Kansas left Friday night’s 38-21 loss to Missouri with a clear problem to solve: the ground game never really got going.
The Jayhawks managed only 81 rushing yards on 36 carries, a 2.3-yard average that never gave the offense much rhythm. They also didn’t find the end zone on the ground. Isaiah Marshall led Kansas with 23 rushing yards, Dylan Edwards added 39 yards on six carries, and Yasin Willis finished with 18 yards on eight attempts.
That lack of production put even more weight on an offense that was already fighting inconsistency through the air. Marshall threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but he also had two interceptions and lost a fumble in the second half.
Kansas had moments when it moved the ball through the air, but it needed more balance once Missouri started to take control. The Jayhawks had chances early to build something on the ground, yet they couldn’t turn those opportunities into steady gains. Marshall carried the ball 20 times, but his final rushing total was just 23 net yards because of 37 yards lost.
Missouri, by contrast, found a much better rhythm running the football. Jamal Roberts powered the Tigers with 125 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, and Missouri finished with 177 net rushing yards as a team. That edge on the ground helped the Tigers control the game and keep pressure on Kansas in the second half.
For Kansas, the next step is obvious. The Jayhawks need more from their running backs and more help from the offensive line if they want easier paths for the offense. Edwards flashed with a 24-yard run, but the big-play burst has to turn into something more reliable.
Marshall can’t be asked to carry both the passing and rushing load every week, especially against stronger defenses. If Kansas can establish the run, it should take some stress off the sophomore quarterback and open up more of the offense.
Now the Jayhawks have time to clean it up before their next game against Arizona State in London. Kansas sits at 1-1 after the loss to Missouri, and getting the rushing attack back on track has to be near the top of the list.
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Kansas Defense Has A Familiar Problem Fans Are Tired Of
Kansas looked settled on defense for a half against Missouri, and for a while it seemed the Jayhawks might be in position to keep the Border War tight into the fourth quarter. Trey Lathan was active from the middle of the field with nine tackles, and Leroy Harris III gave the unit a lift with a blocked field goal and a forced fumble, the kind of plays that usually travel well even when the offense is still searching for rhythm.
The problem, as Kansas fans know too well, was what happened after halftime. Missouri found answers quickly, the Jayhawks lost control of the game and the Tigers rolled to a 38-21 win, piling up points behind Austin Simmons passing and Jamal Roberts running while Kansas defense faded from the standard it had set earlier. It was a familiar pattern for a group that can flash in stretches but still leaves too much of the game hanging once opponents make their adjustments. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Let Border Showdown Slip Away For One Frustrating Reason
Kansas went into the border showdown needing cleaner execution than it got, and the 38-21 loss to Missouri left the Jayhawks chasing the game for much of the afternoon. Isaiah Marshall had moments through the air, but the offense never found a steady rhythm, the run game stayed bottled up and the Tigers were able to keep Kansas under pressure long enough to separate.
Head coach Lance Leipold pointed to the defensive effort as a unit that gave his team a chance to hang around, even if the game kept putting that group in difficult spots. For a Kansas team that wanted this rivalry game to be a statement, the frustration was less about one bad stretch than the feeling that too many small breakdowns added up at the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]
Has Lance Leipold Already Taken Kansas As Far As He Can
Lance Leipold has done enough at Kansas to change the tone around the program. Since arriving in 2021, he has delivered the kind of milestones that once felt distant in Lawrence, from ending losing streaks to helping put the Jayhawks on a path that included a new stadium and real national relevance. For a while, that was the story every Kansas fan wanted to hear: a steady coach, a resurgent program and evidence that the investment was finally starting to matter.
But the longer Leipold has been in charge, the harder it has become to ignore the ceiling questions. Kansas has not been able to stack up bowl seasons the way its resources and contract support would suggest, and the losses have often arrived in the kind of moments that define whether a rebuild becomes something bigger. The criticism now is not about whether Leipold stabilized the program, but whether the job has reached the point where the next leap requires more than the foundation he already built. [Read more 🡒]