The 2026 Kansas Football offseason is now fully underway as the Jayhawks’ spring practice has officially begun, which means now fans and pundits from across the nation can begin to speculate how this iteration of Lance Leipold’s squad will fare ahead of Leipold’s sixth season at the helm of the Big 12 side.
Last season saw Kansas finish back-to-back years without a bowl game at a 5-7 record, and while there were a few standout players like wideout Emannuel Henderson Jr., and the best statistical year from Jalon Daniels. Ultimately, a paltry redzone offense that ranked 124th in efficiency (71.79 percent), combined with a defense accustomed to giving up chunks of points (28.5), spelled another narrow miss out on a bowl game.
SP+ rankings reveal puts Kansas towards bottom end of Big 12 but decent overall standing
ESPN’s Bill Connelly broke the rankings and their meaning below.
“SP+ is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking.”
The overall SP+ number is how much the team would beat (or lose) to an average side at a neutral site.
Kansas ranked 57th overall with a 3.7 SP+ rating. Their offensive rating ranked 51st in the country, and their defense was planted 70th.
Bringing back offensive playcaller Andy Kotelnicki likely played a huge part in getting Kansas’ offense where it was. By no means is the quarterback battle of Cole Ballard, Isaiah Marshall, or Rice transfer Chase Jenkins providing much clarity, but when Kotelnicki was with the Jayhawks the first time, success followed.
Kansas ranked 12th in the Big 12 and ahead of UCF, Iowa State, Colorado, and West Virginia.
The Big 12 ranked as the third-best conference in the nation, with a 7.4. Predictably, the SEC and the Big Ten ranked with 14.5 and 11.0.
The Big 12’s highest-ranked team was the Red Raiders with an astounding 23.1. That SP+ propelled them up to No. 7 in the nation.
Are these rankings fair?
Last season showed moments of both brilliance and mediocrity. Funnily enough, both of those moments came in losing games, and that has become way too common a theme for the Jayhawks. Lackluster drives where the gas runs out in the final five minutes cost them chances at big wins over Missouri and Cincinnati.
And against Arizona and Utah, two poor fourth quarters where Kansas was outscored a combined 28-7 kept KU from having a great season into an average, if not slightly below average season.
Until these results begin to shake themselves out in a positive way towards Leipold, these rankings are plenty fair.
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