The Kansas football team needs to win one of its two remaining games to qualify for a bowl game. They still have a game at Iowa State and a home game against Utah on the schedule. The Jayhawks will be the underdog in both contests.
The Jayhawks are 5-5, but they lost late leads to Cincinnati and Arizona. They should be 7-3, with that bowl game all locked up. If KU doesn’t pull an upset against the Cyclones or the Utes, it will be the second straight season that Kansas has underachieved and failed to make a bowl.
So, where does the Kansas football team go from here?
What happens if the Kansas football team doesn’t make a bowl game this season?
Even if KU falls short of a bowl bid, head coach Lance Leipold’s job shouldn’t be in jeopardy. Anyone out there calling for his job might as well be screaming into the wind. KU would have to pay him $22.9 million if they fired him without cause after the season. That is a lot of money.
People should also remember what this program looked like before he got here. KU went 5-0 through the early part of the 2009 season, then finished 0-7. From that point to the end of the 2020 season, Kansas was 21-108, never winning more than three games in a single season.
Leipold took over a team without a win the previous season and went 2-10 in his first year. Since then, KU is 25-23. If they lose the next two games, they will be 25-25 and will have played in two bowl games in four years.
Leipold is going to have some leeway. This isn’t Alabama or Texas, where a head coach most certainly gets fired with that record over four years. The question becomes how much leeway will Leipold have.
KU boosters have invested a significant amount of money in what is essentially a new stadium and facilities. There has to be an expectation of success. Over the last three seasons, Kansas has turned 10 fourth-quarter leads into losses. That is a trend that must stop. The Jayhawks have to finish off games.
Late in close games, Leipold often seems to be trying not to lose rather than trying to win. Logic will tell you he is trying to win games, but he is conservative with his approach, and it often backfires, like it did against Arizona.
There are more issues than decision-making. In games against K-State and Texas Tech, it was clear Kansas still has a long way to go to improve its personnel. KU’s defense was torched for 42 points against both of those teams. Against Arizona, the KU defense was solid for most of the game, but allowed two long runs up the middle in the final minute, and ultimately gave the Wildcats the win.
The Kansas roster is lacking in size, talent, and athleticism, particularly along both the defensive and offensive lines, when compared with the better teams in the Big 12. The same goes for the linebacking corps.
On offense, too much is put on Jalon Daniels. He has to make every play, often under pressure. The skill positions aren’t without talent, but the line doesn’t allow time for the playmakers to make plays.
Leipold had garnered the commitment from the best prep prospect in Kansas, J.J. Dunnigan, but after the embarrassing trainwreck performance against K-State, Dunnigan bailed on that commitment. He announced this weekend that he is now going to Miami. Dunnigan was a great feather in Leipold’s cap, but Dunnigan’s defection is now a reflection on just how far KU still has to go to keep these players.
All glory to God for blessing me with the strength and guidance to reach this point. Thank you to my family for sticking by my side, and thank you to the coaches that believed in me. With that being said, I’m committed to the University of Miami.#miami #committed #GoCanes🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/4RmmwzfCse
— James (JJ) Dunnigan jr (@jj_dunniganjr) November 10, 2025
The Jayhawks still need to improve the level of recruits that are being brought in. They need to be bigger and faster, and the depth chart needs to be deeper. Daniels will not be able to help them after this season, and it will behoove the KU staff to surround whomever takes over as quarterback next year with as much talent as possible.
Leipold won’t be on the hot seat after this season, but another underperforming year in 2026 will certainly spur discussions if he is the one to take the Jayhawks to the next level. Liepold can still be that guy, but the clock is definitely ticking.
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