The 2026 Kansas football season arrives with a lot of fresh faces, a few familiar pressures, and no shortage of uncertainty. The Jayhawks open Friday night against Long Island University, and while there’s real buzz in Lawrence, the biggest questions hanging over this team are still impossible to ignore.
At the center of everything is Isaiah Marshall. Kansas has chosen him as its starting quarterback after a fall camp battle that kept fans wondering whether he or junior Cole Ballard would get the nod.
With head coach Lance Leipold and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki settling on Marshall, the job now shifts from competition to execution. Marshall takes over an offense once led by Jalon Daniels, who, incredibly, just earned the backup quarterback job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Marshall didn’t get many chances last season. Most of his work came on option plays, and now the expectations jump significantly. Kansas is counting on him to help lift an offense that finished 10th in the Big 12 in scoring last year at 28.1 points per game.
Kotelnicki’s return adds another layer to that equation. His presence back in the KU coaching booth could be a major factor in how quickly this offense finds its rhythm. Kansas had plenty of success under his guidance a few years ago, and if he can recreate that formula, the ceiling changes fast.
Then there’s the schedule’s most glaring pressure points. Two games stand out above the rest: Missouri and Kansas State.
The rivalry with Missouri carries extra weight because the Tigers have owned the series for a while now, winning four straight and six of the last seven after the streak started in 2009. Kansas State has been even more brutal, stringing together 17 straight wins over the Jayhawks. That game will stay enormous until KU finally snaps the streak.
The Missouri matchup is especially notable because it’s the first Border War game in Lawrence since 2005. Kansas also lost a tight one in Columbia last year, which only sharpens the edge of this year’s meeting. Given the rest of the schedule, it could also be the kind of game Kansas needs if bowl eligibility is going to be in reach.
And that leads to the biggest question of all: can Kansas get back to a bowl game?
That’s the standard fans have set, and the Jayhawks have missed it in back-to-back seasons. The road back won’t be easy. The 2026 slate includes three preseason top 25 teams, a home game overseas, and only one bye week, which comes before the end of September.
If Kansas falls short again, the consequences go beyond the standings. Another losing season could hurt ticket sales for next year and chip away at the financial support KU Athletics needs. It could also leave Leipold on the hot seat heading into 2027.
By the time November ends, that answer will define the season.
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Devin Neals first NFL chapter has already run into a familiar kind of camp-season trouble. The former Kansas running back was part of a crowded New Orleans Saints backfield and had been trying to carve out a role after turning pro, but a lingering hamstring issue made that climb more difficult as the preseason wore on.
Neal was eventually moved off injured reserve and is now in limbo as the league sorts out his next step. Other teams can claim him, and if no one does, he becomes a free agent, leaving the next phase of his pro career to hinge on who still sees enough upside to take a chance. [Read more 🡒]
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For Jayhawks fans, the bigger picture is simple: this is the kind of game that changes the feel of a season, especially when it comes at home and carries the weight of history. The ticket market is already reflecting that demand, and with both teams' schedules now laid out, the only thing left is the long lead-up to a fall night that figures to have no shortage of interest on either side of the border. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Defense Faces Immediate Pressure To Show Last Year Is Different
Kansas spent much of last season trying to patch up a defense that too often left the Jayhawks chasing games, with the unit finishing near the bottom nationally in rush defense and total yards allowed. That history is why this fall carries such a clear early test for coordinator D.K. McDonald and a group that has been reshaped by transfers and new assistant coaches, even before the schedule really stiffens.
The opener against LIU is less about style points than showing the basics look cleaner from the start. McDonald has pointed to tackling and communication as the first things that have to improve, and Kansas will be leaning on new linebacker leaders Trey Lathan and Bam Crouch to help set the tone while the rest of the defense tries to prove last year is no longer the standard. [Read more 🡒]