Lance Leipold of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts during the first half against the Kansas State Wildcats at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Getty Images
LAWRENCE
Kansas coach Lance Leipold walked to the podium for his postgame news conference with a somber look.
Kansas State had just defeated Kansas 42-17, extending the Wildcats’ win streak over the Jayhawks to 17 games.
The Jayhawks led this game early, after a first-quarter rushing touchdown, but were blown out the rest of the way. Kansas (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) hasn’t defeated K-State since 2008.
That helped explain the coach’s mood.
“Major step backwards,” Leipold said. “It’s definitely a major step backwards. We have to own that. We were thoroughly outplayed. They executed better than us. They were more physical than us. That’s very disappointing.”
Leipold is now 0-5 against K-State.
“As a head coach, it’s your responsibility to have them ready to go,” Leipold continued. “I don’t fault our effort, our want-to. … I thought our guys, especially in the last 72 hours, were very excited and focused on playing.”
The Jayhawks even entered Saturday as the betting favorite.
Naturally, Saturday’s result drew plenty of criticism from fans — both at the game, where boos could be heard over the broadcast at one point, and across social media.
Leipold was asked postgame what he’d say to fans who are embarrassed by the 17-year streak against the Wildcats.
“I’d be embarrassed — I’m embarrassed, right now,” Leipold said. “We need to play better than that.
“… I’m frustrated we lost five (games to K-State), because those are the five that I’ve been here. I can’t control the past, but I can work on the future. If I was a fan, I’d be frustrated as well.”
Leipold has brought the Jayhawks back to relevancy, but he is 0-6 vs. KU’s biggest rivals (K-State, 0-5; Missouri, 0-1) as head coach.
With the Jayhawks favored in this matchup for the first time since 2009, there was added disappointment in the blowout result.
“Today, we got thoroughly outplayed,” Leipold said. “We didn’t execute very well. … This is a complete, team program loss. It’s not any position. We talk about things in the passing game, inconsistencies running the football, and we’ve talked about it earlier in the week about being better in special teams.
“We anticipated them throwing the ball deep and we gave up more deep balls today than we had all year. … Frustration across the board is warranted and blame starts with the head coach.”
Leipold also knows Kansas can’t let the loss fester. It’s what he talked about to his players in the locker room postgame.
Jalon Daniels #6 of the Kansas Jayhawks runs the ball against Zashon Rich #25 of the Kansas State Wildcats during the first half at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Lawrence, Kansas. Jay Biggerstaff Getty Images
The Jayhawks at 4-4 still need two wins to reach bowl eligibility.
“A lot of people on the outside now will start chipping away at some of the things we do within our program,” he said. “(It’s important) for our players to keep working hard, stay focused, believe in one another and not point fingers. If you want to point fingers, point them at the head coach. It’s an important time to see where we will be.
“I’ve said this after wins and losses … we have to own what’s on film, we have to be coachable and understand what we have to do. As coaches, when we are in here tomorrow, we have to look hard at what we are doing and (ask), ‘Is it working? Do we have the right people in the right places?’”
Kansas will attempt to bounce back next Saturday against Oklahoma State on homecoming weekend.
“As we continue to work, the way this conference is set up,” Leipold said, “you have a chance (where) we can win a lot of football games — or it could be a very long month or so.”
Related Stories from Kansas City Star
Shreyas Laddha
The Kansas City Star
Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.
