A thin Kansas backfield opened the door for Dylan Edwards, and he walked through it with authority.
On Saturday against Middle Tennessee, the first-year Jayhawk handled a season-sized workload and delivered the kind of performance Kansas had been waiting to see. Edwards carried 20 times for 137 yards and scored three touchdowns, all firsts in his KU career. The burst and open-field pop were there, but so was something else Kansas has been eager to evaluate: whether he can be the back who keeps coming, snap after snap, instead of a player used in a narrower role.
“Each week, I want to continue to get better and better and not look for two weeks from now or four weeks from now, just lock in on every single day and get better 1%,” Edwards said.
That blend of explosiveness and versatility is exactly why Kansas went after him in the transfer portal. Still, the staff has made it clear that the real test is consistency, and Lance Leipold said Edwards has answered that challenge.
“We know he has a chance to be dynamic,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “Again, his versatility speaks for itself. But again, we want him to be consistent each and every day he walks into the building, and he’s done that.”
Edwards showed the full package against the Blue Raiders. He ran straight through contact when the play called for it, then turned the corner when space opened up. He said he’s been “working on a lot of the little things” with running backs coach Jonathan Wallace, including footwork, situational awareness and better reads of the defense and the field.
“(I’m) just going week by week trying to get better,” Edwards said. “Working on the little things, and I feel like today I did pretty good.”
Kansas leaned heavily on the ground game all day, piling up 480 rushing yards in the win, but Edwards set the tone from the start. He had seven carries in the opening quarter alone, matching a career high, and gained 57 yards in that frame, which accounted for 44% of the Jayhawks’ first-quarter offense. All 20 of his carries came in the first three quarters.
Isaiah Marshall added 110 rushing yards of his own, and that dual-threat combination made Kansas tough to defend on read-option looks. Marshall said the defense was forced to account for both runners on every snap.
“(When) we’re doing a zone read play, the end doesn’t know who’s going to have the ball because we’re doing both,” Marshall said. “I’m doing good (running), Dyl is doing good, so it’s kind of hard. We put stress on the ends to make a play when me and him (are) doing good on the ground.”
Edwards’ day was even more impressive considering he was sick during Wednesday’s practice, a key day for game-plan work, and was sent home. He returned Thursday, practiced, and then turned in the best game of his Kansas career two days later. His first touchdown as a Jayhawk also came with a milestone: his first three-touchdown rushing game.
“It felt great,” Edwards said of getting in the end zone. “I felt like it was easy when the O-line did their job, and I just got in there.”
Even with the breakout behind him, Edwards was already looking ahead. Kansas now turns to a road matchup with ranked Utah, a team known for its defense and its play in the trenches. For Kansas to keep moving the ball in that game and beyond, Edwards knows he’ll need to keep building on what he showed against Middle Tennessee.
“I’m just glad we won the game so we can move on, be 1-0 for this week and go onto the next week and play Utah,” Edwards said.
In Other News...
Kansas May Have Found A New Identity At The Perfect Time
Kansas spent Saturday looking like a team that might finally know who it wants to be. The offense rolled to a program-record 706 yards in the 55-0 win over Middle Tennessee State, but the more revealing part of the afternoon was how firmly the defense controlled the game while the passing attack and ground game kept the other sideline buried. Through the first four games, first-year coordinator D.K. McDonalds unit has been the steadier side of the ball, even as the offense has gone through its own uneven stretches.
Middle Tennessee never found a rhythm, forced into repeated punts and kept from building any real momentum once the game settled in. For Kansas, that kind of balance matters because it suggests the Jayhawks may have found a version of themselves that can travel better than a shootout script, especially when the offense is clicking and the defense is no longer just trying to hold on. The question now is whether this was a one-week statement or the start of something more durable. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Just Delivered The Kind Of Win Fans Needed
Kansas finally got the kind of comfortable Saturday it has been chasing, rolling past Middle Tennessee 55-0 in a performance that touched every part of the roster. Dylan Edwards gave the offense an early jolt with 137 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Isaiah Marshall helped keep the tempo moving with production on the ground and through the air. It was the sort of one-sided win that lets a team breathe a little, build some confidence and see its playmakers make a difference.
The bigger picture was just as encouraging on the other side of the ball, where Kansas turned in a suffocating defensive effort and allowed only seven first downs. Middle Tennessee never found much rhythm, managing just 3.2 yards per play, and the Jayhawks left no doubt by finishing the day with a shutout. For a program that has been looking for cleaner, more complete outings, this was the kind of response fans had been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Pushes Back As Kansas Faces A Scheduling Squeeze
Kansas footballs trip to London for the Union Jack Classic brought a different kind of reward than a win, with the Jayhawks leaving Arizona State behind in the box score but coming home with $2.7 million and a dose of international exposure. The football program got a rare showcase overseas, and it was enough to stir the usual offseason conversation about what kinds of opportunities are worth the disruption when a school is trying to compete across multiple sports.
Bill Self, though, made clear he does not see that same model fitting his basketball program. With the season calendar already tight, the Kansas coach said international games during the winter would create too many scheduling headaches, even as he talked through the Jayhawks upcoming nonconference and Big 12 slate. He also weighed in on the leagues shifting basketball schedule, a reminder that Kansas is navigating not just opponents, but the format of the season itself. [Read more 🡒]