It may not have always looked this way over the course of the last month, but to hear Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham tell it, the Kansas football team is “the same team that was predicted to potentially win the league to start the season.”
“This is a really good football team that two plays a game are not going their way,” Dillingham told reporters on Monday. “But that’s sports.
“Two plays flip the other direction and they’re the 12th-ranked team in the country, undefeated, and favorites to win the Big 12. Two plays don’t go their way and it’s ‘What happened? Change everything!’ I think the one thing about coach (Lance) Leipold is he’s had a lot of success in his career. He knows how close they are. I don’t expect any drastic change.”
As for Leipold himself, asked about the possibility of such substantial changes, he said on Monday, “I believe in what we do and what got us here.”
“I know what we have to do to improve those yet on a daily basis,” he said. “Though, as I’ve said before, it’s disappointing, frustrating to many, it’s correctable.”
One of the biggest areas to correct ahead of the Jayhawks’ next chance to end their losing streak — Saturday evening as KU makes its first-ever trip to ASU — is offensive execution. Leipold said that the Jayhawks aren’t that far off statistically from last year — even though their difference of almost one yard per play as compared to this time last season would still be the difference between 60th and 30th nationally.
From Dillingham’s external point of view, “the only statistic that’s much different than last year for them is turnover margin. It’s amazing what turnover margin does.”
KU was plus-three in turnovers through five games last year and currently sits at minus-four, although it took a step in the right direction by intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble while throwing just one garbage-time interception against TCU last weekend.
Despite winning that battle, the Jayhawks lost the game. Quarterback Jalon Daniels had one of his worst starts as a collegian, even as KU’s rushing attack continues to be among the best in the Big 12, and its defense found no way to consistently curtail TCU quarterback Josh Hoover and his productive group of wide receivers.
“There’s nobody jumping off the ship here,” defensive coordinator Brian Borland said. “I think we’re a pretty motivated group and I feel confident that we’re going to play our best on Saturday.”
The Jayhawks may not face quite the same aerial challenge this week as they go up against Sam Leavitt, who has thrown for 855 yards on the year with three touchdowns and two interceptions, though he has added four more rushing scores. Running back Cam Skattebo proved a potent threat when he carried the ball 33 times for 262 yards in the Sun Devils’ victory over Mississippi State, but he has just 171 yards in ASU’s three other games.
“Their running back is really a good player,” Borland said. “He’s so hard to tackle, he really is a blow deliverer in tackling, he runs over, around, through guys, bounces off, just a really good player, and they’re smart enough to get him the ball.”
Defensively, ASU has some talent and leadership in the secondary with players like cornerback Shamari Simmons and safeties Xavion Alford and Myles Rowser.
“I think they’re pretty aggressive dudes,” running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. said of the Sun Devils’ defense. “I don’t think they’re really scared of too many people. I like how they play. It looks like they’re together as a defense.”
The Sun Devils come in looking for their first-ever Big 12 victory, following a bye week that gave them distance from a 30-22 road loss to Texas Tech.
Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2 Big 12)
• Mountain America Stadium, Tempe, Arizona, 7 p.m. Central Time
• Broadcast: ESPN2
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)
• Betting line: ASU -2.5; over/under 50.5
• Series history: None
What to watch for
1. Big bodies: Redshirt freshman and Lawrence native Calvin Clements, who had to work his way back from injury over the course of the offseason, has made it back to full strength, and Leipold has said he intends to give Clements a rotational spot at left tackle while moving Bryce Cabeldue back to his natural right side at certain times. Between Clements’ return and Shane Bumgardner’s emergence as a rotational right guard, the Jayhawks are working their way into a much more fluid offensive line than they seemed to have at the start of the season. Offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes said a rotation could make the line “play longer and harder and be fresher.”
2. Thinner and thinner: A sleep-deprived Taiwan Berryhill Jr. made it back from New Orleans in time to fill in at middle linebacker against TCU, and KU declared him one of its defensive players of the week for the effort, but Pro Football Focus slapped him with one of the worst grades in a single game for any Jayhawk player this season. Leipold declined to provide updates on any injured Jayhawks during his Monday press conference, meaning starter and captain Cornell Wheeler’s status is unknown, as are those of safeties Devin Dye and Mason Ellis and Hawk linebacker Logan Brantley. With all that up in the air, KU could be thin on defense as it prepares to face Skattebo and company. Borland said Berryhill will continue in the Mike role if needed.
3. Red alert: Dillingham described the red zone as ASU’s primary area for improvement and said the Sun Devils worked on execution there extensively during their bye week. ASU has failed to score on four of its 19 trips to the red zone and is one of four schools nationwide without a red-zone passing touchdown this year; on the other side of the ball, the Sun Devils are tied for worst in the country given that they have allowed opponents to score in the red zone every time this year. Considering that KU has also scored every time it’s gotten inside the 20, ASU will need to tighten up in a hurry.
Spotlight on…
Daniel Hishaw Jr.: The Jayhawks’ secondary running back has seen much of his success this season overshadowed by KU’s overall struggles, not to mention his fellow back Devin Neal’s continued pursuit of the school’s all-time rushing record. But since missing the UNLV game due to a combination of injury and illness, Hishaw has averaged more than seven yards per carry, serving as KU’s leading rusher against TCU, and generally retaining the sort of form he displayed early in the 2023 season. Grimes said he’s improved at making players miss and holding onto the ball, and Leipold added, “I like the way he walks into the building every day and goes about it and I’m really happy for him.”
Inside the numbers
108: The projected high temperature in degrees Fahrenheit for Tempe on Saturday, according to AccuWeather. Sunset will take place at 6:05 p.m. local time, an hour after kickoff.
44: Jalon Daniels’ completion percentage against TCU, his lowest single-game mark since he threw a lone incomplete pass against Baylor on Sept. 18, 2021.
7.9: The number of yards by which KU punter Damon Greaves has increased his punting average from 2023 to 2024.
Prediction
ASU wins 26-20. Considering the issues KU has had finishing games in the fourth quarter, it’s hard to imagine the Jayhawks pulling off a narrow victory after flying across two time zones to play for three hours in a sort of heat they’re not accustomed to, especially while going through defensive injury issues and playing against a team coming off a bye week.
And in general, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to pick in favor of this year’s team at all until they show they know how to win.
