The state of Kansas football: Examining the first half of the season

Kansas football has made it halfway through its first season with Les Miles running the program. The Jayhawks still have six games to go, but what can fans take from the first six?

So far, it’s safe to say that Les Miles doesn’t have Kansas football in a terrible situation. A 2-4 record after hiring a new head coach really isn’t an awful spot to be in right now, especially considering the team only won three games last season.

Still, fans are expecting a lot from Les Miles’ first season with the Jayhawks. Here’s a breakdown of Kansas football’s first half of the season

Week One vs. Indiana State

In Les Miles’ debut, the Jayhawks got things done in an ugly way, but it was a win nonetheless. Kansas knocked off the FCS Sycamores 24-17 in a thrilling last-minute drive orchestrated by quarterback Carter Stanley.

It was a game that was entirely too close; however, the final offensive drive by Kansas was truly remarkable. Wide receiver Andrew Parchment also broke out this week, hauling in eight receptions for 121 yards, in addition to throwing a pass on a successful two-point conversion:

Week Two vs. Coastal Carolina

Kansas football headed into week two with all kinds of confidence against Coastal Carolina, a Sun Belt Conference team that was coming off a loss the week before. The Jayhawks came out hot, scoring on their first possession of the game after receiving the opening kickoff.

That was the end of the Kansas offense that night, as the Jayhawks wouldn’t score again the rest of the game, losing 12-7. Kansas dropped their second game in embarrassing fashion to a team that would get beaten badly by just about any other power-five conference team. It was a bad week for the Jayhawks, and the next week didn’t look like it’d be any better.

Week Three @ Boston College

Boston College has been a solid ACC team over the past few seasons, and it was doubtful Kansas would win. As a matter of fact, Boston College was coming into the game as a 20 point favorite of Kansas.

After being down 17-7 in the first quarter, Kansas turned it on and didn’t look back, outscoring the Eagles 41-7 in the last three quarters. Running back Khalil Herbert rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries, while Parchment had 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns of his own. Things were looking up, as it was Kansas football’s first power-five road win since 2009.

Week Four vs. West Virginia

Kansas football was riding high coming off their big win the before, and also because West Virginia was a beatable team. The Mountaineers were a slim favorite over the Jayhawks after the line moved from -7 to -4.5 over the course of the week.

The game was a dogfight, but Kansas couldn’t overcome West Virginia and ultimately made too many mistakes to win the game. The Jayhawks missed tackles in addition to committing two costly turnovers, one of which directly led to a West Virginia score in the fourth quarter. Kansas ended up losing their Big 12 opener 24-29.

Week Five @ TCU

Kansas’ 11 AM game on the road against TCU started off with drama, as the Jayhawks’ leading rusher Khalil Herbert was listed as out for the game due to “personal reasons.” Speculation was rampant before, during, and after the game, that Herbert would redshirt the season with an intention to transfer; and that’s exactly what happened.

The Jayhawks ended up getting blown out by the Horned Frogs 51-14, as the Kansas defense couldn’t stop TCU all game. It was an ugly game for Kansas in all facets, and ultimately it was the kind of week you want to forget about altogether.

Week Six vs. #6 Oklahoma

The Sooners came into Lawrence as a 33 point favorite over Kansas, but the Jayhawks came out swinging. Kansas scored first on a beautiful 98-yard drive capped off on a great throw by Stanley and catch by Daylon Charlot. Oklahoma finally got things going though in the second half.

Kansas would be outscored 24-13 in the second half, en route to a 45-20 defeat. Being a 33 point underdog, Kansas football played pretty well all things considered. The Sooners didn’t cover the spread and also didn’t completely decimate the Jayhawks like TCU did the week before.

Bye Week

And that brings us to now. Earlier this week, Les Miles announced that Kansas football would be firing offensive coordinator Les Koenning and replacing him with Brent Dearmon. The move has been hailed as a great one by those that know Dearmon, but it’s going to be hard to do much worse than Koenning.

Kansas will take on Texas in Austin for their next game on October 19. The bye week should give Dearmon plenty of time to get prepared for the Longhorns and the second half of the schedule.

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