After moving to the brink of bowl eligibility with three consecutive wins over three ranked teams in the past three weeks, the Kansas football team’s season came collapsing to an end in the form of a 45-17 loss to Baylor in Waco on Saturday.
The Jayhawks’ three-game winning streak is dead. The Jayhawks’ hopes of making it to a third consecutive bowl game are dashed.
And the careers of some of the most important players to ever suit up for the program are now over.
Where things go from here remains to be seen. But, remember, KU recently honored 38 seniors before its home win over Colorado. So, there’s little doubt that whatever things look like in 2025, it will be drastically different than we’ve been used to over the past couple of seasons.
Today was ugly. And the Jayahwks (5-7 overall, 4-5 Big 12) will feel that for a long time. But, when the pain starts to subside, it will be the fight they showed to even get to this point that most of them will remember. And possibly their fans, too.
There’s no doubt that this season will forever be remembered as a major disappointment. There was legitimate Big 12 title and College Football Playoff talk when the season began. But a 1-5 start that eventually reached 2-6 before KU found its rhythm buried those goals early, making the push for a third straight bowl appearance for the first time in school history the best Kansas could hope for.
Somewhat appropriately, however, the season that started with major disappointment ended with that same vibe.
Now, that it’s over, we know that Saturday’s game was meaningless. So, we won’t waste our time looking back on the specifics of that one.
All you need to know: KU jumped out to a 7-0 lead and then was outscored 45-10 the rest of the way, trailing 21-10 at halftime and getting outscored 24-7 in the second half.
With that in mind, here are three likes, three dislikes and one what the? To put a bow on how this season played out as a whole.
There’ll be plenty of things to follow throughout the offseason and, one would assume, some big additions, possible subtractions and more in the months ahead before spring football gets going.
So, allow this to be our final look at the disappointing 2024 season.
Leipold summed it up well with the following quote from his postgame press conference in Waco.
“Even though we came up short, we’re still talking about a program that for 12-13 years never won more than 3 games in a season. And for us to continue to do things that is better than we inherited is definitely something that I’m not gonna shy away (from) making sure we build upon. Could we have done better? Absolutely. And that’s the responsibility of myself & we’ll continue to work to get better.”
LIKES
• Devin Neal – Not only was he the Jayhawks’ best player all season, but he also did things that no other Kansas football player has ever done and set records and left a legacy that will last forever. He will be in the Ring of Honor. He will get a statue someday. And he’ll forever be mentioned with Gale Sayers, John Hadl, Todd Reesing and a select few others as one of the true greats in the history of the program. Neal finished the day with 133 yards on 20 carries (6.7 ypc) and added one more touchdown before calling it a career. He finishes his career with a school record 4,343 yards, 49 rushing touchdowns and 53 total touchdowns. Saturday was also his 20th career 100-yard game. It didn’t end the way Devin wanted it to end nor did it end the way anyone who loves Devin would’ve wanted it to end for him. But, man did he make his mark and go out with yet another memorable individual outing.
• Culture holds – After the 1-5 start and 2-6 record following a gut-wrenching loss to K-State, it would’ve been really easy for this program to fold up shop and call it a season. Instead, the Jayhawks did just the opposite, going on a terrific three-week run to not only get back into bowl contention, but also bring the fans back on board for the fun and make an impact on the Big 12 race and even the College Football Playoff. KU played with pride, passion, poise and fire and found a way to become the first team in FBS history to knock off three ranked teams in three consecutive weeks as an unranked team. The Jayhawks weren’t just good or lucky, they were great in that three-game stretch and looked a lot like the team we all thought we’d see when the season began. If nothing else, that was a reminder to these guys that, if they had just found a way to finish games early in the season, those big goals they had may very well have been reachable. That doesn’t erase the pain of falling short, but it’s something that should stick with them and allow them to hold their heads high when they look back at their time as Jayhawks. That might not mean much now and a huge chunk of the fan base probably wants no part of hearing it. But perspective is important and this program would be in way worse shape heading into 2025 — and that new stadium — if the Jayhawks didn’t at least show some fight this month.
• Hat tip to the O-Line – There were some major question marks about this unit when the season began, with veteran center Mike Novitsky and starting left tackle Dominick Puni leaving after last season. It wasn’t perfect right away, but this group sure did find its form and deliver a pretty solid season, ranking among the best in the Big 12 in limiting sacks and paving the way for Devin Neal to do what he did over and over and over. It was a veteran group, with guys like Bryce Cabledue and Michael Ford Jr. having a huge role in the success of the talent up front. Transfer center Bryce Foster was also pretty solid and got better as the year went on, and the depth of the line also showed up, with young tackle Calvin Clements handling a key role down the stretch with both Cabledue and Logan Brown battling injuries. It wasn’t a perfect unit by any means, and there were some down times. But when you consider what they were replacing and what they got, you have to give the O-Line a pretty solid grade for 2024.
DISLIKES
• As Jalon went, so went the Jayhawks – When KU QB Jalon Daniels was good, this team was good right there with him. Devin Neal gashing runs. Receivers making plays. KU racking up points. And wins coming. But Daniels had a terrible start and a rough finish and, fair or not, that will be a big part of the way he is remembered at Kansas. After throwing 8 interceptions in his first 5 games, the KU quarterback significantly limited his giveaways from that point on. But they showed back up in this one, with Daniels’ first-quarter interception on a ball that sailed high over the middle being just his third interception in the past 7 games. More than almost anything, that was the key stat of the 2024 season. When Daniels took care of the ball, KU usually looked good and won. When he didn’t, the Jayhawks found problems. If he’s back for one more season in 2025, he’ll have a chance to add to and/or change his own legacy. If he decides to go elsewhere — pro or transfer — his time as a Jayhawk may be remembered as much for that as for his big arm, flashy plays and incredible charisma.
• Still work to do – If we’re going to talk big-picture perspective above, it seems only fair that we address it here, as well. KU coach Lance Leipold has done a solid job of building a culture and getting this program back on track, but as good as it has seemed at times, it also is still facing a pretty long road ahead. Remember, after qualifying for a bowl in 2022 at 6-6, the loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl left KU at 6-7 on the season. And then this year, the Jayhawks will finish at 5-7. That means three of the four seasons under Leipold have finished with losing records — KU was 9-4 last year — leaving the program with a losing record in 16 of its last 17 seasons. Leipold would be the first to tell you that he expected that type of grind-it-out climb when he signed on for the KU rebuild. So, he won’t blink. But as good as things have seemed in the eyes of the fans these past few years, those facts are a harsh reminder of just how far this program still has to go. That’s why a win today would’ve been so big for the future of the program — three straight bowls at Kansas is definitely something to sing about. And why not even coming close to getting it will sting for a while.
• More consistency needed – Whether you’re talking about tackling, alignment and executing assignments or simply winning games when they’re there for the taking, this team struggled with consistency this season and that cost them in a big way. They couldn’t close out games when they had the lead late and the offense, defense and special teams were all to blame for that at various times. Sometimes talent can overcome a lack of consistency, but, in the end, it seems that it’s always the most consistent programs that find the most success. Leipold has preached taking care of business in those little areas and their importance in the big picture, and he’ll move forward continuing to do the same thing. The Jayhawks are losing a lot of talent and they’ll likely hit the portal to help offset some of that. But no matter who’s on board or which names and faces we know, finding a way to operate with consistency in everything they do will be a huge part of where this program goes in the years ahead.
WHAT THE?
• Changes coming? – We know that a lot of familiar faces will be gone, onto the NFL or their careers after football. So, there’s little doubt that the 2025 version of the Kansas football team will look a lot different than what we’ve seen in recent seasons. The big question there is whether that change will extend to the coaching staff, as well. Defensive coordinator Brian Borland, who has been with Leipold forever, just wrapped up his 40th season of coaching. Jeff Grimes, who had been at Baylor just last season, just finished his first with the Jayhawks. And last offseason saw a handful of Leipold’s coaching staff move on, as well, with the OC, O-Line coach and DBs coach among the most notable movers. Leipold said after Saturday’s loss that he and those closely associated with the program will do their due diligence in every area of the program in the offseason to evaluate exactly what they need to do to move forward. He said they’d self-scout, look at what went right, what went wrong, consider schemes and personnel and all other areas to make sure that they have exactly what they want in place as they head into Year 5 in charge of the KU program. That’s pretty standard stuff and it’s what consistency at the top of the food chain within a football program delivers. So, that should not come as any surprise. The question will be, what, if any, changes does that evaluation lead to in the offseason?
Stay tuned.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
