Jul 9, 2025; Frisco, TX, USA; Kansas head coach Lance Leipold speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Kansas Football’s Late-Season Surge: What Lance Leipold Had to Say

Originally posted on Kansas Jayhawks on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 7:22 PM ET

Kansas' Disastrous Start to 2024 Season

After a 1-5 start to last season, it appeared things were only going to get worse for Kansas football last year. The start saw four of the five losses come by six points or less, leaving many to think the bottom would fall out as the season went on.

Instead, Kansas turned things around and rallied to a 5-7 finish, which included wins over No. 17 Iowa State, No. 16 Colorado, and at No. 7 BYU.

So, what changed?

Lance Leipold Discusses Kansas' Late-Season Surge at Big 12 Media Days

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold was asked about what changed during the second half of the season that allowed the Jayhawks to look like a largely different team down the stretch.

"We just didn't play our best when our best was needed," Leipold said of the season's first half, "We didn't close out football games we had the opportunities to."

Leipod then went into detail about how the process didn't change, but the results soon did.

"As we talk about our daily process within our program, we didn't waiver on that, we didn't deflect, we didn't blame. We continued to work hard and again, our locker room did a great job, our leaders did a great job of sticking together and working hard, and I think we found out that once we were able to turn the corner and flip the switch so to speak, our confidence grew and we became the team we thought we could be all the way."

What Does It Mean for 2025?

Virtually nobody is going into 2025 looking at Kansas as a realistic threat to win the Big 12, but things can change quickly. Give the Jayhawks their home field again and switch the results of just a couple of those early-season losses, and you're looking at things entirely different.

Four of the first five games of 2025 are at home. Take care of business there against beatable teams (Fresno State, Wagner, West Virginia, and Cincinnati), establish some of that confidence earlier on than last year, and all of a sudden, eight wins looks realistic.

This article first appeared on Kansas Jayhawks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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