Kansas will look to continue building momentum after snapping a five-game losing streak against Houston on Saturday. The road isn’t easy, facing in-state rival Kansas State, who’s beaten the Jayhawks in 15 straight games and sits at 6-1 on the season.
Lance Leipold spoke with the media on Monday, giving his thoughts on the rivalry, what he’s seen from the Wildcats, and the improvements of Jalon Daniels.
Preparing for a rivalry game
One of the biggest things the Jayhawks can do to get in the right mindset this week is flushing last week’s win so they can prepare for the upcoming contest. You could even see in the press conferences after the Houston game that the players were already looking forward to preparing for the Wildcats. Leipold said the team has done a good job of moving forward.
“They came in with a good attitude today, obviously pleased with the outcome of Saturday," Leipold said. "But understanding that it's one game and we have plenty to improve on and we have, you know, a very good opponent coming in and we're coming up and we have to travel to Manhattan, play a good football team and get ready for them."
Kansas is a veteran-led group that knows the balance between getting excited for a rivalry game and not putting too much stress on it. Leipold said they know they had a chance to win last season but he’s trying to approach it like any other game.
“We don’t make more of it,” Leipold said. “It’s an important game on our schedule for us to build upon. And we know last year was a very good football game that we had our opportunities and we let it slip away. I think our guys know how important it is and the extra energy that comes into rivalry games.”
Kansas will have to control that energy, especially in a juiced environment at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Things spiraled early for the Jayhawks on their last trip to Manhattan in 2022 and will have to come out cleaner this time around.
“We can’t let the crowd get [into it], I’m sure they’ll be charged,” Leipold said. “We’ve got to weather some of that early and make it a four-quarter game and find a way to win it late.”
Kansas State a complete team
The Wildcats have been impressive this season, with their only loss coming at the hands of undefeated BYU in Provo. They have a new offensive coordinator in Connor Riley, who Leipold said has done a good job of mixing things up.
Kansas State has done a good job in the running game with DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards. The two complement each other well with different skill sets.
“Giddens is a big back who's doing nothing but improve each and every year in his career,” Leipold said. “He's got very good vision, powerful runner, deceptive speed. Dylan Edwards is a great addition for them. Everyone knows what an excellent athlete he was coming out of high school. He showed some of that last year at Colorado. He's explosive in the return game. They can use him in different ways, get the ball in his hands.”
Leipold also had high praise for the Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson, saying he’s been everything that everyone expected him to be in college. Defensively, Kansas State can get after the quarterback with defensive end Brendan Mott leading the Big 12 with seven sacks.
“A well-coached defense, schematically that’s always been somewhat unique in today’s world of how they utilize their safeties and get them involved,” Leipold said.
Jalon Daniels, wide receivers back on the same page
There’s been talk this season about Daniels needed to get back on the same page with his wide receivers after missing a lot of time due to injury. He wasn’t able to get as much work in during the offseason and has genuinely needed time to knock off the rust.
Daniels has looked to be back in form in the past two games, not turning it over once, completing deep shots, and looking comfortable in and out of the pocket. These were the things that were expected of him coming into the season, and he now looks to be the Jalon Daniels of old.
“I think there's some things that they've all gotten more comfortable with each other,” Leipold said. “I think Jalon’s found himself more comfortable and in the pocket and doing things and seeing things a little better. I think we've been able to hit, obviously, we've been talking about getting ourselves better in the vertical game and, you know, you can see Quentin’s made some plays there for us.”
The biggest sign of improvement for Daniels is the lack of turnovers. He threw eight interceptions in the first five games but has been clean in the last two. Against Houston, he looked far more comfortable taking deep shots as well as throwing the ball over the middle, which had been an issue earlier in the season. It’s taken time, but Daniels looks to be back in good form.
“He's very comfortable with what's in the game plan,” Leipold said. “He has input on things that he likes and doesn't like and I just feel he's gotten himself into a better rhythm. You know, for a guy who didn't really take any reps last spring and then went through some of the eleven-on-eleven stuff, we probably thought he was further along in knocking off the rust than he probably truly was. Okay, and now he's in a pretty good spot and I think we're starting to see the Jalen Daniels of old and he's making plays for us with his arm and with his feet.”
Injury updates
Kansas defense continues to be banged up, but Cornell Wheeler found himself back on the depth chart and Leipold said he expects Wheeler to be fully available this week. Mason Ellis also did some things at practice, but both of the Dye brothers were out. Leipold said he wasn’t counting on Ellis or the Dyes to play on Saturday.
Offensively, Daniel Hishaw’s status is in question. He went out of the Houston game and reaggravated something he dealt with earlier this season.
“He didn’t go through practice today,” Leipold said. “I’ll put him in the questionable, very questionable for this next week.”
