Kansas let a golden opportunity slip away over the weekend against in-state rival Kansas State.
The Jayhawks built a double-digit lead in the first half and put together a touchdown drive to go up 24-18 in the third quarter as well. That would be the last points scored by Kansas during the 35-24 loss.
Lance Leipold has been unable to break Kansas’ losing streak against K-State dating back to 2008. Leipold also lost both matchups against Missouri in the Border War.
Kansas currently sits at 2-4 overall with an 0-3 record in the Big 12, which is tied with Colorado at the bottom. Despite the rough start to the year, Leipold urges fans not to jump ship.
“I can understand people [losing faith],” Leipold said. “I ask that our fanbase keeps looking at this team competing and where we’ve been. I still believe we can win every game on our schedule. Now, as I told our team, with a margin of error, every game is winnable. I think our guys have played and responded back to these situations, and it’s a challenge.”
Leipold took over Kansas when it was at the bottom of, not just the conference, but the FBS overall. The Jayhawks might not be at that low anymore, but this does not mean that expectations should be for competitiveness alone.
The 2023 season brought expectations around the program and Kansas answered with back-to-back five-win seasons. This year was supposed to be different and Kansas let multiple chances get away.
The Jayhawks were in the Missouri game early on and let it get away. It was a golden chance in London to take down Arizona State but could not get the offense going and of course, Saturday against Kansas State.
Leipold has said the right things but ultimately, the team needs to win and Saturday was another wasted opportunity.
“All losses sting, this one stings a lot,” Leipold said. “There’s a lot of people that count on us in games like this and a lot of people want this streak snapped. I’m frustrated that we haven’t won this game since we’ve been here. Frustration slash disappointment. Those kind of go hand in hand in this one. Some years, and I put this one in that category, some of the ones that I think that opportunity was there.”