Missing a bowl game this year would be a grim result for the Kansas football team.
If the Jayhawks lose at Iowa State on Nov. 22 and at home against Utah on Nov. 28, both games in which they will undoubtedly enter as underdogs, they will fall short of the postseason by a game for the second season in a row. But this year’s trajectory would paint a much different picture, not of a team that went on a spectacular and unprecedented run (three straight wins over ranked opponents late last year) only to fall short in the final week, but of one that had numerous opportunities to finish strong and couldn’t get over the line.
It would also be a disappointing end to the careers of several remaining players who helped build the foundation for modern Kansas football, none more prominent than quarterback Jalon Daniels, not to mention quite a few high-quality transfers who took chances on coming to KU in the offseason.
But that’s all hypothetical and still weeks away. For the moment, even after a crushing 24-20 defeat at Arizona on Saturday that the Jayhawks let slip away, they are very much in contention for a bowl game.
It’s never easy to win at Jack Trice Stadium, but KU has beaten the Cyclones three times in a row and ISU, though already bowl eligible itself, has had a largely disappointing and injury-plagued season filled with close games. Utah is in an entirely different tier of the Big 12 than the Jayhawks right now, but KU will surely fight hard on its senior day and strange things could happen on a shortened holiday week.
There’s no doubt, though, that the Jayhawks will have to elevate their play in a number of ways to earn the elusive sixth win.
Here’s a look at some of the key players whose efforts over the course of this upcoming bye week and in the games ahead will go a long way toward determining KU’s fate.
Kansas defensive back Syeed Gibbs (22) celebrates after breaking up a West Virginia pass on a third down during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug
Austin Alexander, Syeed Gibbs, D.J. Graham II and/or Jahlil Hurley
Kansas may have had three near-interceptions against Arizona — one called back, one overturned on replay and one flat-out dropped — but that in fact amounts to nothing in the box score. The result is that the Jayhawks have intercepted a total of two passes in their last nine games, a period that includes the entirety of conference play. They are tied for 98th in the nation in turnovers forced (with a bunch of teams who have played one fewer game) and that’s a significant reason why their defense has struggled to get off the field.
If KU is going to make a big play in this regard, it might have to come from whoever is playing opposite Jalen Todd. Todd is having an excellent season as a true sophomore thrust into his first extended action. He’s been KU’s best cover corner, allowing just 19 receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown on 29 targets this year. When season-opening starting nickel back Mason Ellis and his backup Gibbs both got hurt earlier this year, Todd slid inside, where he has largely stayed since the start of October.
The problem with that is that it means KU has to have multiple additional outside corners on the field, and none of its options at that position have been particularly consistent. Alexander, with an excellent recruiting pedigree and physical tools, is pretty clearly going to develop into a high-level starter, but has work to do to get there. The veteran Graham has been starting opposite him, but has been responsible for giving up some of opponents’ most backbreaking completions at crucial moments.
Those two are theoretically atop the depth chart, but defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald has rotated more in recent weeks. Gibbs will sometimes look like the best of the bunch — he’s had some big pass breakups — and then sometimes commit an unnecessary pass interference penalty or drop a sure interception, as he did against Arizona. Hurley is the biggest enigma at this point, but he showed promise in a season-high 29 snaps versus the Wildcats, allowing one catch for seven yards.
The bottom line is that as young as this group was at the beginning of the year, it will now be 10 games and, soon enough, 13 weeks into its regular-season existence. Someone will have to make a veteran-caliber play at some pivotal moment if KU is going to win a game.
Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. hauls in a touchdown ahead of Arizona’s Jay’Vion Cole on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Tucson, Ariz.
Emmanuel Henderson Jr.
Henderson came to KU for his final season wanting an opportunity to play and to showcase his skills. He certainly got it and has done so. The problem is that his emergence as KU’s No. 1 receiver — demonstrated by his 214-yard performance against Cincinnati on which he burnt Bearcat defenders to a crisp on a couple of occasions — has in turn prompted opposing defenses to treat him as such.
In a three-game stretch prior to Saturday, Henderson was targeted 15 times and made eight catches for 85 yards. Not coincidentally, that overlapped with some of the least effective play of an overall great season for Daniels. Opponents have committed to preventing Henderson from beating them over the top and have largely succeeded — at least until he outfoxed Jay’Vion Cole at the line of scrimmage for a 24-yard touchdown against Arizona, his first time reaching the end zone since the Cincinnati game.
Henderson said afterward that he thinks he can win against anybody in man coverage. If that’s the case, KU will need him to show it in the second half, when it has been utterly devoid of explosive plays in recent weeks, during the games ahead. Outside of its efficient showing against Oklahoma State, the consensus worst team in the Big 12, KU has scored one combined second-half touchdown against UCF, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Arizona, and it was on a 2-yard drive set up by a fumble deep in opponent territory.
Daniels hasn’t completed a pass longer than 27 yards since that UCF game, and KU’s offense certainly isn’t getting a lot of explosive plays from its power run game. It needs Henderson to break it out of any potential late-game slumps and take advantage of tired defensive backs — especially as the Jayhawks prepare to face an Iowa State secondary debilitated by injuries.
Kansas offensive lineman Calvin Clements (75) during the first half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl NCAA college football game against UNLV. Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Phoenix.
Calvin Clements
The nature of the left tackle position is such that whoever plays it is going to be under a microscope, at least compared to the average lineman. Throw in the-hometown hero angle with Clements, the flashes he showed in his true-freshman and redshirt-freshman seasons and his prototypical size, and it’s easy to see why much was expected of him this year both internally and externally.
It’s been quite a learning curve this year for the Lawrence native. As he put it recently, he has shown “flashes on both sides.” There have been highs, such as an all-around solid Oklahoma State performance in which he helped pave the way for the resurgence of KU’s run game. The lows, however, have been practically subterranean. The highest-level defensive lines the Jayhawks have faced have taken advantage of Clements, to the point that he allowed six pressures against Missouri and nine against Texas Tech. His season-long Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 26.3 is the worst in the nation among 454 offensive linemen who have played at least 266 snaps this year (half of the highest total number of snaps for any lineman).
Daniels is perfectly capable of scrambling and avoiding pressure — in fact, it’s one of his signature attributes as a quarterback — but he obviously does better when he doesn’t have to deal with it. He’s 30-for-74 this season for just 378 yards with three touchdowns and a pick when pressured. That’s 5.1 yards per attempt as opposed to 9.2 the rest of the time.
The entire offensive line, five players and sometimes an extra lineman these days, shares the responsibility of protecting Daniels, as do the running backs, receivers and tight ends. But the left tackle shields his blind side and finds himself face to face with the opposing team’s best pass rushers.
Texas Tech’s David Bailey dominated the Jayhawks, and the player just behind him with the second-most sacks in the Big 12, 9.5, is still on the schedule: Utah’s John Henry Daley. On the flip side, Iowa State’s pass rush has been a nonfactor, with a 62.3 team PFF grade that ranks 125th in the nation and has 10 total sacks through 10 games. The degree of difficulty and the circumstances will vary widely for Clements in the last two games of his redshirt sophomore year, but he’ll be just as important in each.
Jesus Portillo/Special to the Journal-World
AP Photo/Rick Scuteri