No matter how you shape it, the Kansas Jayhawks’ offense struggled last season.
Overall, KU finished with the nation’s 68th-best scoring offense, totaling just 26.5 points per game. To go a little deeper, the Jayhawks notched the country’s 77th-most yards per game at a 368.8 mark.
These stats are slightly rebuked when you find out that Kansas’ offense finished with a decent 5.7 yards per play, good for No. 43 in the FBS.
But all the aforementioned stats should go to tell you this was an inconsistent offense. It often felt like the Jayhawks could string together two or three scoring drives in a row in the first three quarters, but as the game entered the 4th period, all of a sudden things would quickly fall apart and what went from a steady offense would quickly plateau.
These are surely part of the inconsistencies that associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki wanted to see worked on until the start of the 2026 year.
“There's been a ton of flashes. For me, it's about consistently showing it over and over and over again. I think, one of the biggest things that coaches have to do is identify what are the limitations of players? And what are the capabilities of players?”
“As long as you put a picture of that, you can always put the puzzle pieces together to get guys in the right spots. And so you just need a few more practices of that evidence. As you get into the fall, then we think we’ll be able to put the puzzle pieces around really, really well,” finished Kotelnicki earlier this month.
On Thursday afternoon, the Jayhawks named redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall their starting quarterback ahead of next week’s opener against FCS side LIU. With Marshall being named the team’s starter under center, fans can now grasp a pretty decent understanding of what to expect from each respective position group.
Some offensive names to watch out for include Buffalo transfer Nik McMillan at wideout, Connor Stroh on the offensive line and running back Yasin Willis
What would a more consistent offense provide?
The biggest thing Kansas fans can demand is an improved red-zone rate. Last season, the Jayhawks finished 124th in the nation at a 71.79% conversion rate. This was probably the biggest thorn in last season’s offense.
An added bonus would be a stronger third-down conversion rate. In the 2025 campaign, Lance Leipold’s squad finished with a 38.13% conversion rate.
With the Jayhawks bringing Kotelnicki back to lead the offense, here is how Kansas finished in 2023, Kansas’ best season in Kotelnicki’s first stint.
In 2023, the Jayhawks ended the season with an 81.82% red-zone conversion rate and a 47.76% third-down conversion rate. With both stats taking a near 10% drop without Kotelnicki, if the Jayhawks can get close to those 2023 numbers, then that may be the difference between a third bowl game in six years for Leipold and three years running without postseason football.
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