<table> </table> LAWRENCE | Jake Laptad smiled. The mistake had already been made, a somewhat sophomoric gaffe by Kansas&#8217; sophomore sack specialist. Asked about the Oklahoma Sooners, KU&#8217;s opponent next week, Laptad did the unthinkable: He answered.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll be ready for them,&#8221; Laptad said before realizing what he had done. Then came that goofy grin from the defensive end. &#8220;We&#8217;re not supposed to talk about them, actually.&#8221;</p><p>No, no, no. After their 30-14 victory over Colorado, the 16th-ranked Jayhawks had strict orders from KU coach Mark Mangino not to talk about the Sooners.</p><p>They were supposed to talk about how well the defense played in sending quarterback Cody Hawkins, the coach&#8217;s son, to the bench for the fourth quarter. They were supposed to talk about how Laptad&#8217;s sack of Hawkins in the second quarter, which resulted in a safety, was the play of the game. They were supposed to talk about KU running back Jake Sharp carrying the ball 31 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns.</p><p>Anything, really, other than Oklahoma. Heck, even the Jayhawks&#8217; woeful special teams units were a hotter topic than the just-beaten Sooners, who will undoubtedly be a very angry bunch when KU opens the second half of its season at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday in Norman, Okla. Mangino, without using the O-word, did choose to address the gauntlet that awaits his Jayhawks, 5-1, 2-0 in the Big 12, during their final six games.</p><p>&#8220;I see a great opportunity,&#8221; Mangino said. &#8220;I see an opportunity for our football program to make a statement.&#8221;</p><p>On Saturday, after the Jayhawks used another dominant second half to dispel the Buffaloes, Mangino was not in a mood to look forward. The film of the Jayhawks&#8217; special teams during the Colorado game will be closely scrutinized before he will turn his attention to the Sooners. For the second straight week, KU had to overcome poor field position to win.</p><p>&#8220;The defense bailed out the special teams today,&#8221; Mangino said.</p><p>The Jayhawks averaged 8.7 yards on three kickoff returns, while the Buffaloes averaged 26.4 on their five. In the first quarter, the KU offense&#8217;s average starting position was its own 14-yard line. The Jayhawks have struggled early offensively in the last two games, and it isn&#8217;t hard to figure out why.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of the reason we couldn&#8217;t get things going in the first half was because our field position was so poor,&#8221; KU quarterback Todd Reesing said. &#8220;It isn&#8217;t something that we can control as an offense. We would like to get a little more help there on special teams.&#8221;</p><p>KU&#8217;s defense was equally hurt by the bad field position. Both of Colorado&#8217;s touchdowns came on short fields thanks to a 37-yard punt return and 59-yard kickoff return by Josh Smith. But the defense wasn&#8217;t willing to use its inherited disadvantages as an excuse.</p><p>&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter what&#8217;s behind you, it only matters what&#8217;s in front of you,&#8221; said KU safety Darrell Stuckey, who intercepted Hawkins with a minute left in the second quarter and Colorado driving to take the lead. &#8220;Nothing that&#8217;s behind you can threaten you. As a defense, we didn&#8217;t care where we were on the field.&#8221;</p><p>The Jayhawks, who have struggled the past three games defensively, did what a good defense does: They made a bad offense look exceptionally bad. KU rattled Hawkins with two first-half interceptions and Laptad&#8217;s 16-yard sack for a safety &#8212; his fifth of the season. Hawkins completed just eight of 22 passes for 90 yards.</p><p>Thanks to the defense, KU took a 9-7 lead to halftime. As usual, the offense got things figured out in the second half. The Jayhawks went to a hurry-up approach, which gave them the spark they needed to get going.</p><p>&#8220;Patience is key in an offense like this,&#8221; said wide receiver Kerry Meier, who caught nine passes for 94 yards. &#8220;They&#8217;re going to take some things away, but as the game goes on, we find out what we like doing. We just nitpick at them the whole game.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of nit-picking, no self-respecting soul would want to be a member of KU&#8217;s special teams this week. Mangino will be on the warpath.</p><p>&#8220;If there&#8217;s one thing I do here, during my tenure as the head coach, I&#8217;m going to get these special teams squared away here,&#8221; Mangino said. &#8220;It&#8217;s been a strong suit of our program since the day I came here. That is my No. 1 priority going into practice this week.&#8221;