Kansas football coach Lance Leipold previews KU’s Illinois road game
Check out what Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold had to say Monday ahead of the Jayhawks’ game Saturday on the road against Illinois.
LAWRENCE — Kansas football fans surely recall last year’s home victory against Illinois.
The Jayhawks, on their way to the program’s best season in more than a decade, jumped out to a 21-0 lead early and led 28-7 at halftime. Despite a couple of late scores from the Fighting Illini, KU captured a 34-23 victory. In a matchup of Big 12 Conference and Big Ten Conference opponents, the Big 12 left the day with bragging rights.
But fast forward to this week, and Kansas’ second matchup of the 2024 campaign, and it’s head coach Lance Leipold and his team who are going to be making the road trip to face Illinois. Both teams are going to be playing their first game of the year against a fellow Division I, FBS opponent. And while the Fighting Illini will have the benefit of home-field advantage, the Jayhawks have an experienced roster that should serve them well in a hostile environment.
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“I sure hope it helps,” Leipold said Monday. “We’ve been in different environments now. We still have some guys that have maybe done it at other places as well. We’ve still got to come together as a team and operate. But, all in all, when you look at some of the spots where we’re counting on, and communication and those things, we really do have experience.”
Although Kansas and Illinois will both enter this matchup 1-0 after wins against FCS opponents, the two entered 2024 viewed very differently within their own leagues.
The preseason Big 12 media poll from the conference saw Kansas picked fourth among 16 teams, while the preseason Big Ten media poll from USA TODAY Sports saw Illinois picked 15th among 18. But despite the strides KU has made during the initial few years of the Leipold era, it’s not as if winning on the road against power-conference opponents has become a breeze.
It’s what makes the experience Kansas has at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and other offensive positions incredibly valuable. The same could be said for the Jayhawks defensively, especially in the secondary at both cornerback and safety. Leipold noted he thought their linebackers and, for the most part, secondary, communicated well in the season opener against Lindenwood, and added they’ve started to prepare for what they could have to play through against Illinois.
Veterans of the college game who haven’t always been a primary option during their time at Kansas are continuing to gain experience, too. Just take a look a redshirt junior running back Sevion Morrison, a primary backup at the position behind senior Devin Neal and redshirt junior Daniel Hishaw Jr. Against Lindenwood, Morrison finished with 28 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, and Leipold highlighted the bond all three share.
“I think Sevion’s a guy that’s had trouble staying healthy and, because of that, I think Daniel and Devin really see his potential but are pulling for him as well,” Leipold said. “And it got to the point in the fourth quarter, (running backs coach) Jonathan (Wallace) came up to me and said, ‘He’s gotten about eight carries. He’s played a lot in this series. Let’s just make sure we’ve got everybody fairly fresh. Let’s go with the two younger guys.’ So, that was good. Otherwise, he probably would have had a few more.”
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 13:00:00
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