The Kansas Jayhawks have kicked off their 2026 season with a bleak 1-2 start, that fully means the pressure is on this revamped staff to push KU to a third bowl game in six years, in order to keep Lance Leipold firmly off the hot seat.
In Kansas’ first loss of the season, a 38-21 Border Showdown defeat, the offense as a whole looked tense. From redshirt sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall’s inconsistent passes to a flat rushing attack that produced just 80 rushing yards, not much looked right.
That even dragged into Kansas’ opening half of the Union Jack Classic against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
In that first half, the only part that looked promising from a scoring point of view was Tate Nagy’s punt return touchdown that opened up a 7-0 lead for the Jayhawks.
Heading into the half with Kansas down 10-7 things had to change from an offensive point of view, and they did.
A tale of two halves
In the second half, from a yards perspective, Kansas outgained ASU 295-81. While KU only totaled 10 points, there was a marked difference in the confidence KU came out with.
When speaking earlier this month on Hawk Talk, offensive lineman Connor Stroh spoke on the improvements Kansas made.
“We've got all the tools there. You know, I think everybody in this room agrees with that. And so that was kind of what we were going through on the sideline as an offensive line. And I don't know what the other positions were talking about, but in the second half, we kind of started really hitting our groove.
In the third quarter, Kansas averaged 6.6 yards per play, and 6.3 in the fourth quarter, adding 16 first downs in the final two periods.
“And I think it was just because we, I wouldn’t say stopped caring, but kind of realized that, we need to just go play free. ‘Cause we were down, and we were like, ‘Hey, we need to go put tape on that we can be proud of.’ And then we started doing it.
The Jayhawks need to learn to string drives into games
“And so, I think if we can put together the second half that we did, and just play like that the whole game, you know, go out there and play free. I think we'll start really putting some things together.”
There is no doubt that if Kansas had put up the yards in the first half that they did in the second, this would have resulted in a KU win, and all of a sudden the tide would have been flipped from a desolate past two weeks to a much more uplifted spirit. But a lack of continuity on the offensive side of the ball has hindered this team so far and, until it is proven otherwise, can’t be trusted.
Up next for the Jayhawks is the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. A game that is beyond must-win territory. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT, with streaming available on ESPNU.
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