The 3-1 UCF Knights continue Big 12 Conference play with their first home game of the conference season as they welcome the Kansas Jayhawks to the Bounce House for a primetime matchup on ESPN2.
Let’s get
up to speed on the Jayhawks:
Gameday Info
- Kickoff: Saturday, October 4th, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Acrisure Bounce House
- TV: ESPN2
- Spread: Kansas -4.5 (ESPN)
- Weather: 74°, showers expected
Series
Leader: Kansas leads 1-0.
Last Meeting: 2023 — Kansas 51, UCF 22
Nice work on the metadata, Fox. 🙄
About the Jayhawks
Record: 3-2, 1-1 in the Big 12
Last Week: Lost to Cincinnati in Lawrence, 37-34
After a 2-0 start, the Jayhawks have lost two of their last three, including last week’s wild back-and-forth affair with the Bearcats. KU and Cincy combined for 1,200 total yards (603 for Cincy, 597 for KU), but the Bearcats scored with 29 seconds left to outlast the Jayhawks despite 500 total yards of offense from Jalon Daniels.
Kansas has scored at least 31 points in every game so far this season, but they are 102 against P4 teams, with their only win coming at home against West Virginia.
Head Coach: Lance Leipold
Leipold has done a very nice job at KU since coming from Buffalo in 2021, Although his current record there is 25-30 he has led KU to its first winning seasons since 2008, and its second 9-win campaign since 1995.
Leipold has the record for the fastest coach to 100 wins in NCAA history, having done so in just 106 games at D-III Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he won six national titles in eight years, including five 15-0 seasons. He also took Buffalo to two MAC Championship games in six seasons.
Kansas Offense
Key Player: QB Jalon Daniels
- 6-0, 220 lb. Senior from Lawndale, California, near L.A.
- 2025: 66.9% (85/127), 1262 yards, 16 TDs, 2 INTs, 214 rushing yards and 1 TDs
If it seems like Jalon Daniels has been at Kansas for just about forever, it’s because that’s true. He came to Lawrence as a freshman in 2020, and this is his sixth year as a Jayhawk. He’s played in only 42 total games, but has established himself not only as the clear leader of KU’s offense, but one of the best dual-threat QBs in the nation.
Other Guys to Watch
- Leading Rusher: #4 Leshon Williams — 38 rushes, 245 yards, 6.4 yards/rush, 2 TD
- Leading Receiver: #2 Emmanuel Henderson Jr. — 23 catches, 435 yards, 4 TD
Kansas Defense
Key Player: LB Trey Lathan
- 6-1, 228 Redshirt Junior from Goulds, Florida (South Miami)
- 2025: 37 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception
Lathan came to KU after three years at West Virginia, where he peaked with a 79-tackle season in 2024. He’s nearly halfway to that total already in 2025.
The south Miami-Dade native recorded his first interception of his career against his former team two weeks ago.
Other Guys to Watch
- Leader in Sacks: #33 Leroy Harris III — 12 tackles, 3.5 sacks
- Leader in Interceptions: #2 Lyrik Rawls — 31 tackles, one interception, three passes defended
The More You Know…
- Kansas has one player from Orlando, OT Antonio Wilson, who played at Jones High School and was offered by UCF.
- This is Kansas’ first-ever trip to UCF. KU has played only one all-time in Orlando, at the 2003 Tangerine Bowl. They lost to NC State, 56-26
- Kansas has one former UCF coach on its staff. DT coach Jim Panagos was at UCF under George O’Leary from 2007-2011, and coached the likes of Leger Douzable and Bruce Miller, among others.
