Spring Schedule Preview: Kansas

As we head into the dog days of summer, let’s put a bow on our look at the Cowboys’ fall football schedule with their season finale against the Jayhawks.

Be sure to check out the rest of our previews for this fall: Noncon | WVU | UCF | Houston | Colorado | Iowa State | Kansas State | Texas Tech | Arizona State

Week 12: Kansas | Nov. 28 | Stillwater, Okla.

Series history: 42-31-2

The Cowboys are coming off a loss to KU for the just third time since 1995. It’s also the first time OSU has lost two of the last three to Kansas since that same year.

Last meeting: The Cowboys were competitive in the first half in Lawrence last Nov. 1 and even held a 7-3 lead after the first quarter. But early success was short-lived and the Jayhawks never punted, scoring a touchdown on every possession after their opening-drive FG.

It made for the seventh time (out of eight losses to that point) that OSU finished at least down three scores. But on the bright side, it was the last time as they finished the year with losses of eight-, three- and seven-point decisions, respectively. These numbers are more notable than they are comforting.

Kansas in 2025: The Jayhawks finished 5-7 for the second-straight year. In five years under Lance Leipold, they’ve had just one winning season, the 9-4 finish in 2023 that ended with a bowl win. After starting 2-1 in conference, Kansas finished losing five of six with their only win coming over the Cowboys.

Kansas in 2026: Kansas will have a revamped offense behind a new starting QB for the first time in six years. Jalon Daniels was taking snaps in KU’s backfield longer than Perry Ellis posted folks up in the Phog. Actually.

It may fall to longtime backup Cole Ballard, who amassed just 445 passing yards over three seasons for Kansas. He’ll have to fight off to transfer Chase Jenkins who wasn’t asked to do much in Rice’s run-centric offense. He had 1,025 passing yards and nine TDs 12 games but did rush for five more and over 500 yards.

The Jayhawks brought in a slew of skill players like former K-State running back Dylan Edwards. He’s been limited due to injury but is explosive when healthy.

Of note: The biggest acquisition of the offseason may be the bringing back of former OC Andy Kotelnicki, who spent the last two seasons calling plays for James Franklin at Penn State. He spent 2021-23 in the booth for Kansas and was a big part of getting Daniels to play to his strengths which helped the Jayhawks score 35.6 points per game in 2022 (2nd in the Big 12) and 34.8 in 2023 (4th). KU brass and fans hope he can bring the Jayhawks offense back.