The Kansas Jayhawks’ football season is approaching quickly.
Not only does this mean the start of Lance Leipold’s sixth season at the helm, but it also means a trip overseas to the Union Jack Classic is right around the corner.
Kansas’ trip to the historic Wembley Stadium has split opinions. Many don’t like the fact that it rips away a Big 12 home game from the Jayhawks, while others don’t mind the positive publicity boost a win over Arizona State could bring to a program still trying to shake off its decade-plus-long status as a dormant power-conference football team.
Leipold points out key difference from next season’s trip to other teams’
Just across the state in Manhattan sits a team with its recent share in an overseas game, as Kansas State took on Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic last season, which saw the Cyclones take down the Wildcats in a 24-21 thriller.
When asked about the trip during this week’s Big 12 Media Day, Leipold responded, “...The one thing that I think is a little different, it's in week three for us versus the Kansas State, Iowa State game of a year ago; both those teams came back and had to play that next Saturday. Didn't matter if it was an FCS opponent or who they each played. They had to get their teams back and ready and that stuff.”
The week following for Iowa State presented itself with a 55-7 thrashing of South Dakota State that propelled the Cyclones to a 2-0 start and a season that ended with an 8-4 record and head coach Matt Campbell making the move to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Meanwhile, for Kansas State, a nail-biting 38-35 win over North Dakota came about in a season that finished 6-6, and resulted in head coach Chris Klieman leaving the program for former cult hero and Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein to take the helm.
“And I think, hopefully, we feel we have a very confident plan that when we do get back about how we're gonna get our guys, some time down [to] transition back, and then get ready for a game on October 3rd. So I think that that'll be very important as we move forward.”
With Kansas’ bye week being used the week after Arizona State, it does force the Jayhawks to take part in a grueling nine-game stretch to end the season.
The Jayhawks last nine games will be listed below.
Middle Tennessee (Home) October 3rd
Utah (Away) October 10th
Kansas State (Away) October 17th
Baylor (Home) October 24th
TCU (Away) October 31st
UCF (Home) November 7th
WVU (Away) November 14th
BYU (Home) November 21st
Oklahoma State (Away) November 28th
While the game against the Sun Devils will take on an extra layer of importance this season, it is still weeks after the team’s opener against LIU on September 4th, and their follow-up a week later against the Missouri Tigers in the Border Showdown, a game which the Jayhawks narrowly lost last season 42-31.
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