It's the time of year when everyone is ranking various things about college football. This includes breakdowns of the conferences. In the Big 12 conference, the Kansas football team is getting very little love from the experts.
The lack of respect is earned. Under head coach Lance Leipold, the Jayhawks went from the doormat of college football to back-to-back bowl appearances. Things looked ripe for KU to take the next leap forward and contend for a Big 12 title. In 2024, they returned a talented, experienced roster, but poor performances late in halves and games early in the season derailed KU, and they finished just 5-7.
Last season was more of the same. Neither the offense nor defense was quite as good, and the team fell short, again going 5-7. Five wins are still more than the program put up in any one season for 12 years. Kansas is a better program, but they've yet to get over the hump to compete as a consistent contender.
Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold's ranking drops in the Big 12
The Kansas football team's underperformances over the last two seasons have taken the shine off Lance Leipold's reputation. Through the Phog's Connor Maridan wrote about how the KU coach is getting treated unfairly by the USA Today's Big 12 rankings of head coaches.
Maridan argues that Leipold is still an outstanding coach, and his ranking as the 11th-best coach in the conference is unfair. He's one win in each season from the Jayhawks going to four straight bowl games. He is the same coach who lifted the program from obscurity to competitiveness.
Still, two seasons in a row not meeting the higher expectations is rough, and now he needs to prove himself, at least nationally, again.
One prediction has Kansas football winning just three games in 2026
Making preseason predictions can be a fool's errand at times, but it makes for an interesting reading. One national writer thinks KU won't win more than three games. Brad Crawford of CBS Sports predicted KU would get only the wins against LIU, Middle Tennessee, and just one Big 12 opponent in UCF.
This seems like a low total, but there is a lot that is unknown about the Kansas roster, especially surrounding the quarterback position. Leipold hasn't decided on a starter yet, and that doesn't produce confidence when picking how many games KU might win. Three seems like a low number, but it's up to the Jayhawks to prove they are better than that.
Leipold takes the blame for win shortfalls the last two seasons for Kansas football
Leipold pointed out a couple of different outcomes in games over the past two seasons, and he'd be sitting in front of reporters talking about four consecutive bowl appearances. Still, he doesn't shy away from putting the blame on himself.
He's right in that KU has taken several close losses in recent seasons. KU has lost seven games in the last two seasons by less than one score. That is half of their losses. In a few others, KU lost the game in the fourth quarter. While player mistakes account for some of those losses, Leipold is right; it falls on him to coach the players better and to prepare them better to close out games.
Greatest running backs in Kansas football history
Don't miss this great list of the greatest all-time running backs in Kansas football history. There are some legends on the list, and it indicates that KU does have a rich history.
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