Kansas football got a blunt reminder against Missouri last week: the margin for error shrinks fast when the competition rises. That was especially true for Isaiah Marshall, the redshirt sophomore quarterback who took the first big test of his college career and is now being asked to turn the lessons from it into steadier play.
Head coach Lance Leipold said earlier this week that Marshall will take plenty from that game. Marshall kept playing after taking an early hit and didn’t lean on it as an excuse, but Leipold’s message is clear - the next step is a calmer approach and less forcing the issue.
KU associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki saw the same thing in different terms. He pointed to a mix of good flashes and rough stretches from Marshall, but his emphasis was bigger than one player.
Kotelnicki wants more consistency from the whole team, and he included himself in that push. He also made it clear he wants Marshall to know he’s not alone in this.
Now the Jayhawks turn to Arizona State, with the teams set to meet Saturday in London. Kickoff is 11 a.m. CT.
Leipold described the Sun Devils as a talented team that let a second-half turnover stretch swing its loss to now-No. 8 Texas A&M.
Even so, he believes Arizona State came out of that game with the confidence that it can line up with anybody. In his view, the Sun Devils look like a team that will be a force in the Big 12 Conference.
He also singled out head coach Kenny Dillingham, calling him one of the best in the nation. On the field, Leipold sees an offense with plenty of options and a defense capable of showing different looks.
He pointed to junior quarterback Cutter Boley, a mobile passer with a strong arm, and senior wide receiver Reed Harris, a playmaker who can hurt a defense in a lot of ways. Leipold said Kansas can hang with anyone if it executes at a high level, and that standard will be necessary on Saturday.
Kotelnicki’s focus landed on Arizona State’s front. He said he was impressed by the Sun Devils’ defensive line and praised defensive coordinator Brian Ward for having that group well coached. In Kotelnicki’s view, Arizona State has enough structure to keep an offense guessing while still giving its players the freedom to play fast.
On defense, KU coordinator D.K. McDonald called attention to Arizona State’s wideouts and added senior Omarion Miller as another name to know.
He also noted that the Sun Devils’ quarterback can get the ball out quickly. For Kansas, McDonald said the answer will be playing complementary football across the defensive line, linebackers and secondary to slow down the ASU attack.
Kansas is coming off a loss that exposed where it still needs work, and Arizona State is in the same boat after its own defeat to Texas A&M. The Jayhawks are still building toward a bowl-game goal, and this stage of the season looks like more of a development step than a finished product.
Prediction: Arizona State 28, Kansas 24.
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For Cincinnati, the issue is not just the record in front of them but how quickly a promising stretch can turn into a tense one when the schedule tightens and the noise builds. Satterfield knows the league does not wait long for a coach to feel the heat, and with a major matchup on deck, the Bearcats are again entering a stretch where the conversation around the program could shift in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]