From Rock Chalk to Rock Solid
In Lawrence, Kansas, where basketball reigns supreme and football has long been an afterthought, Lance Leipold is rewriting the narrative. The man who turned Buffalo into a MAC powerhouse and Wisconsin-Whitewater into a Division III dynasty has transformed the Kansas Jayhawks from Big 12 punching bag to bowl game regular. The 2024 season was a high-water mark: a 9-4 record, a No. 22 AP ranking, and a Guaranteed Rate Bowl victory over UNLV. With quarterback Jalon Daniels’ dual-threat brilliance and a stout defense, Kansas proved it could compete in the reshuffled Big 12. But with Daniels and key seniors departing, 2025 looms as a pivotal year. Can Leipold sustain the Jayhawks’ ascent or will they slip back into obscurity? Here’s the fact-driven story of Kansas’s 2024 surge, Leipold’s blueprint, and the road ahead—all with a touch of humor for a program that’s finally traded basement dust for a bit of glitter.
The 2024 Season: A Statement in Lawrence
Kansas’s 2024 campaign was a declaration of relevance. Picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll, the Jayhawks instead went 9-4 overall, 6-3 in conference play, tying for fourth. The season began with a 48-3 rout of Lindenwood, where Daniels threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns. A 23-20 loss to UNLV in Week 2 stung, with the Rebels’ Hajj-Malik Williams rushing for 124 yards to steal the game. Kansas rebounded with a 42-14 thrashing at West Virginia, where running back Devin Neal ran for 150 yards and two scores. A 32-28 win over TCU, sealed by Daniels’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Luke Grimm, pushed Kansas to 4-1.
The Jayhawks hit 6-1 with wins over Arizona State (35-31), Houston (42-14), and Iowa State (19-15), the latter a defensive gem where Kansas held the Cyclones to 324 yards and forced two turnovers. A 49-35 loss at No. 16 Kansas State exposed defensive cracks, as K-State’s Avery Johnson threw for 324 yards. Kansas bounced back with a 37-21 win at BYU, where Daniels ran for 104 yards, but a 28-21 loss to Colorado—where Shedeur Sanders threw for 341 yards—dashed Big 12 title hopes. A 45-17 rout of Oklahoma capped the regular season, with Neal’s 165 yards and three touchdowns earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.
The Guaranteed Rate Bowl on December 26, 2024, saw Kansas edge UNLV 24-20, avenging the earlier loss. Daniels threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, earning MVP honors. Kansas finished 9-4, their best record since 2007’s 12-1, and ranked No. 22 in the final AP Poll—their first ranking since 2008. Offensively, Kansas averaged 33.2 points per game (28th nationally) and 426.7 yards (25th), led by Daniels’ 2,811 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 614 rushing yards. Neal (1,085 yards, 12 touchdowns) and Grimm (66 catches, 842 yards) were vital. Defensively, Kansas allowed 24.8 points per game (54th) and ranked 31st in total defense (341.2 yards per game), with a plus-6 turnover margin (28th).
Lance Leipold: The Turnaround Titan
Lance Leipold, hired in April 2021, is a coaching anomaly: a small-town Wisconsinite who wins everywhere without ego. At Wisconsin-Whitewater (2007-2014), he went 109-6, winning six Division III national titles. At Buffalo (2015-2020), he posted a 37-33 record, with three bowl appearances. When Kansas tapped him after a 0-9 2020 season, the Jayhawks hadn’t had a winning season since 2008 or a bowl win since 2007. Leipold’s first year, 2021, was a 2-10 slog, but 2022’s 6-7 record and Liberty Bowl appearance signaled progress. The 2023 season’s 9-4 mark, with a Guaranteed Rate Bowl win over UNLV, put Kansas on the map.
Through 2024, Leipold’s 26-25 record at Kansas is modest, but the context is staggering: Kansas had 15 wins total from 2010 to 2020. His six-year, $29.5 million contract, extended in November 2023, runs through 2029, with a $5 million base salary in 2024. Leipold’s spread offense, coordinated by Andy Kotelnicki (now at Penn State), averaged 6.3 yards per play in 2024 (20th nationally), while defensive coordinator Brian Borland’s 4-2-5 scheme forced 22 takeaways (28th). Leipold’s recruiting—2024’s class ranked 39th nationally, 2025’s 44th with 18 signees—leans on Midwest grit and portal gems like Daniels, a 2021 transfer from Arizona State.
Leipold’s culture is built on discipline and development. His “One Day Better” mantra, paired with a no-nonsense practice schedule—6 a.m. lifts, 3 p.m. field work—has turned three-star recruits into stars. Neal, a Lawrence native, and cornerback Cobee Bryant, a former two-star, embody his knack for maximizing talent. Off the field, Leipold’s $1.5 million donation to KU’s Gateway District project and his “Hawk Walk” pregame tradition have boosted fan engagement, with 47,233 fans packing David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for Oklahoma in 2024, a sellout.
Standout Performers and the Post-Daniels Puzzle
Kansas’s 2024 success rode on Jalon Daniels, a redshirt senior whose dual-threat ability defined the offense. His 382-yard, four-touchdown performance against Houston and 104-yard rushing effort at BYU earned All-Big 12 First Team honors. Neal, a senior, became Kansas’s all-time leading rusher with 4,143 career yards, earning All-Big 12 Second Team. Grimm, also a senior, led receivers with 12.8 yards per catch. Tight end Jared Casey (22 catches, 310 yards) and running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. (512 yards, six touchdowns) added depth. The offensive line, anchored by tackle Bryce Cabeldue, allowed 1.6 sacks per game (31st nationally).
Defensively, Bryant led with four interceptions, earning All-Big 12 First Team and third-team All-America from Phil Steele. Linebacker Cornell Wheeler (78 tackles, two sacks) and safety Devin Dye (66 tackles, two interceptions) anchored a secondary that ranked 25th in pass efficiency defense (119.2 rating). Defensive end Jereme Robinson (5.5 sacks) disrupted backfields. Kicker Owen Piepergerdes went 14-for-17 on field goals, with a 48-yard long.
For 2025, Kansas loses Daniels, Neal, Grimm, Casey, and Cabeldue to graduation or the NFL Draft. Hishaw and running back Sevion Morrison (412 yards) return, as does receiver Quentin Skinner (44 catches, 612 yards). The quarterback race pits redshirt freshman Cole Ballard (208 yards in 2024 mop-up duty) against transfer Jake Retzlaff (BYU, 1,834 yards in 2024), with four-star signee Tabor Allen as a wildcard. The line returns three starters, including center Mike Novitsky. Defensively, Bryant, Wheeler, Dye, and Robinson are back, joined by transfers like linebacker Eric Gentry (USC, 46 tackles) and cornerback Jalen Todd (Western Michigan, 52 tackles). The 2025 class includes three-star running back Malachi Curvey and receiver Jace Whitesell.
The 2025 Schedule: Big 12 Battles
Kansas’s 2025 Big 12 schedule, released in November 2024, offers opportunity and peril. The Jayhawks open against Stephen F. Austin (August 30) and Northern Illinois (September 6), likely wins, before hosting Fresno State (September 13), a Group of Five threat after a 9-4 2024. A trip to Nebraska (September 20) tests the offense against a resurgent Cornhuskers defense. Big 12 play starts at TCU (September 27), followed by Arizona (October 4) at home. A road game at Iowa State (October 11) is a revenge shot after 2024’s win, while Oklahoma State (October 25) at home pits Kansas’s secondary against a pass-heavy attack.
November brings Baylor (November 1) on the road, Kansas State (November 8) at home, and a tough trip to Utah (November 15), where Utah’s physicality could overwhelm. The season ends at Houston (November 29), a winnable finale. With Arizona State, Iowa State, and Kansas State as Big 12 favorites, Kansas needs 6-3 or 7-2 in conference play for a title game push. A 9-3 season is achievable if Retzlaff or Ballard delivers 2,500 passing yards and the defense maintains its 22 takeaways. An 8-4 or 7-5 finish is more likely with a new quarterback and tougher road games.
The Leipold Effect: A New Normal
Leipold’s greatest feat is making Kansas football relevant. The Jayhawks’ 18-11 record from 2023-2024 is their best two-year stretch since 2007-2008. Attendance soared in 2024, averaging 46,812, up from 42,105 in 2023, with sellouts against Oklahoma and TCU. The $450 million Gateway District, including a renovated stadium set for 2025, reflects investment, as does Kansas’s $8 million NIL budget, top-25 nationally. Leipold’s staff, now led by offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski after Kotelnicki’s exit, remains stable, with Borland’s defense a constant.
The transfer portal, once a drain, is a strength: Kansas lost only two non-starters post-2024 while adding eight, including Retzlaff and Gentry. Leipold’s recruiting, with 38% of 2024’s roster from Kansas or Missouri, builds local pride—Neal and Casey were homegrown stars. His “Rock Chalk Roundtable” events, raising $500,000 for athletics in 2024, and pregame “Hawk Walk” through tailgates energize fans. Social media buzz—@KU_Football’s bowl win post drew 10,000 likes—shows growing excitement.
Soaring or Stalling?
Can Leipold keep Kansas soaring? The 2024 season’s 9-4 record, with wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma, proves the Jayhawks are no fluke. Leipold’s spread offense (6.3 yards per play, 20th in 2024) and takeaway-hungry defense (22nd in defensive efficiency) provide a foundation. The roster’s core—Hishaw, Skinner, Bryant, Wheeler—returns, and Retzlaff’s experience could stabilize the quarterback transition. But losing Daniels’ 3,425 total yards, Neal’s 1,085 rushing yards, and a thin offensive line (104th in tackles for loss allowed, 6.2 per game) are hurdles. The defense’s 5.1 yards per rush allowed (94th) must improve against run-heavy foes like Utah.
A Big 12 title game berth is possible with a 10-2 or 9-3 season, especially if Kansas splits road games against Iowa State and Utah. An 8-4 finish, with losses to Nebraska, Utah, and Kansas State, is more realistic given the quarterback uncertainty. Leipold’s track record—25-7 at Buffalo from 2018-2020, 18-11 at Kansas since 2023—suggests he’ll navigate the transition. In Lawrence, where Phog Allen’s shadow once dwarfed football, Leipold has built a program that’s no longer a punchline. The Jayhawks are soaring, and 2025 will show if they can stay aloft.
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