Pound for pound, no one has started the 2022 season better than Kansas. The Jayhawks are 3-0 for the first time since 2009. Their offense ranks third in the nation in scoring (53 points per game) and ninth in yards per game (7.55). KU’s 159 points through the first three games surpass the program’s 142 points in the entire 2020 nine-game season. KU’s preseason win total (2.5) was reached on September 17th. I can go on.
Kansas’ start drew fans from near and far – many people were rightly upset when Game day picked Florida-Tennessee over this Saturday’s 3-0 Duke game at 3-0 Kansas — which is a double-edged sword unless you’re at the top of the college football food chain.
Scott Frost is already at Nebraska, and Leipold’s success in Lawrence has led many to speculate that the Big Red might cross their southern border to land their former Big 8/Big 12 head coach. For what it’s worth, one of Leipold’s sites as the second most likely candidate take a job at Nebraska.
Asked about it on the Ryan Leaf show A straight lineLeipold said
“Like anything, I think you have to stay in the moment, be where your feet are,” Leipold said. “You know, my wife, Kelly and I, we didn’t come to Lawrence, Kansas to relocate at this point in our careers. It’s flattering. Like you said, it’s early, it’s early in the season. But our focus is trying to build the Kansas Jayhawks into a winner and a consistent winner for a long time.”
Leipold is under contract with KU through 2027 in a deal that pays him $2.2 million in 2022 and hits $3.5 million. Frost signed a 7-year, $35 million contract after being hired by UCF in 2017, and is expected to be higher for the next coach with massive Big Ten TV deal going down the pike.
Kansas hosts Duke at noon ET on Saturday (FS1).