Lance Leipold refusing to hang head after Jayhawks’ loss to Tigers

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Although the Jayhawks are coming off their fifth-straight loss to the Tigers in the Border War, their coach is taking the positive aspects from the game, and moving forward.

Lance Leipold understood the task at hand when Missouri invaded the Booth, and the crowd of 32,000 was ready, but a tale of two halfs resulted in a 38-21 loss. However, Leipold was proud of his players, and emphasized why they shouldn’t hang their heads.

After all, the Jayhawks came out inspired in the first half, drew first blood, and jumped ahead by a touchdown twice in the second quarter, before the Tigers tied the game at halftime. Leipold was glad that Kansas fans were able to see quarterback Isaiah Marshall in action against a quality opponent, and how the defense measured up.

Marshall only completed 13 of his 30 passes, and finished with two interceptions, plus the Jayhawks struggled to run the ball, and the defense allowed 469 yards. Despite it being two double-digit losses in back-to-back years against the Tigers, Leipold appreciates the measuring stick for his team, and believes the players are starting to close the gap on how to put together four quarters of quality football.

“I’m not going to sit there and give it a comparison to last year, they’ve won both games, and that’s a fact,” Leipold said. “At the same time, I don’t think we walked off the field at the end of the game like there weren’t opportunities that things could’ve gone our way.”

There’s no denying that halftime adjustments need to get better, in order to avoid another collapse in the second half. Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons torched the Jayhawks’ secondary throughout the night, ended up with 296 yards through the air, and three touchdowns. It appeared Kansas (1-1) had no answer for the gunslinger, and that concerned Leipold.

“He (Simmons) found throws because they had a good game plan, found ways to attack us, and we got some pressure, but probably not enough,” he said. “He did an excellent job, and we didn’t get any sacks on him.”

Depth on defense was an issue for Kansas in the second half, and Leipold realized that when fatigue started to set in on his players. Small gains, turned into big chunks, and shortly after it seemed like Simmons played pitch and catch with his targets downfield.

What encouraged Leipold about the Jayhawks’ performance was special teams. Kansas blocked two of Missouri’s field goal attempts, and returned one for a touchdown.

Once rhe smoke cleared, Missouri led Kansas in total offense, rushing yards, passing yards, plays, yards per play, first downs, third down conversions and time of possession.

Leipold is learning more about his team as they navigate through a challenging schedule. He knows the offense has to run the ball better if the Jayhawks want to have success in Big 12 play, because 87 yards on the ground won’t cut it.

“We did know that playing against a deep, and athletic SEC line, that it was going to be a challenge for us to run the football,” the 62-year old said. “There were some things there that made it difficult, and and a lot of things that we like to do have to be in rhythm and ewe have to compliment each other.”

Now Leipold has to put the rivalry loss in the rearview mirror, and shift gears to an overseas trip to London for the Big 12 opener against Arizona State. Knowing what needs to improve is beneficial in Leipold’s mind, and practice is going to be intense leading up to game three. Regardless, Leipold is confident the best is yet to come for his young team, and wants the fans to rally behind the players for the next home game because they motivate them to set the tone.

“This football team is going to continue to get better, and they’ll continue to compete, I promise, and we need our fans here to create the environment we need for home field advantage.”