Kansas coach Turner Gill doesn't want to play Nebraska anymore, at least not for the foreseeable future.
When asked at an event in Omaha on Thursday about resuming the series after Nebraska leaves for the Big Ten, Gill was as judicious in his answer as he could be.
"It best benefits us not to play Nebraska from a football standpoint," he said. "I have to look at what's best for our football team right now."
Reading between the lines: Nebraska has creamed Kansas for 109 years, including last year's 20-3 decision during Gill's first season with the Jayhawks, and he's not going to subject his new team to further humiliation.
Especially since his name is attached to the history that has caused Kansas so much misery at the hands of Big Red over the years.
While Gill was a quarterback at Nebraska from 1980-83, his 'Husker teams defeated Kansas by a cumulative score of 204-28, including two shutouts.
As a coach at Nebraska in 1989, the Huskers cruised to a 51-14 victory. During the 12 years he coached Nebraska's quarterbacks and wide receivers (1992-2004), Nebraska never lost to Kansas and beat the Jayhawks by double digits in 10 of those contests.
It's not that Gill doesn't believe in his current Kansas team, it's that he's trying to build confidence with young players and subjecting them to a rivalry that favors Nebraska 88-18 (three ties) isn't the best way to go about it.
Kansas was 3-9 last season and won just one Big 12 game. Now that the Jayhawks have to play every team every year -- including the former Big 12 South teams that rotated every two years -- Gill is making a smart move and not adding another Goliath to the mix.
Graham Watson is a regular contributor to Dr. Saturday. Follow her on Twitter: @Yahoo_Graham
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