Big 12 Breakdown and The Big Question For Each School : #14 Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks finished 23rd in the Week 16 AP Poll in 2023 after going 9-4 and defeating UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Since then, Lance Leipold’s situation has been comparable to that of every other Kansas head coach. The struggle of being an ordinary team.

The Jayhawks have only won 1.9 conference games annually and an average of 3.6 games since 2016. To add to that history, they have only appeared in 4 bowl games in 20 years and to give credit to Leipold he has coached two of those teams. They will be without Jalon Daniels for the first time in Leipold’s offense. Although Daniels’ career was not particularly noteworthy, having a reliable quarterback when healthy gave them a sense of security as he started their last 24 games behind center.

At Big 12 Media Days, Leipold gave a sense of direction and feeling towards not having Daniels. “He kind of guided us and always gave us a lot of life in that. But, it’s different.”

“Jalon played 24 straight games for us the last two years. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean anyone else has got to play much at quarterback. So that’s where the uncertainty goes.”

They had a solid rushing offense, with RB Devin Neal having a breakout season, rushing for 1,280 yards and 16 touchdowns in 203 carries. They totaled 2,678 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns as a team. They used the identical attack and stats in 2024, but had a different result. So, how does Kansas find that magic, given that they can run the ball and occasionally beat ranked teams?

One area to look into is how they started each season under Leipold. Because they didn’t have a slow start in 2023, finishing 5-1 with their only defeat coming to #3 Texas at the time. For 2022, their second-best season under Leipold, they started 5-0 but struggled in Big 12 play, finishing 6-6 before losing by two points in the bowl game to Arkansas.

In 2024, they started 1-5 and finished 5-7. In 2025, the squad began 3-3 and finished 5-7, with a disastrous run at the end of the season. Finally, in 2021, the squad struggled overall, finishing 2-10, therefore, this season is regarded as a wash for this comparison.

The other way the 2023 won 9 games was that they did not struggle in Big 12 play. Kansas has struggled to be consistent when conference games come around the corner. With only one winning record in conference play since Leipold took over. That record was 5-4 in 2023, which is about as close as you can get to somehow going .500 in a 9-game span. Now compared to the overall 1.9 wins in conference play, Leipold has brought his teams to win at least 3.2 conference games per season.

Moving onto the 2026 roster and the players who will try to move the program back into the direction that 2023 had. A key transfer to look at is RB Dylan Edwards, who is at his third Big 12 school in 4 seasons. Edwards has battled an injury bug for the past two seasons at Kansas State, where he totaled 751 yards on 108 carries with 7 touchdowns. Kansas looks to get their run game offense back in order with the hope that Edwards can be the guy to do so. The QB situation is a tricky one with three players who could all win the starting job, but recently it has been narrowed down to two guys. Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall with both of them having limited experience. Per many articles, it looks like Marshall is the fan favorite for the job and plays similar to Daniels.

Unfortunately, fans of the offensive at the University of Kansas will be left in the dark for a bit. The only returning starters from the 2025 team on the offense are two offensive linemen, Calvin Clements and Amir Herring, who were part of one of the top units this past season. Now looking at the defense that got run all over, they will return 4 production players from 2025 with three secondary members and one linebacker. The Jayhawks had a decent secondary with their 2025 unit being in the top 60 of all schools. The issue for the Jayhawks was stopping the run and, with a practically brand-new front 7, it will be a tall order to not repeat a similar issue in 2026.

For Lance Leipold and company, it doesn’t need to be a miracle season, they just need to focus on winning big 12 games. Maybe the new additions to the stadium will be an omen to turn the tide for Kansas, but if not then won’t be much rock chalk for the Jayhawks in 2026.

Conference Games *

9/4/2026, LIU, Time : 7:00 P.M. CT

9/11/2026, Missouri , Time : 7:00 P.M. CT

9/19/2026, vs Arizona State * , Time : 11:00 A.M. CT

10/3/2026, Middle Tennessee, Time : TBA

10/10/2026, at Utah *, Time : TBA

10/17/2026, at Kansas State * , Time : TBA

10/24/2026, Baylor * , Time : TBA

10/31/2026, at TCU *, Time : TBA

11/7/2026, UCF *, Time : TBA

11/14/2026, at West Virginia * , Time : 9:15 P.M. CT

11/21/2026, BYU * , Time : TBA

11/28/2026, at Oklahoma State * , Time : TBA

Oh my, the bottom dwelling Jayhawks who scream “wait till basketball season” yearly. It’s hard to see them bounce back to 2023 standards without a quality quarterback for them. Yes, they do have SEC quality opponents with Middle Tennessee and LIU where they will pick up wins but facing BYU, @utah, @kansas state will keep them from greatness once again. Good luck to that showroom fresh front seven, too. The sounds coming from Lawrence will not be construction but of Big 12 running backs pounding six yards a carry before even being touched by a Jayhawk defender.

And let’s not ignore the Tigers coming to town in September. Nothing says ‘welcome back to Lawrence’ quite like your biggest SEC rival beating you in a stadium that’s still half-wrapped in scaffolding. Even with 3 conference wins baked into this cake, a 5 win season will be frosting for this cupcake.