Lance Leipold welcoming the exposure for Jayhawks in week zero
Kansas Coach Lance Leipold walks along the sideline during a timeout in the second quarter against Iowa State Saturday November 9, 2024 at Arrowhead Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
LAWRENCE, Kan. — After playing all of last season’s home games away from David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the Jayhawks will return to the venue in week zero, and their coach is full of excitement.
Lance Leipold is embracing the buildup for the 2025 opener, and has plenty of reasons to celebrate. After all, Kansas has the spotlight, considering its’ hosting Fresno State on national television, and Leipold is eager to unveil a stadium of new renovations on the fans. Not to mention the game basically has prime time slot, and Leipold plans on utilizing all of the exposure for the Jayhawks, including recruitment.
“Watching games in August that counts, and are not practice games, is something that is exciting for the football fan,” Leipold said. “For us to have a window on national television to expose our program, our stadium and everything like that is something we should be extremely excited about and embrace.”
The Jayhawks are coming off a 5-7 campaign, but have won four of their past six games overall. The players are eager to take the gridiron after weeks of practicing against each other, and want to show the College football world that Kansas is better in all aspects of the game. However, there are new coaches on the staff, and rules in which Leipold will have to make adjustments on the fly.
All eyes will be on quarterback Jalon Daniels, who’s approaching his final season with the program. Some fans feel the Jayhawks will go as far as Daniels will take them, but Leipold believes the players around him will determine how high of a ceiling the team has. At the end of the day, Leipold just wants full support from the fans, and plans on putting a product on the field that they can all be proud of.
“This program is now relevant, and the excitement that we can be a football program that the University and fan base can get behind,” he said. “As we come into this new stadium, we need our fans to be there as well, so if you have a nice new venue, and as it continues to improve to the next phase to truly make it impactful, we need people there to do it.”
The Jayhawks should have the advantage in this contest, considering they’re going up against a Bulldog team with a new coach and several new players on both sides of the ball. Regardless, Leipold isn’t taking Fresno State lightly, and plans on matching wits with Matt Entz. The Bulldogs built a reputation as giant killers over the past two decades, and they remain a dangerous Group of Five opponent.
Which is why Leipold anticipates the Jayhawks will perform up to their potential. It helps that Kansas has won four-straight openers under Leipold, but those were all against FCS foes. The competition is much better this time around, and there’s some uncertainty with the Bulldogs that the Jayhawks need to be ready for.
“It’s our responsibility to play a brand of style, effective football that people want to come and see,” the 61-year old coach said. “A game day environment that is special, that people want to partake in, all of those things kind of come together, and to me that’s what makes College football so special.”
This rare opportunity and platform means a lot for program, and Leipold doesn’t want to disappoint, so expect the Jayhawks to lay it all on the line and start the season off with a bang on Saturday.
