At this point, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold sounds like a broken record, talking about how much a blown lead hurts for the Jayhawks. What is even worse is that Kansas has the win in their hands, but let it slip in the final minute of the game, a game where they had to fight tooth and nail to climb back in.
The 33-32 loss to UCF gave the Knights their first road win since 2024, and the Jayhawks their sixth loss of the season. I get that Leipold probably didn't have much to say that was different from other blown-lead losses, but something would have been better than what he chose to say to the media.
"All losses hurt," Leipold said. "This one stings a lot...it's tough."
Lance Leipold: "All losses hurt. This one stings a lot. ... It's tough." #KUfball
— Matt Tait (@mctait) November 8, 2026
Well, of course this loss stings, and of course this one probably stings a little more because the Jayhawks had this game. The offense finally woke up in the second half and pulled themselves out of the deep hole they dug. The defense held the Knights long enough to allow Kansas to get back into the game, and did its best on the final drive that won UCF the game.
Leipold needs to come up with something better than "all losses hurt" because that isn't going to fire up a team that is 3-6 and staring down yet another bowl-less postseason.
Lance Leipold is preaching about leadership and fight when Kansas clearly has none
There is nothing else for the Jayhawks to do other than take this loss, try to learn from it, and move on. Of course, the leaders on the team, including Leipold, are going to talk about fighting and showing out even in the final few weeks, but this simply looks like a team that is just beaten down and ready to throw in the towel.
Leipold said his expectation is that this team will stay together and continue to fight and that the leaders will continue to set the tone and the example and that they'll be ready to move forward. He noted that he knows the coaching staff will, as well, adding even harder.…
— Matt Tait (@mctait) November 8, 2026
Kansas finally showed some life against UCF, but coaching decisions late in the game allowed the Knights to go into their final drive with all three timeouts and over a minute left on the clock. The Jayhawks scored way too quickly and took too much time, and allowed UCF to keep their timeouts, giving them the best opportunity to score.
I get it; the defense was playing really well, so let them go out and win the game, but a few big completions to the Knights allowed UCF to get the swing of momentum. Leadership, AKA coaching, should have thought ahead in that sense and found a way to bleed the clock or force UCF to call its timeouts.
With three games left this season, there is a question about how many of them Leipold will be around for, depending on whether Kansas makes the decision to part ways and if the Jayhawks will be able to reach bowl eligibility.
Kansas would have to win out against West Virginia, No. 9 BYU, and Oklahoma State to reach bowl eligibility, which feels practically impossible at this point. The fight was there, but the leadership decisions simply extinguished it against UCF, and now, what else is there really to fight for?
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