Week 0 has come and went, and now the rest of the college football world is set to join in the fun. In what should be a bit of a tune up game for the Jayhawks, Kansas vs the Lindenwood Lions sets the stage in Week 1.
Kansas vs Lindenwood History & Excerpts
This will be the first time facing off against each other, as 2023 was Lindenwood’s first season as an active member of NCAA Division I football.
When asked about the game, Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said, “Since we’ve been here at Lindenwood, we’ve had a mindset that we’ll play anyone and anywhere.”
That is a great attitude to have, especially when coaching at a smaller school against major conference opponents. The Lions have nothing to lose and a ton of experience and exposure to gain by playing in this game.
Key Players for Kansas
What should separate the two teams is the shear amount of talent that Kansas possesses. Their offense will cause headaches for teams of their own caliber, let alone a team that is nearly brand new to Division I football. Even if Lindenwood had one or two really good players, especially on defense, the Jayhawks just have too many weapons to overcome.
Jalon Daniels is a handful on his own, but when he has three legitimate receivers and an All-American candidate at running back, it’s simply too much for a team like Lindenwood to match. What makes it even tougher for them to keep up will be the secondary that Kansas boasts.
Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, two preseason All-Big 12 selections, lie in wait for teams that try to pass the ball on the Jayhawks. So unless the Lions can dominate in the run game, it will be nearly impossible for them to keep up offensively.
Key Players for Lindenwood
The Lions are returning their leading rusher from a season ago in Robert Giaimo. Giaimo collected 542 total yards and and five touchdowns in just five games last season. He will be just about the only hope for the Lions offense keeping up with Kansas. However, if the passing game were to have an impact, it would likely be at the hands of Jeff Caldwell.
Caldwell amassed 599 yards and eight touchdowns last season, while acting as the clear favorite target for all four quarterbacks that played. Speaking of quarterback, that will likely be Carter Davis or Tyler Kubat.
Those two combined for just 672 yards and five touchdowns in their seven games played last season. Whichever one gets the nod will have his hands full with this Kansas secondary.
Kansas’ Blueprint for Victory
What will it take for the Jayhawks to start the season 1-0? They need to avoid doing something that the old Jayhawks would do regularly – playing down to their competition.
Before head coach Lance Leipold showed up, the Jayhawks had a knack for playing down to teams that they were better than. Teams like Nicholls State, Ohio, and Central Michigan would regularly win games against the Jayhawks because they thought they could just show up and win games like that.
Coach Leipold has this team on a different level than those of the past. While they certainly don’t have to play their best game of football, they won’t be satisfied with a subpar performance. The Jayhawks should have little to no trouble with Lindenwood in their season opener
