast cereal to the Jayhawks’ top performers.

So, be sure to come get your Monday Morning Wheaties and feel free to hit up the comments section — subscribers only for now — with any players you feel we might’ve missed.

Cobee Bryant roars after an interception in the win over Houston. [Chance Parker photos]

Picture on the box

• Senior cornerback Cobee Bryant – He had a shot at a school-record 4^th interception late in the game but had to settle for just three. It was a massive day for the KU corner, who didn’t even start practicing again until mid-week after injuring his ankle late in the Jayhawks loss to Arizona State two weeks earlier. After the game, though, Bryant told reporters that he was always going to play in this game, calling himself a dog and an animal in the process. The words were valid. He played arguably the best game of his career — adding a tackle for loss and looking physical all day — and one of the best games ever by a KU defensive back. Talk that talk, Cobee!

A full bowl

• Junior QB Jalon Daniels – That’s now back-to-back games without a turnover and with pretty solid passing numbers. Daniels threw 3 TDs and ran for another in leading the Jayhawks to a 42-point onslaught and the easy victory. It took a bit, but he’s slowly but surely starting to get his swagger back and looking pretty good in the process.

• Junior D-Lineman DJ Withers – The numbers, though good, don’t really do it justice. Withers finished with 3 tackles and 2 sacks and looked outstanding pushing the pocket all afternoon. Every time the Jayhawks swallowed up the Houston QB in the backfield, it looked like Withers was right there leading the charge.

• Senior running back Devin Neal – Another 100-yard day, thanks mostly to that late 54-yard run, and Neal now owns a couple more KU records (career 100-yard games and career touchdowns) and is just 73 yards shy of becoming the program’s all-time leading rusher. He’ll get his first real crack at passing June Henley’s mark of 3,841 career rushing yards this weekend at K-State. Can’t ask for a much cooler stage than that.

• Senior wide receiver Quentin Skinner – He had just 2 catches for 59 yards, but one of them — a 48-yard TD in the first quarter immediately after a Houston turnover — set the tone for the entire day and sparked an offensive explosion by the Jayhawks. After being nearly invisible in the first four or five games of the season, Skinner has really emerged of late. And he does not appear to be satisfied with the jump he’s made to this point.

Nighttime snack

• Senior linebacker JB Brown — His rock solid season continues. Brown was the Jayhawks’ second-leading tackler, with 6, and he was all over the field and so physical throughout the game. Never was that more clear than when he blitzed the Houston QBs, using his speed and strength to wreak havoc all afternoon. He finished with 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss and 1 QB hurry.

• Senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler – Back from injury, Wheeler did not look quite 100% in this one, but he found a way to make a few plays. That included one of four interceptions by the KU defense and 4 solo tackles. It was a good first step back. If he can continue to improve and get stronger, he’ll still have a chance to be the kind of factor people thought he would be for this KU defense.

• Junior defensive end Dean Miller – You have to go back to the season-opening win over Lindenwood to find a game like this for Miller. The KU coaching staff had high hopes for the D-End this season and while he’s been solid in some ways, he hadn’t really shown a game like this in Big 12 play yet. It will be interesting to see if there’s more where this came from and if he can do it against ranked teams with better O-Lines in the weeks to come.

Drink the milk

• Senior wide receiver Lawrence Arnold Jr. – Nothing spectacular here — unless you count his ability to get his foot down inbounds on his longest grab of the day — but it was an important outing nonetheless. His 4 receptions and 80 yards led the team and he was also targeted a team-high 5 times. This entire KU offense looks as if it’s building momentum and steam, and it won’t reach its full potential without Arnold breaking out. His game against Houston was an indicator that that may be coming.