2023 Kansas Jayhawks football team
The 2023 Kansas Jayhawks football team represents the University of Kansas in the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It is the Jayhawks' 134th season. The Jayhawks play their home games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, and compete in the Big 12 Conference. They are led by third-year head coach Lance Leipold.
2023 Kansas Jayhawks football | |
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Conference | Big 12 Conference |
Record | 5–2 (2–2 Big 12) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Andy Kotelnicki (3rd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Brian Borland (3rd season) |
Captain |
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Home stadium | David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (capacity: 47,233) |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Oklahoma | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 7 Texas | 3 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kansas State | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oklahoma State | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa State | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kansas | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BYU | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Virginia | 2 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Baylor | 2 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TCU | 2 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Texas Tech | 2 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Houston | 1 | – | 3 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UCF | 0 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cincinnati | 0 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship: December 2, 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
The Jayhawks entered the season looking to make back-to-back bowl games for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 seasons. They entered the season with their highest expectations in several years. They were picked 9th out of 14 teams in the conference, their highest selection since the Big 12 eliminated divisions. In the preseason Coaches poll released on August 7, Kansas received a vote to be ranked. It was their first vote in a preseason poll since 2009. They also received 10 votes in the AP poll. They had 4 different players selected to the watch lists of 7 awards and five preseason All-Big 12 selections. Quarterback Jalon Daniels was also named the preseason Player of the Year for the Big 12.
The Jayhawks won their first four games to start 4–0 back-to-back seasons for the first time since starting 4–0 three straight seasons from 1913 to 1915.
Offseason
Coaching staff changes
The Jayhawks did not lose a single member of their coaching staff from the previous season.
Starters lost
Starters are based on starters from the final game of the 2022 season. Players listed below have run out eligibility. In total, the Jayhawks had 4 players run out of eligibility.[1]
Name | Position |
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Earl Bostick Jr. | OL |
Sam Burt | DL |
Caleb Sampson | DL |
Malcolm Lee | DE |
Entered NFL Draft
Name | Position |
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Lonnie Phelps | DE |
Transfer portal
- Incoming
Name | Position | Old school |
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Austin Booker | DE | Minnesota |
Dylan Brooks | DE | Auburn |
J. B. Brown | LB | Bowling Green |
Logan Brown | T | Wisconsin |
Patrick Joyner | ED | Utah State |
Seth Keller | K | Texas State |
Gage Keys | DL | Minnesota |
Spencer Lowell | OT | California |
Dylan McDuffie | RB | Georgia Tech |
Damarius McGhee | CB | LSU |
Devin Phillips | DL | Colorado State |
Charlie Weinrich | K | Nebraska |
- Outgoing
Transfers listed below are only players who announced intention to transfer after the final regular season game of 2022.
Name | Position | New school |
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Jacob Borcila | K | Vanderbilt |
Cam'ron Dabney | CB | Northern Illinois |
Eriq Gilyard | LB | UConn |
Steven McBride | WR | Hawaii |
Jarrett Paul | S | Appalachian State |
Gavin Potter | LB | Arkansas State |
Ky Thomas | RB | Kent State |
Edwin White | S | North Alabama |
Recruiting
Website | 4 star recruits | 3 star recruits | Total recruits | Overall rank | Big 12 rank |
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247 Sports | 0 | 12 | 12 | 76 | 14* |
Rivals | 0 | 12 | 12 | 81 | 14* |
*Rivals and 247 Sports do not include the new teams joining the Big 12, however, their ranks in the overall rankings are being factored into the rank for Kansas.
- Highest rated recruit
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Jameel Croft ATH |
Detroit, MI | Martin Luther King | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 3, 2022 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals:![]() ![]() |
Preseason
Big 12 preseason poll
The Big 12 preseason poll was released on July 6. Kansas was picked 9th in the conference, their first time not being selected in last place since the Big 12 eliminated divisions in 2010.
First place votes in parentheses.
Big 12 media poll | ||
Predicted finish | Team | Points |
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1 | Texas (41) | 886 |
2 | Kansas State (14) | 858 |
3 | Oklahoma (4) | 758 |
4 | Texas Tech (4) | 729 |
5 | TCU (3) | 727 |
6 | Baylor | 572 |
7 | Oklahoma State (1) | 470 |
8 | UCF | 463 |
9 | Kansas | 461 |
10 | Iowa State | 334 |
11 | BYU | 318 |
12 | Houston | 215 |
13 | Cincinnati | 202 |
14 | West Virginia | 129 |
Preseason awards
- QB Jalon Daniels
- 1st Team All-Big 12
- Big 12 Player of the Year
- Walter Camp Award watch list
- Davey O'Brien Award watch list
- Manning Award watch list
- CB Cobee Bryant
- 1st Team All-Big 12
- Jim Thorpe Award watch list
- Bednarik Award watch list
- RB Devin Neal
- 1st Team All-Big 12
- Doak Walker Award watch list
- RB Daniel Hishaw Jr.
- Doak Walker Award watch list
- C Mike Novitski
- 1st team All-Big 12
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 1 | 7:00 pm | Missouri State* | ESPN+ | W 48–17 | 41,091 | ||
September 8 | 6:30 pm | Illinois* |
| ESPN2 | W 34–23 | 45,809 | |
September 16 | 9:30 pm | at Nevada* | CBSSN | W 31–24 | 16,890 | ||
September 23 | 2:30 pm | BYU |
| ESPN | W 38–27 | 47,233 | |
September 30 | 2:30 pm | at No. 3 Texas | No. 24 | ABC | L 14–40 | 102,986 | |
October 7 | 3:00 pm | UCF |
| Fox | W 51–22 | 46,107 | |
October 14 | 2:30 pm | at Oklahoma State | No. 23 | FS1 | L 32–39 | 53,855 | |
October 28 | 11:00 am | No. 6 Oklahoma![]() |
| Fox | |||
November 4 | at Iowa State | ||||||
November 11 | Texas Tech |
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November 18 | Kansas State |
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November 25 | at Cincinnati | ||||||
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Roster
2023 Kansas Jayhawks Football | ||||||||||
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
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Offensive line
Defensive end
Defensive line
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Linebacker
Cornerback
Safety
Special teams
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Coaching Staff
Roster updated: September 5, 2023 |
Game summaries
Missouri State
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bears | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Jayhawks | 7 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 48 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: Friday, September 1, 2023
- Game time: 7:00 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 89 °F (32 °C)
- Game attendance: 41,091
- Referee: Henry Johns
- TV announcers (ESPN+): Chuckie Kempf, Ahman Green
- Pregame line: Kansas –32
Game information |
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Statistics | MSU | KU |
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First downs | 10 | 27 |
Plays–yards | 48–217 | 66–521 |
Rushes–yards | 27–74 | 38–245 |
Passing yards | 143 | 276 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 14–21–2 | 22–28–0 |
Time of possession | 26:13 | 33:47 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Missouri State | Passing | Jacob Clark | 14/21 143 yards 1 TD 2 INTa |
Rushing | Jacob Clark | 8 carries 36 yards | |
Receiving | Celdon Manning | 2 receptions 31 yards | |
Kansas | Passing | Jason Bean | 22/28 276 yards 2 TDs |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 13 carries 94 yards 1 TD | |
Receiving | Lawrence Arnold Quentin Skinner | 4 receptions 77 yards |
The Jayhawks were without preseason conference player of the year Jalon Daniels who was still nursing an injury suffered in the Jayhawks bowl game the previous season. After trailing 10–7 early, the Jayhawks never trailed again. They would outscore the Bears 41–7 for the remainder of the game. It was the Jayhawks 3rd straight opening game win.
Illinois
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Fighting Illini | 0 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
Jayhawks | 14 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 34 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: Friday, September 8, 2023
- Game time: 6:30 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 84 °F (29 °C)
- Game attendance: 45,809
- Referee: Larry Smith
- TV announcers (ESPN2): Anish Shroff, Andre Ware, Paul Carcaterra
- Pregame line: Kansas –3.5
Game information |
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Statistics | UI | KU |
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First downs | 19 | 27 |
Plays–yards | 56–341 | 65–539 |
Rushes–yards | 18–139 | 44–262 |
Passing yards | 202 | 277 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 19–28–2 | 21–29–1 |
Time of possession | 23:21 | 36:39 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Illinois | Passing | Luke Altmyer | 19/28 202 yards 1 TD 2 INTs |
Rushing | Luke Altmyer | 13 carries 70 yards 2 TDs | |
Receiving | Isiah Williams | 6 receptions 99 yards | |
Kansas | Passing | Jalon Daniels | 21/29 277 yards 2 TDs 1 INT |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 10 carries 120 yards 1 TD | |
Receiving | Lawrence Arnold | 5 receptions 89 yards |
The Jayhawks raced out to a 21–0 first half lead before allowing a touchdown, but Kansas responded to their first touchdown allowed with one themselves. The Illini would outscore the Jayhawks in the 2nd half 16-6 but it wouldn't be enough as the Jayhawks won 34–23.
at Nevada
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Jayhawks | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
Wolf Pack | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Mackay Stadium • Reno, Nevada
- Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
- Game time: 9:30 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C)
- Game attendance: 16,890
- Referee: Derek Anderson
- TV announcers (CBSSN): Rich Waltz, Aaron Taylor
- Pregame line: Kansas –28
Game information |
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Statistics | KU | UN |
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First downs | 24 | 14 |
Plays–yards | 67–441 | 59–263 |
Rushes–yards | 40–143 | 37–150 |
Passing yards | 298 | 113 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 21–27–0 | 15–22–0 |
Time of possession | 31:51 | 28:09 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Kansas | Passing | Jalon Daniels | 21/27 298 yards |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 17 carries 89 yards 3 TDs | |
Receiving | Mason Fairchild | 5 receptions 74 yards | |
Nevada | Passing | Brandon Lewis | 15/22 113 carries |
Rushing | Brandon Lewis | 11 carries 58 yards | |
Receiving | Dalevon Campbell | 1 reception 53 yards |
Despite entering the game as a 4 touchdown favorite, the Jayhawks struggled early in the game. It was 10–10 at halftime. In the second half, the teams traded touchdowns, but in the end the Jayhawks would score the game winning touchdown with 6 minutes left to win.
BYU
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Cougars | 7 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
Jayhawks | 14 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 38 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
- Game time: 2:30 pm CDT
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 80 °F (27 °C)
- Game attendance: 47,233
- Referee: Stephen Baron
- TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Louis Riddick, Quint Kessenich
- Pregame line: Kansas –9
Game information |
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Statistics | BYU | KU |
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First downs | 23 | 23 |
Plays–yards | 56–351 | 73–366 |
Rushes–yards | 22–9 | 37–221 |
Passing yards | 357 | 130 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 30–51–2 | 14–19–0 |
Time of possession | 30:05 | 29:55 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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BYU | Passing | Kedon Slovis | 30/51 357 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs |
Rushing | L. J. Martin | 11 carries 28 yards | |
Receiving | Chase Roberts | 5 receptions 89 yards | |
Kansas | Passing | Jalon Daniels | 14/19 130 yards 3 TDs |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 17 carries 91 yards | |
Receiving | Lawrence Arnold | 4 receptions 31 yards |
Kansas was Big 12 newcomer BYU's first conference game. The teams traded touchdown early before BYU took a 3-point halftime lead. The Jayhawks would go on a 21–3 run to take the lead. Kansas would win 38–27 to start the season 4–0.
at No. 3 Texas
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 24 Jayhawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
No. 3 Longhorns | 10 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 40 |
at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas
- Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
- Game time: 2:30 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 91 °F (33 °C)
- Game attendance: 102,986
- Referee: Kevin Boitmann
- TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath
- Pregame line: Texas –15.5
Game information |
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Statistics | KU | UT |
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First downs | 11 | 33 |
Plays–yards | 46–260 | 86–661 |
Rushes–yards | 25–124 | 51–335 |
Passing yards | 136 | 325 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 9–21–0 | 25–35–1 |
Time of possession | 20:19 | 39:41 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Kansas | Passing | Jason Bean | 9/21 136 yards 1 TD |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 8 carries 45 yards | |
Receiving | Trevor Wilson | 1 reception 58 yards 1 TD | |
Texas | Passing | Quinn Ewers | 25/35 325 yards 1 TD 1 INT |
Rushing | Jonathan Brooks | 21 carries 218 yards 2 TDs | |
Receiving | Adonai Mitchell | 10 receptions 141 yards 1 TD |
The Jayhawks and Longhorns played each other as ranked teams for the first time in the history of the series. It was also the final matchup before Texas leaves the Big 12 for the SEC. Quarterback Jalon Daniels re-aggravated a preseason back injury in warmups and did not play. The Jayhawks kept the game close early, until the second half when they were outscored 27–7 giving the Jayhawks their first loss of the season.
UCF
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Knights | 0 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 22 |
Jayhawks | 3 | 21 | 13 | 14 | 51 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
- Game time: 3:00 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C)
- Game attendance: 46,107
- Referee: Tutashinda Salaam
- TV announcers (Fox): Jason Benetti, Brock Huard
- Pregame line: UCF –2
Game information |
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Statistics | UCF | KU |
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First downs | 21 | 25 |
Plays–yards | 81–371 | 63–490 |
Rushes–yards | 38–202 | 51–399 |
Passing yards | 169 | 91 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 15–23–0 | 8–12–0 |
Time of possession | 25:35 | 34:25 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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UCF | Passing | Timmy McClain | 12/15 136 yards 2 TDs |
Rushing | R. J. Harvey | 16 carries 133 yards 1 TD | |
Receiving | Javon Baker | 4 receptions 85 yards | |
Kansas | Passing | Jason Bean | 8/12 91 yards 1 TD |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 12 carries 154 yards 1 TD | |
Receiving | Luke Grimm | 2 receptions 41 yards |
In the Jayhawks first ever meeting with new Big 12 member UCF, they jumped out to an early 31–0 lead despite Jalon Daniels being out for the 2nd straight week. UCF would only manage 3 touchdowns, while the Jayhawks would score 51 points. Their 28 point margin of victory was the largest in a conference game since defeated rival Kansas State by 31 in 2008.
at Oklahoma State
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 23 Jayhawks | 7 | 18 | 7 | 0 | 32 |
Cowboys | 17 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 39 |
at Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
- Game time: 2:30 pm CDT
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C)
- Game attendance: 53,855
- Referee: Kevin Mar
- TV announcers (FS1): Jeff Levering, Mark Helfrich
- Pregame line: Kansas –3
Game information |
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Statistics | KU | OSU |
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First downs | 19 | 27 |
Plays–yards | 63–500 | 79–554 |
Rushes–yards | 29–90 | 38–219 |
Passing yards | 410 | 336 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 23–34–2 | 28–41–0 |
Time of possession | 28:29 | 31:31 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Kansas | Passing | Jason Bean | 23/34 410 yards 5 TDs 2 INTs |
Rushing | Devin Neal | 13 carries 66 yards | |
Receiving | Mason Fairchild | 5 receptions 92 yards 2 TDs | |
Oklahoma State | Passing | Alex Bowman | 28/41 336 yards 2 TDs |
Rushing | Ollie Gordon II | 29 carries 168 yards 1 TD | |
Receiving | Ollie Gordon II | 6 carries 116 yards 1 TD |
The Jayhawks fell into an early 14–0 deficit. Despite two special teams miscues resulting in mixed extra points, they fought back to gain a 19–17 lead. After trading touchdowns but KU missing a 2-point conversion attempt, the Jayhawks took a slim 2 point into halftime. The Cowboys outscored the Jayhawks 15–7 in the second half, partially due to two interceptions from quarterback Jason Bean leading to the Jayhawks loss.
No. 6 Oklahoma
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 6 Sooners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jayhawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas
- Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
- Game time: 11:00 am CDT
- TV announcers (Fox): Jason Benetti, Brock Huard
- Pregame line: Oklahoma –10
Game information |
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Statistics | OU | KU |
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First downs | ||
Plays–yards | – | – |
Rushes–yards | – | – |
Passing yards | ||
Passing: comp–att–int | – – | – – |
Time of possession |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Oklahoma | Passing | ||
Rushing | |||
Receiving | |||
Kansas | Passing | ||
Rushing | |||
Receiving |
Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
AP | RV | — | RV | RV | 24 | RV | 23 | RV | — | |||||||
Coaches | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | 24 | RV | RV | |||||||
CFP | Not released | Not released |
References
- "2022 Liberty Bowl Game Notes" (PDF). KUAthletics.com.
- "Texas Selected Atop Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll". Big12Sports.com.
- "Kansas Football 2023 schedule". KUAthletics.com.
- "KU Football 2023 roster and coaching staff". KUAthletics.com.