Every stat used comes from the NCAA FBS stats database
When combing the stat lines of the Kansas Jayhawks this season, things look great on the eye. In terms of total offense, the Jayhawks post the nation’s 28th-ranked offense with 450.6 yards per game and 7.34 yards per play.
Offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski and co-offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Matt Lubick have done a great job scheming the best for their players, and the 21 offensive touchdowns this season show just that. 16 of those touchdowns have come from quarterback Jalon Daniels, who has shown a great ability to manage this explosive offense.
Even on the ground, where things haven’t been able to fully shake out, the Jayhawks have totaled an average of 183.4 yards per game, which ranks as the 48th-best in the nation. Kansas’ 917 total rushing yards this season looks better, even better when you consider the 169 rushing attempts are the 21st-lowest of all schools with a top-50 rushing attack.
Yet one thing that has hindered the Jayhawks' offense is their red zone numbers. This was something head coach Lance Leipold alluded to in his weekly conference on Monday.
“Offensively, we got to be better in the red zone, okay? We are not scoring enough touchdowns in the red zone. Now, we got a lot of touchdowns, and we got enough touchdown passes, but we got to be more efficient.”
It doesn’t take a lot of research to see just how paltry this offense has been in the red zone. Through the Jayhawks’ 23 attempts in the red zone, Leipold’s team has only totaled 17 scores, with 13 of those being touchdowns. The Jayhawks’ success rate averages out to 73.9% which sits 114th out of a possible 134 teams.
What has caused this stat?
Possibly, the biggest fault of this offense is its creativity in limited space. There is a catalogue of plays with acres of green grass in front of them that allows for big plays to be made, but it is apparent that energetic playcalling stalls when the field shrinks.