Kansas football: 5 areas of improvement for the Jayhawks vs. Nevada

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Sep 8, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) celebrates after a touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Lazy second halves

As I mentioned earlier, Kansas nearly surrendered a massive 27-point lead with some lazy football in the second half. If that continues, we’ll witness some choke jobs from the Jayhawks this year.

Slow starts were the downfall of Kansas football for most of last season and even game one vs. Missouri State. It was the exact opposite against Illinois, who outscored the Jayhawks 16-3 in the final 17 minutes. I guess you can only have it one way or the other with this team.

Some players made mistakes in the second half, but last week, the late struggles were really because of offensive playcalling. Andy Kotelnicki is awesome, don’t get me wrong. But giving your third-string running back an inside handoff on 4th & 3 when the other team can cut it to three points? That’s just ridiculous.

Even though Nevada is terrible, that doesn’t mean the team should just look to next week. They can’t be as conservative as they were vs. Illinois, because that will give opposing teams more ways to exploit their weaknesses.

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