Kansas Jayhawks
| Kansas Jayhawks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First season | 2014 |
| Head coach | Stormstopper 10th season, 70–48–0 (.593) |
| Stadium | Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 50,071) |
| Year built | 1921 |
| Location | Lawrence, Kansas |
| League | NCAA Division I FBS |
| Division | North |
| All-time record | 70–48–0 (.593) |
| Bowl record | 2–6–0 (.250) |
| Conference titles | 2 (2014, 2018) |
| Division titles | 2 (2014, 2018) |
| Consensus All-Americans | 2 |
| Colors | KU Blue and KU Crimson |
| Fight song | "I'm a Jayhawk" |
| Rivals | Missouri Tigers Kansas State Wildcats Oklahoma Sooners |
The Kansas Jayhawks, currently coached by stormstopper, are a collegiate football team playing in the Big 12. The Jayhawks play in Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, and were a member of the North Division of the Big 12 under the old divisional format.
Contents
History
Stormstopper era
2014
During the 2013 season, Kansas made the decision to join CFBHC. Though they were ineligible in 2013, they hired stormstopper to take the reins after Duke passed on him. The move paid off immediately. In the program's first year, Kansas finished with a 12-2 record (6-1 in conference play) and won the Big 12 championship. Their wins included a rally from a 21-0 deficit to beat TCU on the road, a 28-14 road win over then-#8 Oklahoma to seize control of the division, and a 35-6 victory over Baylor in the 2014 Big 12 Championship Game. They finished the regular season ranked #5 and were the highest-ranked team left out of the playoffs. They subsequently lost the Sugar Bowl to Georgia, 42-17. Their leading passer was Christopher Brooks, their leading rusher was James Otero, their leading receiver was Richard Zimmerman, their leading tackler was Benjamin Lin, their sack leader was Peter Griggs, and their interceptions leader was Ricky Rose.
2015
With DeAndre Jackson and Paul Gibbs stepping up to replace Christopher Brooks and James Otero, the Jayhawks struggled to start off their second season. They started 2-3 with losses to Washington and UNC, as well as a loss to Texas Tech in which the once-vaunted KU offense put up just 3 points. Week 6 against TCU proved to be a turning point. Kansas quarterback DeAndre Jackson ran for a school-record 203 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 9 carries. He followed it up by breaking his own record the following week in an upset of then-#1 Oklahoma, rushing for 204 yards on 12 carries and one 95-yard touchdown run. This was Kansas's second straight win over the Sooners. These two wins started a 5-game win streak that put the Jayhawks within one game of a second straight division title before blowout losses to rivals Kansas State and Missouri. After the pair of devastating setbacks, Kansas went to the Alamo Bowl against #10 Oregon. The Jayhawks ran out to a 14-0 lead and turned back an Oregon rally to win 24-21 on a 37-yard Joshua Stewart field goal with 1 second to play. They finished the season ranked #22 in the country.
2016
After a disappointing 2015 campaign, Kansas returned most of its players for 2016. They boasted an incredibly experienced lineup with 14 seniors starting, including returning starters DeAndre Jackson, Paul Gibbs, Jonathon Robinson, and Jeremy Bell. However, that experience failed to translate to success. Kansas lost their first five games and never recovered. Kansas's bowl hopes were dashed with a 20-14 loss to then-#15 Texas, and their only wins this year are a pair of blowouts over Duke and Iowa State. After DeAndre Jackson's senior night against Iowa State, the Jayhawks turned to redshirt freshman Eric Jennings at quarterback to face Kansas State and Missouri. The Jayhawks would go on to lose to the Wildcats, 20-14, and close their season with a 21-point loss against the Tigers, their worst loss of a 10-loss season.
2017
With the core of the team graduated and most of the starters on the team being talented but young, Kansas was expected to have a decent but not great year. They got off to a hot start at 6-1 and rose to #17 in the nation through week 8, though the second half of the season would feature losses to highly ranked Texas, West Virginia, and Missouri. Despite the team's youth, the Jayhawks were able to win 8 regular-season games for the second time in team history, defeat rivals Oklahoma and Kansas State, and secure a bowl bid after a one-year gap, making the season an unqualified success in comparison to the disaster that was 2016.
2018
Kansas came into the season with high hopes. They were favored to win the Big 12 North and were ranked #6 in the preseason poll. After blowing out Notre Dame at home to open up the season, they would need all 60 minutes to hold off West Virginia and Iowa State. After the 3-0 start, the Jayhawks would fall into a deep slump, losing 4 of their next 6 games. The low point was following a blowout home loss to Texas by listlessly dropping their next game against BYU to fall to 5-4. They were able to collect wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma for the second straight year, and they could still clinch the North with a win over Baylor. Eric Jennings's touchdown pass to Malcolm Davis with 50 seconds to play would prove decisive in that matchup, a 17-16 Kansas win that gave the Jayhawks momentum for the remainder of the season. They blew out Oregon, rallied to defeat Missouri for the first time in the history of the Border War, and upset TCU to win the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game. However, they were denied a 10-win season in the Cactus Bowl, as a 6-0 lead turned into a 24-6 loss to UCLA with three interceptions from Eric Jennings.
2019
Kansas was expected to contend for a second straight Big 12 title in the 2019 season behind an experienced and high-powered offense and a strong defense. The former emerged as expected, but cracks began to show in the defense early on. Kansas started out 2-0 with a blowout of Washington and a high-scoring win over West Virginia, rising as high as #4 in the polls. Subsequently, they were upset on the road by Iowa State and were shocked in a neutral-site game against ECU, 38-35, falling out of the polls as a result. They recovered with back-to-back wins over Kansas State and TCU, setting up a critical two-game stretch against Oklahoma and Baylor, both of whom were undefeated and leading their respective divisions. Kansas's fate was sealed when they allowed Oklahoma to rally from a 14-0 deficit in a home overtime loss to the Sooners, followed by a shootout loss to the Baylor Bears to fall to 4-4. Although they were eliminated from division contention with those losses, the Jayhawks still managed to close out the season on a high note. They set a school record for points against Notre Dame, held off an Oklahoma State rally, routed Rice on the road, and turned back a Missouri comeback bid with a Bradley Spurlock pick-six to finish the regular season 8-4. With a win over #17 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, the Jayhawks secured their second straight nine-win season. Eric Jennings threw for a school-record 4132 yards and 35 touchdowns, winning the Johnny Unitas and Kellen Moore Awards, and Kansas would set a school record by averaging 33.1 points per game for the season.
2020
With the graduation of Eric Jennings, Kansas took a step backward. Redshirt freshman Christian Graham was named the starting quarterback after his performance in the spring game, and junior college runningback transfer Rod Fulton would join him in the backfield. Kansas was ranked #20 in the preseason, but a 1-2 start with losses to Vanderbilt and Notre Dame would knock them out of the polls and expose defensive concerns that would remain unresolved for the rest of the year. But even with those defensive issues, Kansas found a way to a winning record. Despite giving up 41 points to #21 Oklahoma State and despite three interceptions from Graham, Kansas scored 16 defensive points to upset the Cowboys 47-41. They suffered the worst loss in school history to West Virginia, 51-14, and sat at 4-5 at one point. In their final three regular-season games, they rallied from 11 points down at the half to beat Oklahoma by a score of 48-41, rallied from 20 points down at the half to beat Texas 42-40, and defeated Kansas State 15-10 without scoring a touchdown. They earned a second consecutive bid in the Alamo Bowl, where they fell to #17 USC 33-17. True freshman defensive end Jamari Callahan was named Big 12 Defensive Freshman and Player of the Year.
2021
Losing Malcolm Davis, Timmy Sutton, Noah Hills, four starting offensive linemen including Ben Goode, and several linebackers left Kansas a dangerously thin team in 2021. The team struggled to find its footing early on, needing overtime to get past Tulsa and falling to 2-3 with losses to rival Missouri, TCU, and Texas Tech by 21. Injuries to top wide receiver Chris Burgos, starting runningback Rod Fulton, and starting right tackle Armani Bello threatened to derail the season as a whole. But with the addition of Noah Urlacher on the right side of the defensive line, Kansas's defense found its form and buckled down for the remainder of the season. Christian Graham demonstrated an improved chemistry with first-time starting tight end Jaime Bautista, and he made up for his lack of elite target with pinpoint accuracy. He completed a school-record 69.7% of his passes in the regular season. The turning point came on the road against #20 Oklahoma State, where Graham threw for 350 yards and the defense picked off Ian Baldwin twice in a 31-10 win. That was Kansas's second straight win, and despite a few close calls they would not lose a single game for the rest of the regular season. Their 7-game winning streak was the longest since 2014. They earned a third straight trip to the Alamo Bowl, where that winning streak came to an end due to a 20-13 loss to #12 Arizona. Kansas finished ranked in the postseason poll for the first time since 2019, and stormstopper was voted Big 12 Coach of the Year.
2022
Another year meant another slow start for Kansas, who dropped the first three games of their season by an average of nearly two touchdowns per game. A win over North Texas was the only success they'd find in their first five games, marking their worst start since the 2016 campaign. Dealing with a nonexistent run game and a young wide receiver corps, the offense averaged just 18.4 points per game in that span and tight end Jaime Bautista was often the only productive player in the system. With a win at Baylor, however, Kansas's fortunes began to change. They went on a three-game winning streak, including a win at a ranked Texas Tech, reaching 4-4 in the process. Over the final seven games of the regular season, Christian Graham completed 66.9% of his passes for 2,310 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions to rejuvenate the Kansas offense. Defensive breakdowns, though, led to back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and TCU to drop Kansas to 4-6. A come-from-behind win at Iowa State and a Senior Night rout of Kansas State would be enough to secure a sixth consecutive bowl bid for the Jayhawks. Kansas was unable to secure a sixth consecutive winning season, however, suffering a 35-10 rout at the Liberty Bowl at the hands of Mississippi State.
All-time record vs. Big 12 opponents
This is the Jayhawks' football record against current Big 12 Conference opponents through the 2019 season.
| School | Total Games | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | First Year | Last Year | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 234 | 183 | 2014 | 2022 | W2 |
| Iowa State | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 268 | 133 | 2014 | 2022 | W3 |
| Kansas State | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 209 | 132 | 2014 | 2022 | W6 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 241 | 228 | 2014 | 2022 | L1 |
| Oklahoma State | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 181 | 155 | 2016 | 2022 | L1 |
| TCU | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 195 | 156 | 2014 | 2022 | L3 |
| Texas | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 100 | 143 | 2016 | 2022 | L1 |
| Texas Tech | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 138 | 182 | 2014 | 2022 | W1 |
| West Virginia | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 213 | 233 | 2014 | 2022 | L1 |
| 9 Opponents | 71 | 45 | 26 | 0 | .634 | 1,779 | 1,545 | 9 Seasons |
Season-by-Season Records
| Year | Coach(es) | Conference | Overall Record | Conference Record | Bowl | Final CP Ranking | ||||
| Wins | Losses | Wins | Losses | |||||||
| Kansas Jayhawks | ||||||||||
| 2014 | Stormstopper | Big 12 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 1 | Lost Sugar Bowl vs. Georgia (17-42) | #8 | ||
| 2015 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Won Alamo Bowl vs. Oregon (24-21) | #22 | ||||
| 2016 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 6 | - | - | ||||
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Lost Bourbon Bowl vs. Purdue (14-27) | - | ||||
| 2018 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Lost Cactus Bowl vs. UCLA (6-24) | - | ||||
| 2019 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | Won Alamo Bowl vs. Oregon (37-31) | - | ||||
| 2020 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | Lost Alamo Bowl vs. USC (17-33) | - | ||||
| 2021 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 2 | Lost Alamo Bowl vs. Arizona (13-20) | #19 | ||||
| 2022 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | Lost Liberty Bowl vs. Mississippi State (10-35) | - | ||||
| Total Games: 105 | 70 | 48 | 45 | 26 | (all games) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Champions | Conference Champions | Bowl game berth |
Bowl games
The Jayhawks have appeared in 8 bowl games, posting a record of 2-6.
| Season | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sugar Bowl | #12 Georgia | L 17-42 |
| 2015 | Alamo Bowl | #10 Oregon | W 24-21 |
| 2017 | Bourbon Bowl | #16 Purdue | L 14-27 |
| 2018 | Cactus Bowl | #18 UCLA | L 6-24 |
| 2019 | Alamo Bowl | #17 Oregon | W 37-31 |
| 2020 | Alamo Bowl | #13 USC | L 17-33 |
| 2021 | Alamo Bowl | #12 Arizona | L 13-20 |
| 2022 | Liberty Bowl | Mississippi State | L 10-35 |
| Total | 8 Bowl Games | 2-6 | - |
History and Awards
Head Coaches
| Coach | Years | Seasons | Record | Pct | Cnf. Record | Pct | Cnf. Titles | Bowls | Nat. Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stormstopper | 2014–present | 8 | 70-48 | .593 | 45-26 | .634 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Individual Award Winners
Players
All-Americans
- 2014
All-Big 12 Players
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