Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - What Kansas Jayhawks Football Still Can Accomplish in the 2024 Season Despite 1-3 Start

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, what does KU still have to play for? What can they still accomplish in 2024? You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day. I am Derek Johnson. You can find me on Twitter at DJohnsonRadio. And thank you to everybody catching the show wherever you get it,

Starting point is 00:00:33 whether it's anywhere you get your podcast or on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. And on today's edition of Locked on Jayhawks, we're talking what is KU football still have to play for this season because it can feel like at one-3, it's dead. You know, what's going to happen for you? But there still is a good amount that KU could accomplish. Now, obviously, you could say, well, they could just win their final eight games,

Starting point is 00:00:54 and they'd be 9-3, and they'd be in the Big 12 championship game. They'd be 8-1 in conference play. Of course, that is something they could play for and should strive for, realistically, from the outside. Like, that's something the players, the coaches, yes, they should strive for and should strive for realistically from the outside. Like that's something the players, the coaches, they, yes, they should strive for that realistically from the outside. What are some realistic things that they could still accomplish this season? I still think there's a good amount.

Starting point is 00:01:13 So we'll get into that. And then a little KU roundup as KU women's basketball has a new commit. KU women's volleyball now ranks seventh in the country. KU women's soccer getting a big win at Cincinnati. We'll discuss all that on this episode of the show, which is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Place your first $5 bet and you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed.

Starting point is 00:01:30 Visit FanDuel.com to get started today. Okay, so what are some of the things that Kansas can still accomplish that they still have to play for for this season? Like I said, the unrealistic way of looking at this is saying, well, schedule is still, you know, I mean, K-State's what, the one ranked team that still plays? Iowa State ranked right now. Iowa State looks pretty good for what it's worth. But, like, if Iowa State and K-State are the two ranked teams you have to play left and they're fringe top 25 teams and you get one of them at home, you know, if you figure stuff out, why not, right?

Starting point is 00:01:59 But, again, that's not realistic. So maybe you win a couple of these games and we can reevaluate that thing. But making a bowl game would be the big one. Obviously, coming into this season, the goals were well above make another bowl game, let alone make a bowl game that would be a worse bowl game than the one that you were just in. I'll tell you right now, sign me up for another Liberty Bowl. I don't care. No, I wasn't there for the one when,

Starting point is 00:02:26 when all the water was gone in the city. So I can, I can see if you're upset about that, but nonetheless, KU has never made a bowl game in three consecutive seasons. Think about that for a second. As much as like, I almost view it this way.

Starting point is 00:02:40 If Kansas was having this season in year two, unfortunately, this isn't what happens and is what happening and um that's part of it but like if Kansas was having this season in year two so year one was your two and ten season he got blown out most of your games had some close games at the end year two you're now being like oh we're so close to winning we're getting so close and then year three was what year two was which was making it to a bowl game going six and six and year four was what year three was going nine and four the progress would feel so much better than where it

Starting point is 00:03:09 is right now but it's because you got your hopes up and you had all these players back and yada yada yada this and that but still from a big picture standpoint if you go to a third straight bowl game and do that by the time you're through four years of the Lance Leipold era when you've never done that before I mean it's it's unbelievable how much better the program the place the program would be in than it was before they took over again maybe not as as far along as you might have hoped after this year but like that would still be a huge accomplishment something this program could not take for granted it's going to take some scooting to get to that point, though. Even to get 6-6, KU's going to have to go 5-3 from here, right? So it's going to take some good play the rest of the way,

Starting point is 00:03:51 but that would still be a pretty big accomplishment for KU if they can do it. And I think that is one beauty of college football, just in general, is that the idea, you know, if you're in the NFL, and yes, there are teams who maybe start 0-2. Like the Ravens started 0-2. They're probably going to make the playoffs. They'll still be a Super Bowl contender, right?'re in the NFL and yes, there are teams who maybe start 0-2, like the Ravens started 0-2. They're probably going to make the playoffs. They'll still be a Super Bowl contender, right? Same with the Bengals.

Starting point is 00:04:09 But you look at like teams who might, if you start, I don't know, three and five in the NFL, it's like, what do we have to play for? Like, we're not going to win. College is like, we can rally. We can get six and six. We can make a bowl game. And so I do think that is something cool about the sport. And so, yes, that would be a big deal for KU. I think the other big

Starting point is 00:04:27 one that you can still accomplish to play for just in general, like going out on a positive note for Devin Neal and the seniors. This is a giant group of seniors. You have like 30 seniors in this class. Don't you want to go out in a positive manner, right? And, I mean, again, if you compare, if you go 6-6 at the end of the year and you compare that to your expectations before the season, it wouldn't feel positive. But from where we are now, it would feel like a big positive from where you were getting there. And, again, you can look back on a big picture and say,

Starting point is 00:04:59 wow, that senior class made three straight bowl games and helped them get them out of the dumps. And I think it's the least that everybody can do for them, or I guess it would be fitting for them to be able to go to another bowl game because of what they have helped this program accomplish, and that even if they do this season, I hope this doesn't happen, but even if they do go 3-9 or 4-8 this season, it is still vastly more competent as a program and where they are at than where

Starting point is 00:05:25 they were before Lance Leipold took over. And so I want that to be celebrated. And I specifically do think of Devin Neal because of how much he has given to the program, being the local kid in Lawrence, deciding to come back this year for another year when he didn't have to. Obviously, he's going to have a chance to break some individual records, and that'll give him that opportunity to do some of that stuff. But I would like to see him be able to have some of that team accomplishment in this season as well,

Starting point is 00:05:50 to be able to have some of that stuff that we look back on and think of that in an even fonder way, because I think he deserves that in everything that he has kind of sacrificed for the program. This is one that I think is very interesting, maybe based on the timeline, but also kind of based on now. So last week we had an episode talking about why you couldn't bench Jalen Daniels yet. And as part of that conversation, as part of that podcast, I mentioned the idea, and thank you for an everyday or you already caught this, that at some point there would hit a breaking point though, that if the season was lost, let's say you dropped to 3-7 or something, you're not going to make a bowl game.

Starting point is 00:06:30 At that point, do you sit there the final two weeks and go, I think this would behoove you in that situation, hey, I don't know that Jalen Daniels is going to be back after this year. Because it felt like, for what it's worth, the Jalen Daniels thing, it's going to be weird to figure out because it seemed like all the energy all the vibes coming into the year was that this was going to be Jalen's last year at Kansas and I think the ideal world was that he was going to go pro obviously the level of play that has happened that's not going to be an avenue for him right I mean unless you if he goes off these final eight games then

Starting point is 00:07:04 then I guess that is entirely possible there's still a lot of season left but like realistically right now that is not going to be an avenue for him so would he stick with that would he transfer would he decide to come back for another year I mean Jason Bean wasn't going to play football another year in the KU staff convention come back and that turned out pretty well for Jason Bean and for kids maybe that happens with Jalen Daniels but if you don't know the answer to that does it behoove you to say hey we should probably figure out what we have here in a year two Cole Ballard we should figure out what we have here in a year one Isaiah Marshall because we need to know do we need to hit the

Starting point is 00:07:36 transfer portal in the offseason we need to know what those known commodities are so we can cross compare them to David McComb coming in as a four-star recruit at the quarterback position and so that becomes as much a part of this as anything the rest of this season is an audition for who the quarterback is going to be and heck I'll even take this step further is an audition for who the offensive coordinator should and can be in the 2025 season for KU too right I mean if the offense doesn't turn it around if it gets worse or it stays the same I've talked a lot about the idea, and it's true that Lance Leipold is very patient with his guys. Would he let go of Jeff Grimes after one year? I don't know. His track record hasn't totally done that, but would there be pressure from upstairs in the athletic department?

Starting point is 00:08:18 I don't know. Maybe there would be. You look at like Matt Lubick. I know Nevada is only sitting at two and three, which doesn't sound that crazy, but for Nevada, they were two and 10 last year. They were a train wreck and that's two and three with a five point loss to SMU who just blasted TCU, a three point loss to a pretty good Georgia Southern team that I think was finished,

Starting point is 00:08:37 pick to finish second or third in their division in the Sunbelt and a loss at Minnesota. Like Nevada could end up being a bowl team. Matt Lubick's doing pretty good things with their offense there. Or do you, I don't know, go find a new guy? Do you promote Jim Zabrowski who did well in the bowl game? Whatever it is, right? It's an audition.

Starting point is 00:08:54 But if Jeff Grimes can figure it out, then you feel more comfortable going into year two of a system with that. And it's the same thing for the quarterback situation here. Again, part of it is what's going to happen with Jalen. But if you're Jalen Daniels, like we see this happen all over the country too. We saw it happen at Kansas State, right? We saw it happen in Oklahoma. And sometimes it works out.

Starting point is 00:09:12 Sometimes it doesn't. Like Oklahoma's probably sitting there today going, yeah, we kind of wish we had Dylan Gabriel because Jackson Arnold just got benched last game against Tennessee. But there hits a certain point where you have this young guy waiting on the bench and like we want to see what he can bring to the table. And we don't want him to transfer away because we can get multiple years out of him. We're only going to get one more year out of you. And to where if Kansas doesn't like the rest of the season, do they say, hey,

Starting point is 00:09:35 it's in the best interest of both parties because we're not going to give you the same amount of NIL money. You're going to make more NIL money over here. It's going to be a better opportunity for you. And it'll be a better opportunity for us so we can play Isaiah Marshall or, you know, Cole Ballard or David McComb, whoever it is. Again, I'm not saying any of that's going to happen, but like all of these things are conversations or discussions that are on the board that the level of play the rest of the season is kind of an open audition to figuring out what the coaching staff, what Lance Leipold thinks the best direction of the program is moving forward. So as much as they can still accomplish

Starting point is 00:10:04 some of those things, like making a bowl and trying to go out on top and trying to win some big games the rest of the way and still have some positive successes for the seniors, it is an audition for a lot of these individuals, including kind of that quarterback and offensive coordinator position. And I think that really applies, you could probably say, for a lot of players overall.

Starting point is 00:10:20 Like in general, just finding good young players that can step up. We saw that last week with Blake Harrell, like that bodes well for him, or finding players who can fit into bigger roles on next year's team. It really does apply kind of across the board there. We're going to continue on some more reasons for KU to still try for things to accomplish for new goals for the rest of 2024 for KU football. This episode of Locked on Jayhawks is brought to you by Roy. Roy is a new platform that lets fans make contributions directly to their favorite athletes. You can download Roy for iOS or Android

Starting point is 00:10:56 and enter referral code LOCKEDON, and you'll automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win $5,000 cash. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. This week, we've selected Devin Neal. So they're actually letting us, the Lockdown hosts, pick different players as part of whether it's a highlight,

Starting point is 00:11:18 whether the player of the week, whatever it is, to get $100 on Roy. And we decided to send it to Devin Neal. Maybe I'll start putting this up for a poll of who we should send it to each and every week, but this is kind of a, like Devin Neal could have gotten player of the week for last week for KU, but it's kind of a, you know, I don't know, a combination of everything he's done for the program, whether it's this season. I mean, he's having a good year.

Starting point is 00:11:39 He's averaging over six yards per carry. He's got like 400 yards rushing and stuff like that. I think deserved it for that kind of player of the year situation that you're kind of talking about so far for KU. If you're talking about that on the offense side, the reason they've even stayed afloat on offense is because of the running game. So you can do that with Roy. If you were impressed with his performance or somebody else on Saturday, you can show him some love to just hop on Roy and throw in a few bucks. If everyone pitches in 10 bucks, it adds up fast for Devin Neal or whoever else. Now you have the chance to show your appreciation for said player

Starting point is 00:12:08 and his standout performance this week, as well as what he'll continue to bring to the program. Get off the sidelines and into the game with Roy. Continuing on with Locked on Jayhawks, thanks for making us your first listen every day. You can check out Locked on College Football for your second listen of the day. Okay, what are some other areas that KU still has to play for,

Starting point is 00:12:32 goals for the rest of the season? This is kind of a big one that feels a little less likely given where you are, but then again, they just did lose by a significant margin. Beat K-State. You know, at this point in time, like if you would have said before the season, would you prefer to go 9-3 or would you prefer to go 4-8 but beat K-State? I would gladly take the 9-3, even in that scenario.

Starting point is 00:12:58 Like everybody's chomping at the bit to beat K-State, but like even then, like that's a big difference. But at this point, you're already one and three. It's kind of like, hey, if we're going down with the ship, you're going down with us, you know, and it's going to be a tough game. KU will be an underdog in that game. It's on the road, all that sort of stuff. One way, though, that you can really salvage the season is by winning that game.

Starting point is 00:13:21 Because as I said, like if Kansas makes a bowl game, you'll be able to at least refer to this team as, hey, they were the one that made the third straight bowl game for the first time in program history. And that'll be a really cool thing. If they don't, but they at least win the K-State game, you can point back to this year and be like, they finally beat K-State.

Starting point is 00:13:37 That was the team that got over the hump in that game. And that'll at least be one really fun weekend, really one fun day memory that you'll have from this season. So I don't know how likely that is, but weird stuff happens in this league all the time. And that would certainly be something that would be the headline, the banner for this year's team, so to speak, at this point in time, sitting at one and three. This one kind of off the field, but like finishing out the recruiting class and staying on guys, despite things not going so well. So I guess

Starting point is 00:14:02 they're going to have a lot of recruits in attendance for the game this weekend in Arrowhead, which scares me a little bit. I mean, obviously, you have to continue to recruit, and a lot of these things were scheduled beforehand. If you're not going to have great attendance this game, then what makes you think you're going to have great attendance? You can't keep pushing it down the road. You have to have the recruits visit at some point or another. But it just makes me hope even more that there is at least decent attendance for this game so that they can have you know I mean it really is all cyclical with

Starting point is 00:14:29 this stuff and how impactful it is not just for this year but kind of the future year but right now Kansas is sitting with 15 commits I wouldn't say they have like that star of the recruiting class like don't get me wrong they have good players in this recruiting class but like like last year I viewed the stars of the class, Dak Brinkley and DJ Warner, right? Overall, it's solid right now. Can they add that star of the class or can somebody develop into it? Like does somebody just kind of break out this season? I don't remember what Warner was. Warner might've still been like four star, but then he broke out into being like a near five star, honestly, the way that he kind of finished out the season. I don't know.

Starting point is 00:15:05 Maybe somebody will do that for KU here. But can you add a few more in addition to that? Can you retain the guys that you already have committed, right? Like that's going to be a part of this. If your record isn't as good, if it's not as positive as you wanted, can you stay positive in the recruiting game that keeps guys around? That'll be kind of the big question there. And then the last one I have here is just gain some positive momentum back.

Starting point is 00:15:27 It feels like the pendulum is swinging the wrong way. And again, like big picture here, I've seen a lot of people being like, well, it's back to where it was. Like this is a complete setback to where it was before Lance Leifold. No, it's not. No, it is not. They would be getting blown out in these games. These would not be close games.

Starting point is 00:15:42 Again, like I put this out on Twitter. I mentioned it in the recap if you took the high points by espn's win probability in all three games they lost the last three weeks the chances of them going oh and three is like 0.17 those are those are spurn losses where you did a few things wrong and in a lot of other games sometimes you have close games where you still do some things wrong and you still find a way to survive because college football is weird. And a lot of times the other team will mess up too.

Starting point is 00:16:10 Kansas has been kind of unfortunate because the other team has done the opposite of mess up. They've done everything perfectly and Kansas has messed up for this stuff to happen to where like, this isn't just like completely, it's not like not, this is going to be bad grammar. It's not turnaroundable, you know? Like they can turn this around is what I'm saying like they're close right it's so different than those points so can you get that positive momentum to finish back right even if you let's

Starting point is 00:16:35 say you do lose these next two games you lose the TCU you lose at Arizona State you're sitting at one and five can you find a way to finish five and seven can you find a way to win your last game of the season can you find a way to beat K-State or win some of these games where you do at least gain some positive momentum that even if you don't accomplish much from the season of making a bowl or doing this or that, that you at least have won two of your last three or something like that headed into the offseason that you can feel like there's a little bit more positivity going into that offseason. Let's finish up here. A little KU roundup. This is Locked on Jayhawks.

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Starting point is 00:18:37 when you place your first $5 bet. That is FanDuel.com, the official sportsbook partner of the Locked On Podcast Network. Tomorrow's episode, planning to talk a little worry scale about the KU football team and the program and everything. We get to our KUTCU preview later this week. We're also set to have a crossover episode for you this week with Locked On Jayhawks as well. A little KU roundup here. KU women's basketball has a new commit.

Starting point is 00:19:06 Tatiana Brown, she is a 6'2 forward from the state of Colorado, so adding a little bit of size and height down low. This adds to a class. KU already had a top 50 commit nationally in Libby Fandle, a 6'0 shooting guard. So good stuff on the recruiting trail for Brandon Schneider as they look to continue to pile on classes with Samaya Nichols kind of leading the way as the future star player for them.

Starting point is 00:19:30 Women's volleyball, though, sitting at 9-1. They're now ranked seventh in the country. They had a huge win over Purdue in four sets, which was a previously undefeated team, their top ten opponent that they beat last week. And then they got a sweep win after that. They did get swept against Creighton. It was a bad Saturday for KU Athletics, but I wonder how much of that was, you know, you're riding high

Starting point is 00:19:48 after the Purdue win. Maybe you're, you know, not as focused on it. I don't know. Creighton's a really good team though too. Like they're ranked in the top 10. So not a bad loss. Kids sitting at nine and one with a loss to a top 10 team. That's the only loss. And now they start big 12 play. They got UCF tonight. They got Houston Friday, then hit the road next week. So the road to trying to win the big 12 starts now. And then a woman's soccer now sitting with four wins, three losses, three draws. They're one and two in big 12 play. They just got a road win at Cincinnati, which is a pretty big.

Starting point is 00:20:17 Cause Nate Lee, the soccer coach previously was the coach at Cincinnati. And I think he was referred to by Travis Goff as like Mr. Cincinnati or something like that. So that was big for him. I'd imagine there's still some recruiting pipelines there. So to get a win there, probably pretty important. And now they play UCF on Thursday, and then they're at Colorado on Sunday. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks.

Starting point is 00:20:38 You can find our show anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page, back for plenty more KUTCU content throughout the week with LOJ. So make sure you're subscribed anywhere that you do tune into the show. See you next time.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - What Kansas Jayhawks Football Still Can Accomplish in the 2024 Season Despite 1-3 Start

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