Lance Leipold: Kansas Jayhawks still have 'a chance to win a lot of football games'

As if things could get any worse for Kansas football, the Jayhawks hit the lowest of lows in an agonizing Sunflower Showdown loss to K-State. A victory over KU’s rival school would have softened the blow of the disappointing 2024 season, but the team found yet another way to shoot itself in the foot and blow the game in its closing stages.

To make things worse, many of the mistakes in losses made were easily avoidable. All Jayhawk fans can agree that HC Lance Leipold, OC Jeff Grimes, and DC Brian Borland have not performed up to par. However, the coaching staff still believes in the squad and its ability to win games. It sounds like a broken record at this point:

Lance Leipold still has faith in the 2024 Kansas football team

"I still say that if we can play the way we did Saturday and the week before that, we're going to have a chance to win a lot of football games yet down the stretch."

- Lance Leipold

During a radio conversation on Tuesday, Leipold reiterated his confidence in the team. He believes that Kansas can win some games to close out the year. They certainly won't be easy to come by, as the next three contests are all against ranked opponents (No. 11 Iowa State, No. 9 BYU, and No. 23 Colorado).

There were times on Saturday that Kansas showed glimpses of last year's 9-4 bowl-winning squad. Then again, there were also instances where the Jayhawks showed they were an undisciplined, poorly coached team. The late-game fumble by Jalon Daniels was unacceptable, and special teams blunders continue to haunt them.

What makes it even more frustrating is how competitive they have been in every game. KU has not been blown out once, nor were they ever clearly outmatched by an opponent. Leipold and Co. have a plus-43-point differential on the season. Even if you ignore the Week 1 victory over FCS opponent Lindenwood, it only drops to minus-2. Those aren't the numbers of a 2-6 unit.

With a bye on the horizon, Kansas aims to play spoiler and keep its bowl hopes alive in the coming weeks. The energy after the previous bye against Houston suggests a similar spark could be expected against the undefeated Cyclones.