Kansas had UCF on the ropes, then watched the whole thing slip away in the final seconds of a 33-32 loss that ended with a reviewed touchdown and a crushing finish in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks had already pulled off the hard part. Down by as many as 19 in the second half, they clawed back to grab a 32-26 lead with just over a minute left.
From there, all they needed was a stop. Instead, UCF pieced together the kind of late drive that has become far too familiar for Kansas fans.
D.K. McDonald’s defense held up at first in the two-minute drill, but the Knights converted a pair of third downs to move into better field position.
Then, with 13 seconds left, Waden Charles appeared to haul in the go-ahead touchdown in the back of the end zone. The stadium thought the game was over.
It wasn’t.
Officials reviewed the play and overturned the call, ruling Charles was still bobbling the ball. That gave Kansas a lifeline, and for a moment it looked like the Jayhawks had caught the break they needed.
But a Jalen Todd pass interference penalty put UCF at the six-yard line with four seconds left, setting up one final snap. Tight end Caden Piening finished the job for the Knights.
The ending went to review again, and fans watching at home could hear the replay conversation unfold. On the KU jumbotron, one angle seemed to show the ball move slightly as Piening hit the ground, and that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Still, the replay officials said there was not conclusive evidence to overturn the ruling. Piening had secured the ball before going down, and no angle proved he lost control during the catch.
For Kansas, it was another brutal late-game collapse to add to an ugly trend. Leipold’s team has now dropped 12 fourth-quarter leads over the past three seasons, a run that also includes last year’s loss to Cincinnati and the setback against TCU a week ago.
These aren’t random stumbles anymore. They’re becoming the defining feature of Kansas’ late-game story.
In Other News...
UCF Finally Ended Its Road Misery In A Wild Kansas Finish
UCF walked out of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with a 33-32 win over Kansas, finally snapping a 12-game road losing streak in a game that swung back and forth until the final seconds. Alonza Barnett III delivered the decisive touchdown pass to Caden Piening with three seconds left, and Will Stone added the extra point to complete a finish that left the Jayhawks on the wrong end of a wild one.
For Kansas, the loss only added to the frustration of a game that featured multiple lead changes and plenty of momentum shifts before UCF seized it at the end. Josh Derry and Taevion Swint were among the Knights who made their presence felt, and the result gave UCF a badly needed breakthrough away from home while leaving plenty for Kansas to sort through after another tight finish slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Football Is Drifting Toward A Reset It Can Barely Afford
Kansas footballs slide this fall has put Lance Leipold in an uncomfortable spotlight, with the Jayhawks sitting at 3-6 and the path back to bowl eligibility growing narrower by the week. For a program that had finally started to feel stable under Leipold, the current drift is jarring, especially as the losses pile up and the questions around the direction of the team get louder.
Leipolds overall mark at Kansas now sits at 30-40, and the financial reality around any coaching change only adds another layer of hesitation. His buyout would be $17.9 million if he is fired after December 1, 2026, and with a major stadium construction project already stretching the programs resources, the Jayhawks are staring at a reset that would be expensive to make and even harder to justify. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Has A Lance Leipold Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Kansas football keeps finding itself in the same painful spot, and the pattern is getting harder for fans to shrug off. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Jayhawks have lost 11 games in which they held a fourth-quarter lead, a stretch that has accounted for more than half of their total defeats over the past three seasons. For a program with enough talent to compete, the issue has become less about whether Kansas can build a lead and more about whether it can protect one.
Recent losses to UCF and TCU only sharpened the frustration, because they fit the same familiar script. Lance Leipold has continued to stress situational football in practice, but the results have not followed in the moments that matter most. Until Kansas starts turning those late-game lessons into actual wins, the conversation around this team is going to stay centered on the one problem fans cannot ignore. [Read more 🡒]