Kansas had to lean hard on its top three wideouts in Saturday’s 41-24 loss to No. 12 Utah, and Lance Leipold made it clear afterward that the situation was driven as much by circumstance as by design.
Cam Pickett, Nik McMillan and Nahzae Cox accounted for 26 of Isaiah Marshall’s 37 targets in Salt Lake City. Pickett turned in a career day with eight receptions for 134 yards, while McMillan added four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
McMillan also came close to another score, but he dropped a late ball in the end zone. Cox was part of the load-bearing trio as well, and no other KU wide receiver caught a pass.
“You can see we’re a different offense when Cam Pickett’s on the field. Nahzae made nice plays, Nik made some catches,” Leipold said in his postgame radio interview. “Unfortunately the last one (for McMillan) was unfortunate, but those guys all in all played a solid game.”
Leipold said the Jayhawks were forced into that approach after losing two receivers during the game.
“We lost Keaton (Kubecka) today,” he said. “We lost Keaton early in the game and then Tate (Nagy) really wasn’t available yet, so hasn’t done much, so we really only had those three and we leaned on them heavily.”
That was a significant blow for Kansas, especially with Pickett only recently back to full strength after missing nearly all of the first three games. Kubecka entered Saturday as KU’s highest-snapped receiver, according to Pro Football Focus, but he was on the field for just seven offensive snaps against Utah and was targeted once.
Nagy had missed KU’s Oct. 3 win over Middle Tennessee because of an unspecified injury. He was listed as probable on Wednesday’s availability report and then carried no designation the rest of the week, but against Utah he played one offensive snap and also fair-caught a punt.
Nagy has six catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns this season, along with a punt-return score. Kubecka has six receptions for 67 yards.
Marshall still managed 333 passing yards, and Leipold said the quarterback settled in after a rougher opening stretch.
“He’s continued to get confidence and understanding,” Leipold said. “And all in all he had great composure, he got rid of the ball when he needed to and extended a play long enough to get rid of it, things like that. Those are the steps that we need him to make and it’s good to see him do it.”
Kansas now heads to Manhattan for an 11 a.m. matchup with Kansas State next Saturday, with Leipold stressing the need to turn close-to-close competition into actual results.
“Competing’s not the question,” Leipold said in the radio interview. “We got to get out of the competing business and back to winning business.”
In Other News...
Kansas Faces One More Problem In Brutal Road Test At Utah
Kansas is already walking into one of its toughest road tests of the season at No. 12 Utah, and now the weather has joined the list of problems. Kickoff at Rice-Eccles Stadium was moved earlier because of expected severe weather from the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel, with Salt Lake City under a wind advisory and the possibility of thunderstorms hanging over the game.
For a Jayhawks team that has already had to manage the usual difficulties of playing away from home, the conditions could make every phase feel more volatile. Special teams, in particular, looms as a key pressure point, and the kind of wind and weather expected in Utah can turn routine plays into game-changing moments. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Veterans Still Have To Earn Their Place In Bill Self's Rotation
Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White are back with the Kansas mens basketball team after receiving preliminary injunctions that allow them to pursue additional college eligibility, but their return has not changed the standard inside Bill Selfs program. For now, both veterans are working to make their case the old-fashioned way, using practice reps and scout-team work to show they can help in a rotation that has already been reshaped by significant roster turnover.
For Kansas, the value goes beyond simply adding two experienced names to the roster. Council and White bring knowledge that can help teammates settle in and give the Jayhawks a more useful practice environment, but neither is walking into a guaranteed role. In a group still sorting itself out, their immediate job is to prove they belong in the mix, and Selfs rotation remains very much up for grabs. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Lineup Puzzle Could Reshape A Key Starting Battle
Kansas has already added one layer of intrigue to its preseason rotation by bringing back Tre White, and now the coaching staff is weighing another move that could ripple through the lineup. Utah transfer Keanu Dawes has emerged as a possible small-ball center option, giving the Jayhawks a chance to mix and match more freely while searching for the best fit around White and the rest of the roster.
Dawes has said he is open to playing multiple positions, including center, and that flexibility is exactly what makes this battle worth watching. Christian Reeves and Paul Mbiya still loom as important pieces inside, but if Dawes ends up anchoring smaller lineups, the shape of Kansas frontcourt could look very different once the season begins. [Read more 🡒]