I see that the South Florida game is at 7 PM on 9/12 (Friday). I'm guessing this will be on TV, and I hope it is so I can see how The Greater, Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Smarter Kansas Jayhawks fare in their first real challenge of the season. It should be interesting. Even more interesting is how Kansas - as a team - will respond if they lose this game. They are on top of the world right now, but it's real easy to plummet to the molten core and get burned...
The same can be said of Nebraska and their first "real" challenge against Virginia Tech, who Kansas eeked out a victory against (I use the term "real" loosely, because Western Michigan should definitely not be taken lightly, and the first few games may be a little iffy as the defense tries to get their ducks aligned). Will the Huskers be able to recover if they lose this game? I think that NU has better leadership this year, and a loss early on will not affect them later on down the road.
While the players are the ones actually in the game, there is a TON to be said on how important leadership is on any team (in sports, in business, etc.). Any team tends to act in a way that is consistent with those people at the top. Whatever those at the top consider a top priority, those underneath will follow suite. This is especially true if those people underneath believe in what those at the top are saying.
While the wins may not come this season, I still feel the Huskers will at least have a 7-5 record. Kansas? They are still unproven. They had one really good season. That's great, but doesn't earn much respect from me...especially after looking at their 2007 schedule. Any team in any given year can have the stars align just right so they have a good season (see Hawaii), but you have to be able to sustain that success in order for it to mean anything. If Kansas is able to duplicate their success this year, they will have my respect. Until then, they are still just Kansas...