LONDON, England - Kansas left Saturday with disappointment, and Lance Leipold didn’t try to hide it.
The Jayhawks’ 24-17 loss to Arizona State in their Big 12 opener overseas came with a mix of encouraging signs and obvious trouble spots. Kansas showed enough in stretches to suggest it can be a quality team, but not enough to turn that into a win. Leipold said he was disappointed the Jayhawks didn’t do enough to finish the job, and he included himself in that assessment.
The defense was the clearest bright spot. Kansas held Arizona State to 228 total yards, forced the Sun Devils into a 4-for-17 showing on third downs and limited them to 3.5 yards per play.
The two touchdowns Arizona State scored came after short fields, which made the job harder from the start. Leipold said Kansas mixed up its looks well, had a strong plan from the defensive staff and tackled effectively.
Even so, he pointed to the need for better eye discipline, especially in critical moments.
KU’s pass rush also showed up. Junior defensive end Leroy Harris III and redshirt junior defensive end David Santiago each had a sack, and Kansas finished with six tackles for loss.
But the Jayhawks couldn’t get the stop they needed late in the fourth quarter. When they had a chance to force a punt and get the ball back for either a tying drive or a shot at the win, Arizona State ran out the clock instead.
Special teams gave Kansas a huge jolt in one moment and a painful setback in another. Sophomore wide receiver Tate Nagy delivered the Jayhawks’ first touchdown with a 72-yard punt return in the first half, then added a 38-yard touchdown catch in the second half.
Leipold called Nagy a highly competitive player with a strong feel for the game and the ability to make people miss. Nagy finished with three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
That kind of production matters even more with Kansas dealing with injury concerns at running back. Leipold’s message was that the Jayhawks will need their wide receivers to keep stepping up, and that the offense has to be able to adapt if it wants more success this season.
But the special teams picture was far from clean. Kansas also allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown, adding to a day when the unit produced both a game-changing play and a damaging one.
Turnovers were another problem. Kansas gave the ball away three times, and Leipold said the team has to improve across the board.
He said the group needs to stay together, understand that the loss should hurt and recognize that there is still a team there capable of doing good things if it corrects the details. The message, in his view, was simple: the Jayhawks win and lose together, and they have to be better in all three phases to finish games.
Leipold also said he thought Kansas handled the last two weeks well, from the home loss to now No. 21 Missouri to the challenge of traveling overseas.
He acknowledged that the international trip made routine harder to maintain, but said the team worked at it. Even with back-to-back losses, he still sees enough positives to build on as Kansas keeps developing.
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