Kansas football: 5 Jayhawks who must step up to overcome Texas

Sep 23, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold leads his team onto the field prior to a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold leads his team onto the field prior to a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
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Sep 23, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold leads his team onto the field prior to a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 23, 2023; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold leads his team onto the field prior to a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Upsetting the No. 3 Texas Longhorns will be the toughest task of the season for Kansas football. Strong performances from these five players will be the keys to victory.

Coming into Austin to face a top-three team in the country would normally spell out an automatic 50-point loss for the Kansas Jayhawks, but Lance Leipold has turned the program in an entirely different direction. The No. 24 ranked Kansas football team is receiving at least some national respect heading into its game tonight.

The talent difference between these two rosters is astronomical. Texas is comprised of countless top-100 recruits who were high school All-Americans. They even have the No. 1 recruit in this past year’s graduating class and son of Cooper Manning on the bench. Meanwhile, KU has former 2-stars playing starting minutes for them — yet the coordinators have turned some of these players into tremendous student-athletes.

Today features a David vs. Goliath matchup in what will likely be the final meeting in football between the two schools for many years. How will Kansas ever be able to pull off a victory? Well…

The Kansas football team needs these five players to step up in order to upset the Texas Longhorns.