Kansas football coach Lance Leipold understands the importance of KU's rivalry with Missouri. He talked about that and more during Big 12 media days.
FRISCO, Texas — When Lance Leipold started to address the renewal of Kansas football’s rivalry with Missouri, his comments quickly focused on a game that’ll be played before it.
Leipold, the Jayhawks’ coach, highlighted his side’s season opener against Fresno State. He praised that team’s new coaching staff and the way Fresno State has put together its roster. If KU isn’t ready on Aug. 23, inside a reimagined David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, he cautioned his own program is going to be playing uphill again all year.
But when the week of that Missouri matchup arrives, ahead of a Sept. 6 kickoff in Columbia, Missouri, Leipold does anticipate addressing the history of that game in more detail. Although he noted last week he hasn’t spent much time talking about it with the team, there will be a degree of education with the players on the rivalry’s background. It’s been more than a decade since Kansas and Missouri, now a member of the Southeastern Conference, have played each other.
“I know our players will be ready for kickoff and excited about that opportunity,” Leipold said, “in what should be a pretty interesting, exciting environment.”
Here are a few more takeaways from what Leipold had to say during Big 12 Conference media days in Frisco, Texas:
How does Kansas’ locker room feel about how last season unfolded?
Leipold said there’s probably a mix of a sour taste from the players back from last season’s team, and optimism about the way the team finished during a 5-7 campaign. There was frustration early, when Kansas couldn’t close out games they had chances to win on the way to a 1-5 start. There was confidence in how the team persevered after that, going 4-2 in the last six games with a challenging schedule.
The most significant thing Leipold pointed out, with all of that, was the lesson in how minute the difference is between winning and losing. Focus throughout the week of preparation, and on game days, has to reflect that reality. Falling short on the road in 2024 at both Arizona State and Kansas State were two defeats that were still on Leipold’s mind.
Is there going to be a learning curve for Scott Frost at UCF?
Scott Frost isn’t new to UCF, but the coach is new to the program as a member of the Big 12. When Frost thrived as the coach at UCF, it was when the team was a member of the American Athletic Conference. He’s now back leading the way for UCF, after a lackluster stint as the head coach in the Big Ten Conference at Nebraska.
Leipold anticipates there being some time for Frost's team to get up to speed in the Big 12. However, Leipold also praised how good of a coach Frost is and mentioned it’s not as if the coaching staff Frost has is devoid of Big 12 experience. Mike Dawson, UCF’s defensive run game coordinator/edge coach, for example, spent last season as an analyst at KU.
Kansas will play on the road against UCF this season, and Leipold predicted that the game will be a challenging matchup. He thinks Frost’s team will have the speed, athleticism, and offensive deception that UCF teams have had in recent years. Leipold addedthat Frost will likely have a quality option attack, too.
How many players will Kansas have on the roster, and will that affect how Lance Leipold handles things?
Leipold acknowledged Kansas won’t have as many players on the roster as it did a year ago, noted the final number would be somewhere in between 105 and 120, and outlined it will be a little over 105. That was before the news this week that Jaidyn Doss, a transfer from Nebraska, would join the Jayhawks. When asked last week if there’s anything the new roster reality would lead him to change, though, Leipold said they would need to watch how they practice.
Leipold highlighted that his team practices at a pretty high pace, leading to a lot of reps, so they need to monitor the volume of work for the guys who do the most running. There’s technology KU uses to help track that. It’s about finding the balance between wanting to get in the work desired during practice and doing so in a way that’s smart for all involved.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football coach Lance Leipold talks 2025 Missouri rivalry game
Category: General Sports
