The new season of college football is nearly upon us, and while Arizona State is seeking to repeat as Big 12 champions, the rest of the conference will have something to say about that. In anticipation of the new season, we're breaking down each of the 15 other schools and where they stand heading into the year. You can find previously released breakdowns below.
Oklahoma State
Houston
BYU
Colorado
Cincinnati
Arizona
West Virginia
What happened last year
After consecutive bowl berths, Kansas started the year ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 2009. Expectations were sky high, even with the Jayhawks being temporarily relocated for home games while their stadium underwent reconstruction.
Perhaps that played a part in a terrible start to the year, then. Kansas was upset by Illinois in Week 2 on the road, and they fell to UNLV "at home" the very next week. They then dropped their first three conference games, including a nail-biter in Tempe to the Sun Devils, to fall to 1-5.
Then, things began to click. Kansas finally looked like the team everyone expected, and they won four of their next five, with consecutive wins over ranked opponents Iowa State, BYU, and Colorado. However, the Jayhawks dropped their final game, failing to qualify for a bowl game.
What's new this year
Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who was new last year, left for Wisconsin. Rather than looking outside the program, as they did a year ago, Kansas elevated co-offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski to the role. He's coached with head coach Lance Leipold for a total of 11 seasons.
Additionally, defensive coordinator Brian Borland decided to retire; he's been a part of Leipold's staff every year he's been a head coach. Co-defensive coordinator DK McDonald, who joined the team last year but previously spent five seasons at Iowa State, was elevated to that role.
As far as roster retention goes, Leipold has stressed continuity in an age of endless transfers. Over the last two years, no Big 12 school has seen fewer scholarship players transfer out than Kansas. In total, 19 players transferred out this offseason, but only six ended up at an FBS program.
Of course, the Jayhawks lost several impact players to the transfer portal. Star running back Devin Neal, who leads the program in career rushing yards, is now gone. So, too, are starting cornerbacks Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson. But the Jayhawks welcomed in 28 new transfers, including five 4-star prospects, in an effort to bolster the roster.
And the biggest name, of course, is quarterback Jalon Daniels. At times, the dual threat quarterback has looked like a Heisman talent, but Daniels has had a bad habit of getting injured. Last year marked the first time in his five years in college that he played every single game, but it was statistically his worst season ever, throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns,.
Reasons for optimism
With regards to Daniels, the hope is that Zebrowski's promotion will get the offense back to the style of play that once made Daniels look like a Heisman contender. Grimes brought a stark change from what Kansas had been running under Leipold, but Zebrowski was on the staff the whole time and has a clearer idea of what works.
Furthermore, continuity sounds like a good thing for the Jayhawks. Leipold is one of the winningest coaches today, with a 168-67 career record and six Division III national championships to his name. Last year was a disappointment, but that proves why Leipold is great: a few years ago, 5-7 would've been cause for celebration in Lawrence.
Even with last year, Kansas wasn't bad so much as they were slow to get out of the gate. Their strong finish to the season featured victories over three of the four teams that would finish tied for first in the Big 12, and the Jayhawks were genuinely great in the second half of the year.
Additionally, all but two of their losses saw Kansas leading at the start of the fourth quarter. They lost a lot of heartbreakers that could have easily gone the other way with one lucky bounce. That's hardly an excuse, but it does offer an explanation of why last year is not evidence that the sky is falling in Lawrence.
Reasons for skepticism
What if the sky is falling though?
Seriously, Leipold is a fantastic coach, but everyone runs out of magic at some point. And in the age of the transfer portal and players being paid, Leipold's approach can sometimes feel at odds with the reality of modern day college athletics.
Leipold's program is built on developing players over time rather than snagging highly rated high school recruits and proven commodities in the transfer portal. In fact, just one of Leipold's recruiting classes thus far has ranked inside the top 60 nationally. How sustainable is that when everyone else is seeing upwards of 30 transfers every year?
There's also the concern with having two first-time play-callers on both sides of the ball. Zebrowski is very familiar with the system, but this is a new step for him. McDonald, meanwhile, is practically an outside hire and has never called plays before. The potential for growing pains on this staff is very high.
Realistic expectations
There is good reason to believe Kansas will get back to a bowl game, but that may be their ceiling.
The schedule lines up nicely, with six games against programs either with a new head coach or a coach squarely on the hot seat entering this season. Still, they end the year with consecutive road games against Arizona and Iowa State before hosting Utah. That's a tough way to end the year.
Then again, Leipold knows what he's doing, and you can never discount Daniels. If the quarterback can feel more at home in Zebrowski's offense, and he can stay healthy, Kansas may find themselves in the thick of the Big 12 hunt. Those are two big if's, though.