MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas football walked into the Sunflower Showdown carrying a familiar problem, and it showed up again at the worst possible time.
The Jayhawks have now lost 18 straight to Kansas State, but the most painful part of Saturday wasn’t just another defeat. It was the same old late-half collapse that has haunted Kansas in recent seasons.
With 1:39 left before halftime and a 17-13 lead in hand, Kansas lined up to punt from its own 11-yard line on fourth-and-long. Freshman punter Matt Gill mishandled a perfectly good snap, the ball rolled through the back of the end zone, and Kansas State turned the safety into a field goal after a strong return on the ensuing possession.
In a flash, the Jayhawks went from up four to trailing 18-17 at halftime.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold didn’t try to dress it up.
“There are times where we can play with [anyone],” Leipold said. “That confidence hasn’t waned whatsoever.
It’s just that sometimes in these situations, our margin for error is very small. You’ve got to play clean, especially on the road playing against a team that’s playing with confidence.”
The thing is, this wasn’t an isolated breakdown. It was just the latest entry in a growing list.
Kansas has now blown a lead in the final two minutes of the first half in three of its four games against Power Four opponents this season. Since the start of the 2024 season, the Jayhawks are minus-33 in point differential against Power Four teams in the final two minutes of the first half.
That’s the broad picture. The week-by-week version is even uglier.
On Sept. 19, 2026, against Arizona State, Matt Gill’s 17-yard punt with 25 seconds left handed the Sun Devils the ball at the KU 25. Arizona State scored on the next play and went on to win 24-17.
A week earlier, on Sept. 11, 2026, Kansas had a 14-7 lead against Missouri before the Tigers answered by going 75 yards in 78 seconds to tie the game. Missouri later won 38-21.
The 2025 season had its own brutal ending. At Arizona on Nov.
8, Kansas led 17-7 with just over a minute left in the half when Leroy Harris III’s 77-yard pick-six was wiped out by a holding penalty. Two plays later, Arizona found the end zone with 23 seconds left to cut the lead to 17-14, then came back to win 24-20.
At Missouri on Sept. 6, 2025, Kansas held a 21-18 edge before a quick three-and-out.
The Tigers took over at their own 14 with 28 seconds on the clock and needed only three plays to move 84 yards and tie the game with a 20-yard field goal. Missouri won 42-31.
The 2024 season was loaded with the same sort of damage. At Arizona State on Oct.
5, Kansas led 14-7 before allowing a 58-yard touchdown drive in 52 seconds that tied the game with 24 seconds left. Arizona State won 35-31.
One week earlier, against TCU on Sept. 28, the Jayhawks were ahead 17-14 before giving up a touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half. TCU took a 21-17 lead and later won 38-27.
At West Virginia on Sept. 21, Kansas had a short punt turn into trouble, giving the Mountaineers the ball at the KU 34.
West Virginia converted a third-and-14 and scored with 25 seconds left to go ahead 14-7. West Virginia won 32-28.
Against UNLV on Sept. 13, 2024, Kansas led 17-6 when Jalon Daniels threw an interception at his own 33 with 31 seconds remaining. UNLV converted a 27-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the half to make it 17-13, then won 23-20.
And on Sept. 7, 2024, at Illinois, Kansas was already in trouble before the half ended. Illinois kicked a field goal to trim the lead to 10-6, and then Daniels threw a pick-six with 36 seconds left to give Illinois the lead. Illinois went on to win 23-17.
Over this span, Kansas is 2-9 when it has a negative point differential in the final two minutes of the first half and 3-3 when it has a positive point differential.
The bad news for Kansas is that the -33 number is heavily shaped by the 2024 season. The other bad news is that Saturday in Manhattan fit the same pattern far too well.
There is still a lot of football left in 2026, and the back half of Kansas’ schedule is much more manageable than the front end. But if the late-half mistakes keep stacking up, the Jayhawks are staring at more than another missed bowl chance. They could also be heading toward their worst record since Leipold arrived in 2021.
In Other News...
Kansas Faces A Costly Lance Leipold Question It Can't Ignore
Since Lance Leipold arrived in 2021, Kansas football has at least looked like a program with direction again. He delivered back-to-back bowl trips, snapped several losing streaks and gave the Jayhawks the kind of stability they had not found through five head coaches since 2010. Even so, the broader picture has remained uneven, with the team still searching for a way to turn brief progress into a more consistent winning run.
The problem for Kansas is that the question around Leipold is not just about football. Stadium construction costs and contract buyouts make any coaching decision more complicated, and that financial reality hangs over every discussion about the future. For a program that has already spent years trying to find the right fit, the margin for another expensive misstep is awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Just Added A Purdue Veteran Bill Self Can Actually Use
Trey Kaufman-Renn is bringing a rare blend of experience to Lawrence after five seasons at Purdue, and the timing could not be better for a Kansas roster that can use more proven production up front. A court ruling has granted him an additional year of college eligibility while his case against the NCAA continues, giving Bill Self another veteran forward with a rsum built in the Big Ten and on the NCAA Tournament stage.
For Kansas, the appeal is obvious: Kaufman-Renn arrives with the kind of scoring touch and rebounding presence that can help stabilize a frontcourt and ease some pressure on the rotation. His path to campus is still tied to an unresolved legal fight, but the Jayhawks have added a player who has already logged meaningful high-level minutes and should be able to contribute right away. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Self Is Pushing Kansas Deeper Into A Risky New Reality
The first exhibition in Allen Fieldhouse came with a visible change underfoot, as new Monster Energy logos appeared on the Kansas court and offered another reminder of how quickly the mens basketball program is adapting to a shifting college sports landscape. Just before the season opener, the Jayhawks also added former Purdue forward and Minnesota Timberwolves draft pick Trey Kaufman-Renn, giving Bill Self another veteran piece as Kansas continues to piece together a roster built in part through unusual and highly specific circumstances.
What stands out now is how much of that roster exists under court-ordered eligibility, with Trey Kaufman-Renn joining Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. in that category. Each case carries its own legal wrinkle, and together they underscore how Kansas is operating in a reality that would have seemed hard to imagine even a few seasons ago. The talent is there, but so is the uncertainty, and the Jayhawks are finding themselves deeper into that mix as the season begins. [Read more 🡒]