For the second year in a row, KU opens with an FCS opponent at home, and if all goes according to plan, this should resemble last year’s win over Wagner more than some of the adventuresKansas used to have with FCS teams.
LIU (0-1) already has a game under its belt, having lost 42-21 at North Dakota last Thursday. The final score is slightly misleading in the Sharks’ favor: North Dakota led 42-0 at halftime before LIU scored three times in the second half.
So yes, Kansas should win this game.
Easily.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
But seriously, after two straight 5-7 seasons, a new quarterback, and enough roster turnover that you may need the program open on your phone for the first quarter, there are still plenty of reasons to pay attention.
PREGAME
This will be the first meeting between Kansas and Long Island.
Kansas is opening its 135th season of football and has won five consecutive season openers. Over that stretch, KU has outscored its opening-week opponents by an average score of roughly 40-10.
LIU went 6-6 last season, the best record in the program’s seven-year Division I history. The Sharks won five of their final six games, including a 28-23 win at Eastern Michigan — the program’s first victory over an FBS opponent.
Defense carried LIU last season. The Sharks allowed just 18.8 points and 295.2 yards per game, both best in the NEC.
Kansas returns just three offensive starters from last season and five on defense. The Jayhawks supplemented that turnover with 32 incoming transfers who combined for more than 10,000 snaps in 2025.
FIRST DOWN
For years, when Kansas played an FCS team, the goal was simple: Win. Didn’t matter how. Didn’t matter what it looked like. Just please, for the love of all that is holy, do not lose to an FCS team. We have progressed beyond that point. Kansas should not merely beat Long Island. Kansas should control the game from the beginning.
But LIU isn’t completely helpless. The Sharks proved that last season when they went to Eastern Michigan and won 28-23, the first FBS victory in program history. It is also worth putting that result in perspective.
Over the last four seasons, LIU is 1-6 against FBS opponents, with the six losses coming by an average of roughly 38 points. And Eastern Michigan isn’t exactly a playoff contender. This year’s predictive models have the Eagles around #120 nationally, while Kansas generally lands somewhere between #40 and #60.
So, while Kansas should take LIU seriously, the Jayhawks should also beat them senseless.
North Dakota just put up 42 points and 465 yards on the Sharks, and it was 42-0 at halftime. The Fighting Hawks are an FCS program themselves — albeit the #8-ranked FCS team.
Kansas is currently favored by more than 40 points, so there really isn’t a compelling competitive case for this game. Instead, this is about seeing whether a roster that looks promising on paper also looks like it knows what it’s doing on a football field.
Clean substitutions. Few penalties. No busted coverages. No timeouts before a punt. Things like that.
And ideally, I’d like to stop worrying about the outcome by halftime.
SECOND DOWN
Obviously, most of the attention will be on Isaiah Marshall.
Marshall won the quarterback job after spending much of last season as a change-of-pace option behind Jalon Daniels. We haven’t seen much of him as a passer at this level — he completed all three of his attempts last season for 28 yards — but we definitely know what he can do with his legs. Marshall rushed for 160 yards on just 15 carries in 2025.
This is about as friendly of an introduction to QB1 as Kansas could ask for.
I’m less interested in seeing Marshall run for 100 yards against LIU than I am in seeing him operate the offense. Can he get everyone lined up? Can he work through reads? Can he consistently put the ball where it needs to go? Can he turn 3rd-and-6 into a seven-yard completion instead of immediately deciding that he is the fastest person on the field?
Just because he very well might be the fastest person on the field Friday doesn’t mean we need to see it 15 times.
Kansas should also have a considerable advantage in the backfield. Dylan Edwards arrives from you know where after an injury-shortened 2025, while Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis rushed for 558 yards and four touchdowns last season. Willis is 6-foot-1, 230 pounds. Edwards is 5-foot-9, 175. I’m sure Andy Kotelnicki can think of absolutely nothing interesting to do with those two players.
At receiver, Buffalo transfer Nik McMillan gives Marshall an experienced primary target after catching 62 passes for 981 yards last season. Cam Pickett’s availability is less certain after missing practice time with a leg injury, and considering the opponent, there is absolutely no reason to push him.
This is an opportunity for Marshall and the new offense to get comfortable.
Take it.
THIRD DOWN
LIU’s most interesting situation may also be at quarterback.
Ethan Greenwood entered the year as a preseason All-NEC selection after throwing for 645 yards and rushing for another 416 last season. He was even more dangerous as a runner in 2024, when he ran for 913 yards.
North Dakota, however, made him look miserable.
Greenwood completed just 3-of-9 passes for 11 yards with an interception before Luca Stanzani took over. Stanzani was much more effective, completing 12-of-16 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. Some context is required here — LIU was already down 42-0. North Dakota wasn’t exactly playing like its season depended on stopping the comeback.
Still, I’d expect Kansas to see both quarterbacks, and either one gives KU’s rebuilt defense something useful to work against. Greenwood brings a running threat, while Stanzani has enough experience to punish a busted coverage.
The bigger thing I want to see from Kansas is disruption. KU allowed 387 yards per game last season and struggled to get offenses off the field, allowing opponents to convert 40.6% of their third downs, which ranked #82 nationally. The Jayhawks return Trey Lathan in the middle of the defense, along with Leroy Harris III up front and several experienced defensive backs, but there are transfers all over the place.
Against LIU, that talent should cover a lot of mistakes, but I’d prefer not to need it to.
North Dakota held the Sharks to just 71 rushing yards on 31 attempts last week. LIU finished with only 255 total yards and 13 first downs. Those seem like attainable goals for KU tonight. If Kansas is serious about having a good defense this season, this is the kind of opponent it should suffocate.
FOURTH DOWN
The betting market isn’t expecting suspense.
Kansas opened as roughly a 38-point favorite, and the line has since moved to around Kansas -41.5, with the total sitting around 53.5. That’s… a lot of points. But, Kansas has become pretty good at handling these games under Lance Leipold.
Over the last five season openers:
2021: Kansas 17, South Dakota 14
2022: Kansas 56, Tennessee Tech 10
2023: Kansas 48, Missouri State 17
2024: Kansas 48, Lindenwood 3
2025: Kansas 31, Fresno State 7
Obviously Fresno State is not an FCS team, but the point still stands. More relevantly, KU’s last three home games against overmatched nonconference opponents have ended 48-17, 48-3, and 46-7.
There was a time when I would have looked at Kansas giving 41.5 points to literally anyone and wondered what alternate reality I woke up in. But, I think times have changed.
PREDICTION
There is one other factor here that probably works in LIU’s favor — Missouri is next, followed by a conference opener with Arizona State.
Kansas has absolutely no reason to show Eliah Dorkwitz anything interesting. I expect the offense to be pretty vanilla, the defense to stay mostly base, and Andy Kotelnicki to spend the second half calling plays from the portion of the playbook labeled, “Second Half Running Clock.”
That could make the final score look a little less ridiculous than the talent difference suggests.
It may also mean Kansas settles for a few field goals instead of putting red-zone wrinkles on tape. LIU may find a late touchdown or two against backups and a defense that isn’t particularly interested in disguising anything. None of that should make the outcome competitive.
Marshall gets a comfortable first start, Kansas runs the ball effectively, the defense controls LIU for most of the night, and everyone gets out healthy.
Then we can spend the next seven days having completely rational discussions about UM-C.
Kansas 37, Long Island 13.
EXTRA POINT
LIU’s Trey Watkins intercepted five passes last season, leading the NEC and tying for second nationally in the FCS. It’s probably worth checking where #0 is before throwing the football.
