Lance Leipold and his Kansas football team have fallen short of expectations this season. But his Jayhawks played “spoiler” in a big way against Iowa State.
Leipold coached Kansas to a stunning 45-36 shootout victory over a Cyclones team that entered 7-1. It’s the Jayhawks’ first win over an AP Top 25 opponent this season. This upset inspires Leipold and Kansas with new motivation for what’s been a lost season.
“I guess we’ll kind of be in that spoiler role coming up, but we talk about the chance to play meaningful football games for us,” Leipold said via Matt Tait of Wave the Wheat, powered by Perpetual Sports Network. “We have an opportunity to finish strong and if that means we’re a spoiler along the way, so be it. It’s exciting.”
Kansas once was thought of as a legit Big 12 title contender before the season. Leipold and the Jayhawks’ ’24 campaign instead have watched various lows.
KU endured a five-game losing slide during the year. Group of five program UNLV was among those losses in the state of Kansas. The Jayhawks also watched a potential upset of No. 16 Kansas State slip away on Oct. 26. But how did they knock off a ranked Cyclones team that was in pursuit of sealing a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game?
Kansas scaled the 40-point mark — lifting them to a rare 3-0 record when the Jayhawks score past that point total. Devin Neal even shattered school history on the evening by becoming the school’s all-time rushing leader. Neal racked up 116 rushing yards and scored twice while surpassing June Henley’s mark of 3,941.
Quentin Skinner torched ISU with four catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. Finally, quarterback Jalon Daniels went 12-of-24 for 295 yards, tossed two touchdowns and added 68 rushing yards with another touchdown on the ground.
Lance Leipold and Kansas still in bowl race?
Leipold’s postgame words signify Kansas hasn’t watched players look toward 2025. And that could mean still cracking bowl eligibility.
The Jayhawks only get ruled out of postseason play in December with one more defeat. Leipold never wavered in his confidence toward the Jayhawks.
“I feel this is still a good football team, no matter the disappointments we’ve had to go through,” he said, per Shreyas Laddha of the Kansas City Star.
The Jayhawks’ quest to bowl eligibility, plus playing “spoiler,” won’t be easy. Kansas still has two ranked opponents on deck. Next Saturday is a daunting road trip to Provo, Utah, to take on No. 9 BYU. Leipold and company then return to their home state on Nov. 23, but they will host a Colorado squad set to enter the top 20.
Leipold will have to find a way to lead stirring upsets of both ranked conference foes to earn the spoiler label before facing a struggling Baylor team for the season finale. But if Saturday proved anything, Leipold has coached a group that hasn’t officially checked out of the ’24 season and wants to spoil some seasons.
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