After 12 long years of dread and sorrow for KU football fans, Head Coach Lance Leipold and company have made a full 180 with the program. As this story is being written, The Jayhawks are sitting at 5-2 (.714) and fifth in the BIG 12 Standings. This year, for 2 weeks straight, KU appeared at 19 in the Associated Press Top 25. This is the first time since 2009 that the Jayhawks have been ranked in the AP Top 25. With the relevance of KU Football being restored, fans are excited once again to catch a game in Lawrence or tune into the television when they’re on the road.

KU Athletics has its many ups and its many downs. KU Basketball has been historically what brings KU fans in. The basketball team is the winningest college basketball program in history and has 6 national championships including the last one in 2022. KU Football doesn’t have as much to show for itself. Their best season in 2008-2009 granted them a ticket to the Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech which resulted in a 24-21 win for the Jayhawks. With Kansas Football being relevant again, Fans have come back.

“I’ve always been a big fan of KU Athletics but didn’t watch KU Football like I do basketball. I’d say in the past 4 years I’ve really started paying attention to KU Football,” senior Simon Woodbury said.

With the recent coaching change to Lance Leipold, many fans are questioning whether or not Leipold will continue on as the head coach or will he take his success to a bigger school?

With many coaching jobs opening up throughout the season, many historically large-scale programs have been looking for a new captain at the helm. Leipold has been linked to a few coaching positions such as the head coaching job at Nebraska and Wisconsin.

 “Yes, the BIG 10 is a tougher conference so I don’t think he’ll go to Wisconsin or Nebraska. KU fans will love a coach that can go .500 after these past 12 seasons of bad football. He has a lot less to lose here and the fans at KU are the best,” Woodbury said.

Most KU fans we talked to have said the same thing and have had nearly the same response. “I think he will [stay] because he [Lance Leipold] says he likes where he is right now,” said Junior Jack Richards. Take into consideration Leipold does have a strong connection to Wisconsin as he was the head coach at University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

             With KU Football back on track, a lot of analysts and fans have all asked the same question: can Kansas Football continue its success? That is really up to two things, recruiting and coaching.

“This offseason is huge for the future of KU football. Recruiting is what will change the program. So, yes I do believe KU can do it but it needs to happen this offseason,” Woodbury said.

KU’s recruiting has been towards the bottom of the rankings year in and year out. Maybe the recent success could change the recruiting mojo. KU does have a few big recruits coming in such as 3-star Wide Receiver Surahz Buncom and 3-star Defensive Lineman Tony Terry. KU has the power to be good in the years to come.

              With KU football back on the up and up, the entire State of Kansas is buzzing. It is exciting to see the Jayhawks be competitive on the football field once again. The long awaited sunflower showdown between Kansas and Kansas State could be a fireworks show this year. Football in the State of Kansas is once again exciting.