Kansas football garners praise from Arizona State coach despite ongoing challenges

The struggling Kansas football team will travel to the blistering-hot desert in Tempe to face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. Head coach Lance Leipold is still searching for his first FBS and conference win of the year in what has been a dramatic fall from the previous season.

A 1-4 start is certainly disheartening for a team that had Big 12 championship aspirations. However, every game has been within reach, and the root of the losses stem from correctable issues on both the field and sidelines. Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham acknowledged this and let the media know that he is not taking this matchup lightly:

Kenny Dillingham commends Kansas football program amid struggles

"They're the same team that was predicted to potentially win the league. This is a good football team, and sometimes people can just look at the record, and you can get skewed, but that is not accurate with this team... They won nine games last year, if you include the bowl game, they returned almost everybody. So, it isn't like this team forgot how to play football. Two plays flip the other direction, and they're the 12th ranked team in the country, undefeated, and favorites to win the Big 12."

- Kenny Dillingham

Jayhawk fans probably don't buy Dillingham's claim that this is the same Kansas team as in 2023. Jeff Grimes has fallen short as offensive coordinator and is a significant downgrade from Andy Kotelnicki, while Jalon Daniels has not played to the same level that Jason Bean did. Even so, he is right in stating that a lot of last year’s talent remains, and the team’s record should reflect that.

Most teams starting the campaign off 1-4 do not have the preseason expectations that KU did. The Sun Devils emerged from nonconference play undefeated but dropped their first league game, meaning they are still looking for their first Big 12 win. They know this is not a trap game for them by any means.

It won't get any easier for the Jayhawks on Saturday when they take the field in 100°+ temperatures. The Sun Devils only allow 82.3 rushing yards per game, the second-lowest mark in the Big 12, whereas Kansas ranks third in the conference with 226 rushing yards per game. The ground game must be firing on all cylinders given the recent issues Daniels has faced.