Kansas didn’t exactly burst out of the gate Friday night, but once the Jayhawks settled in, there was no mystery about how this one would end.
After a first drive that stalled with a turnover on downs and a second quarter that still had Kansas only six points ahead of FCS Long Island University, the Jayhawks finally hit their stride and rolled to a 51-6 win over the LIU Sharks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
The offense got a jolt from a debuting quarterback and a few new faces who wasted no time making their mark. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Marshall, who had just three collegiate completions entering the game, looked comfortable almost immediately. In his Kansas debut, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns.
Marshall’s biggest throws came on two plays that each went for more than 40 yards. He found redshirt senior wide receivers Nik McMillan and Nahzae Cox on deep balls, and both plays set up rushing touchdowns, with Yasin Willis, a transfer from Syracuse, and Jalen Dupree, from Colorado State, finishing the drives on the ground.
Marshall’s second touchdown pass came on a wild sequence late in the game. What looked like an interception somehow ended up in the hands of sophomore wide receiver Tate Nagy, giving Marshall his second passing score before Cole Ballard took over at quarterback.
McMillan, a Buffalo transfer, was one of the day’s biggest bright spots. He caught six passes for 130 yards, averaged 21.7 yards per catch and scored his first career touchdown as a Jayhawk with less than a minute left in the first half.
Kansas also leaned on its run game to put the game out of reach. The Jayhawks punched in five rushing touchdowns, with Micah Johnson, Donald Collier and Dupree each scoring once and Willis adding two more.
The defense did its part, too. LIU had moments when it looked as if it might threaten, but Kansas kept the Sharks out of the end zone. Redshirt junior defensive end David Santiago accounted for the team’s lone turnover by forcing and recovering a fumble.
The win moved Kansas to 6-0 in season openers under Lance Leipold.
Still, the slow start and the little mistakes that cropped up are the kind of details Kansas will need to clean up as the schedule toughens. Next up is the Border Showdown against Missouri on Friday, Sept. 11, with kickoff in Lawrence set for 7 p.m. on FOX.
In Other News...
Lance Leipold Had One Big Issue With Kansas' Blowout Win
Kansas had little trouble putting away Long Island in a 51-6 win, and for most of the afternoon the only real question was how lopsided it would get. The Jayhawks rolled up 613 yards on offense, got strong work from backs Yasin Willis, Micah Johnson and Jalen Dupree, and saw Isaiah Marshall settle in by completing 14 of 19 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, the defense smothered the Sharks, holding them to 146 yards and just 11 first downs in a game that looked over early and only grew more one-sided.
The lone sour note came late in the fourth quarter, when redshirt-sophomore safety Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman was sent off after a targeting ruling on a hit that Lance Leipold clearly believed merited a closer look. For a team that otherwise checked just about every box in a runaway nonconference win, the call stood out enough to leave the Kansas coach frustrated as the Jayhawks turned their attention to the next week. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Looked Ready But One Border War Concern Is Already Brewing
Kansas opened the season exactly the way a veteran team would hope, rolling past Long Island 51-6 and never even needing to punt. Lance Leipold said the Jayhawks had to adjust their pregame routine because of the heat, but once the game started, the operation looked crisp enough to suggest a group that already knows what it wants to be.
Still, the opener was not entirely clean, and the first hint of concern came on defense. A linebacker went down early with a shoulder injury, and the secondary also had to absorb a targeting ejection that could matter more in a much bigger setting to come. For a team that immediately turns its attention to Missouri, the early-season injury and discipline questions are the sort of details that can linger long after a lopsided win. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Offense Just Created A New Question Before Missouri
Kansas handled Long Island University exactly the way a heavily favored team should, rolling to a 51-6 win and getting the kind of low-stress September result that lets a staff sort through depth and rhythm. The bigger offensive note was the return of coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, and Kansas had enough moving parts to leave with a better feel for its backfield rotation, steady production from several running backs and a more complete picture of how the passing game might look as the season moves forward.
Isaiah Marshall also got his first-ever start and immediately gave the offense something to think about heading into Missouri week, including an early connection with Nik McMillan that stood out in a game with plenty of scoring. On the other side of the ball, Leroy Harris III was disruptive throughout the afternoon with multiple tackles for loss, giving Kansas a defensive edge to match the offensive depth it uncovered, even if the bigger questions now are how all of it carries into a far more demanding rivalry test. [Read more 🡒]