The Kansas Jayhawks are under 24 hours away from the season’s most anticipated fixture. And with a campaign that sees Kansas take on Arizona State overseas and their ever-present Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State, that becomes an ever-taller task. But that is what the Border Showdown against Missouri means.
In order for the Jayhawks to hold their ground against the SEC side, their offensive line will have to be at its absolute best. The problem is, this is an offensive line importing three transfers, something you don’t want, as most programs stress the importance of continuity up front, as very rarely can an offensive line replace 60% of its depth and immediately get better.
While it was only week one against the Long Island University Sharks, former Oklahoma State transfer Kasen Carpenter has already established himself as a standout lineman who was graded as the nation’s top center according to PFF.
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Carpenter’s journey has been anything but straightforward
Coming out of Allen High School in Allen, Texas, Carpenter was offered by 17 programs, Texas Tech being the sole power-conference school. The 3-star prospect eventually chose Tulsa, where he redshirted his freshman season in 2023 before jumping into a starting role a year later, starting 11 of a possible 12 games, as the Hurricanes finished the season 3-9.
Carpenter then made the move to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he made two starts and appeared in seven games as a member of one of the worst power-conference football programs there were in the nation.
For those who forgot, the 2025 campaign was a travesty for the Cowboys, as Oklahoma State won just one game, against Tennessee-Martin, their season opener. After entering the NCAA Transfer Portal for a second time in two seasons, Carpenter landed in Lawrence, Kan, where he clearly got off to a hot start.
Against the Sharks last week, the Jayhawks totaled 613 yards, including 336 through the air and 277 on the ground, during their dominant 51-6 victory that also saw the offensive line help compile 29 first downs.
“I thought they played well again, as we talked all fall long, we got a lot of guys in, got a lot of reps with those guys, first time really working together, rotating a lot of tackle spots, so we’ll have to continue to strike the consistency across the board,” opened head coach Lance Leipold following the season-opening win.
“But, for a first game, I think we had one negative play, maybe on a pass, play to be outside. Other than that, we didn’t have any sacks, or negative runs. That part was really clean. Need to clean up the holding…We know it's gonna be a lot different test on Friday night.”
Fans are just hours away from the second Border Showdown since 2011. The last time these two collided, the Jayhawks fell in a 42-31 thriller. While it looks unlikely that KU will be able to put those offensive numbers up again, if they do, it starts with players like the redshirt junior Carpenter.
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