Jalon Daniels, Lance Leipold can’t end Kansas Jayhawks’ losing streak to K-State
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas fell 42-17 as K-State extended streak to 17 straight Sunflower Showdown wins.
- Jalon Daniels had two turnovers, completed 17-of-35 passes for 129 yards.
- Lance Leipold stays winless vs rivals as Kansas’ self-inflicted mistakes cost games.
For the first time since 2009, the Kansas Jayhawks entered Saturday as the favorites to beat in-state rival K-State.
They looked the part for the first five minutes.
For the next 55, the Wildcats showed why they’ve won 17 straight, now, in this matchup.
The stands inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence reflected what many fans viewed as an embarrassing display — considering the opponent and expectations. The crowd emptied out in the fourth quarter. Chants from K-State fans could be heard over the broadcast.
Kansas State defeated Kansas 42-17. The Jayhawks (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) last won a Sunflower Showdown on Nov. 1, 2008.
Coach Lance Leipold and sixth-year quarterback Jalon Daniels are winless in this series.
“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.”
Quick start for KU football turns ugly
There was no slow start for the Jayhawks on Saturday. Kansas forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and turned it into a touchdown a few plays later.
After that, it got a little ugly. K-State (4-4, 3-2 Big 12) scored 21 unanswered points.
Finally, the Jayhawks settled down. Kansas put together a long drive (8:34 of game time) that ended with Daniel Hishaw powering in for a touchdown. Kansas trailed only 21-14 at halftime.
But the Wildcats outscored the Jayhawks 14-3 in the third quarter. Kansas State went into the fourth leading 35-17 and never looked back. The Wildcats could’ve scored again at the end of the game but instead took a knee on first-and-goal up 42-17.
Daniels finished 17-of-35 passing for 129 yards with one rushing touchdown. But he had two turnovers and put the ball in jeopardy on other throws. Cam Pickett was his top receiver, with six catches for 40 yards.
Hishaw finished with 67 rushing yards on 19 carries and one touchdown.
Up next: The Jayhawks host Oklahoma State on Nov. 1.
Until then, here are four takeaways from Saturday’s game…
Jalon Daniels goes winless vs. K-State
Sixth-year quarterback Jalon Daniels downplayed the rivalry and impact this game would have on his KU legacy earlier this week.
He just wanted to win, period, he said. And that’s part of why his first half against K-State was such a surprise.
It was arguably his worst half of the season, if not multiple seasons.
Daniels fumbled the ball once. He came close to fumbling again, but his short rushing touchdown was upheld on replay review, though the ball came out close to the goal line. He also nearly threw two interceptions, with K-State defenders dropping the ball both times.
He was sacked three times by K-State in the half. He wasn’t able to get the ball out quickly, and his accuracy lacked. Daniels finished the half 10-for-18 passing with 71 yards.
The second half was more of the same.
Daniels threw his first interception since the Missouri game earlier this year. He threw behind receiver Keaton Kubecka on the play. He finished with less than 130 passing yards for the first time since 2022.
“I don’t think he was seeing things real clear at times,” Leipold said. “I know this: The young man battled all day for us. And I think probably some of those runs and those hits, just to kind of keep battling that way, probably took its toll on him a little bit more than we would have liked.”
Backup quarterback Cole Ballard replaced Daniels in the fourth quarter. Daniels finished his Jayhawk career with an 0-5 record vs. K-State. The Jayhawks lost by 20-plus in four of those games.
Lance Leipold’s struggles in rivalry games
Lance Leipold has yet to win a game against KU’s biggest rivals: Missouri and Kansas State. And several of those games have come by a lopsided margin.
With the loss, the KU coach is 0-5 against K-State and 0-1 against Missouri. Only two of those games were decided by single digits, though the Missouri game was within a score until late.
Leipold has brought the Jayhawks’ program back to relevancy and made them bowl eligible on two occasions, but he has yet to figure out the Jayhawks’ rivals.
Kansas and K-State both had extra time to prepare for this game, coming off a bye week.
Mistakes cost the Jayhawks
All week, Leipold preached that the Jayhawks needed to limit mistakes against K-State. Those mistakes had decided the last two games in the series — both close calls that KU lost.
In the end, nothing changed. Kansas hurt itself with self-inflicted errors time and time again.
Whether it was undisciplined plays that led to penalties or botching a snap on a punt that ended in a touchdown, Kansas didn’t help itself.
In a film breakdown earlier this week, former KU quarterback Carter Stanley emphasized how those little plays and mistakes had cost the Jayhawks throughout this series. And the Jayhawks did get a break with K-State’s fumble on the opening kickoff.
But Kansas, not K-State, continued to make the mistakes all the way through the final offensive series, when Ballard had a pass tipped and intercepted.
It’s one of the main reasons why this streak lives on.
KU’s defense gets burned
All week the worry was about how KU’s defense would handle the K-State rushing attack. To their credit, the Jayhawks limited the Wildcats to 140 rushing yards — far from a massive total.
The issue was that quarterback Avery Johnson picked apart the KU secondary on a number of deep throws. The Jayhawks allowed K-State wide receiver Jayce Brown to finish with four catches for 160 receiving yards and one touchdown.
The big pass plays were demoralizing to a Kansas squad trying to engineer a comeback most of the game. Johnson finished 11-for-17 passing for 231 yards and two passing touchdowns.
KU’s defense also struggled to stop the dual-threat ability of Johnson in the red zone. The K-State quarterback had two rushing touchdowns.
It was a long day for KU’s defense — just like the rest of the program.
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Jalon Daniels, Lance Leipold can’t end Kansas Jayhawks’ losing streak to K-State."
