The Rundown

Wagner Seahawks (0-0) at Kansas Jayhawks (1-0)

Friday, August 29th, 6:30 p.m. Central
Lawrence, KS: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (41,525)

TV: ESPN+
- Mark Neely (Play-by-play), Todd Doxson (Analyst)d
Radio: Jayhawk Sports Network
- Brian Hanni (Play-by-play), David Lawrence (Analyst), Brandon McAnderson (Sideline)
Online: ESPN+
Line: None
O/U: None
Series History: First meeting

Fresno State Wrap-Up

Scouting the Opponent

Kyle Davis

This is a typical week-one opponent for Kansas, it’s just that it’s coming in the second game of the season for the Jayhawks. Fresno State was anticipated to potentially be a bit of a stronger test, and that wasn’t the case. Now, KU will face an inferior opponent and must just stay focused and not look ahead. 

Wagner finished fifth in the Northeast Conference a season ago with a 2-4 conference record and 4-8 mark overall. The offense was not stellar, averaging just 19.25 points per game and only throwing for 182 ypg. The Seahawks have a new offensive coordinator, who Jordan Guskey of the Topeka Capital-Journal pointed out came from Union College last year. So my research went to Union’s 2024 performance which was…largely the same. The Union offense only averaged 17.5 ppg and roughly the same rushing and passing splits. 

The area where Kansas should have a massive advantage is in the run game. Wagner struggled to defend the run a season ago, allowing 141 rushing yards per game. And that number jumped up even more against better opponents. In losses to Lehigh and Florida Atlantic a season ago, Wagner gave up 190 yards and four touchdowns to Lehigh and 315 yards and five touchdowns to FAU. 

If everything goes according to plan for KU, the second and third strings should get plenty of chances to show what they’re capable of doing.

Player to Watch

Derek Noll

Last week, we chose Jalon Daniels as the player to watch in the first game against Fresno State and he did not disappoint. This week, as KU takes on a lesser opponent at the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, we take a different route, hoping for the same results.

Last season, Wagner College won just four games and as expected, were outscored, outgained, and generally outplayed with Florida Atlantic probably the most powerful team they played. Kansas is obviously a different beast. This game is a great chance to showcase the running game for KU, so our player to watch is transfer running back Leshon Williams. 

The senior from Chicago ran for 57 yards on just six attempts against Fresno State, including a long run of 21 yards for a touchdown. His 9.5 yards per attempt is gaudy enough, but take out that TD run and he still averaged 7.2 yards per carry. This should improve against the Seahawks from the Northeast Conference.

Last season, Wagner’s defense allowed an average of 141 yards per game on the ground but never saw backs the caliber of Williams and his running mate Daniel Hishaw (not to mention Jalon Daniels). Kansas scurried for 207 yards rushing against Fresno State and will likely improve upon that against the Seahawks. We saw a bit of the explosion that Williams can bring against the Bulldogs, and I expect that we’ll see a lot more on Friday night.

Kansas will want to put this game to bed early and a steady combination of passes from Daniels and runs from Williams and Hishsaw should make that a reality. Williams was brought to Kansas to fill the Devin Neal shaped hole in the backfield and this game is the perfect one to see if he can do all that Devin did (break big runs, make plays receiving out of the backfield, be used as a decoy for big plays down field) against a team that can’t stack up to the Jayhawks. 

Look for Leshon Williams to add to his impressive start by gaining 100 yards and getting another TD early in the season. 

Check out the Rock Chalk Podcast, where Andy and Kyle previewed this week’s matchup:

Keys to the Game

Andy Mitts

Keep Getting Everyone Involved
Cam Pickett had a breakout game last week, but there were plenty of other players who are expected to contribute this season that didn’t really get a chanced to shine. Jim Zebrowski and his staff need to make sure that players like DeShawn Hanika, and Emmanuel Henderson get touches and start to see some success. They will be needed next week too.

Stay Humble
Last week was a fantastic debut, but it wasn’t perfect. And it’s likely that the Jayhawks will see a lot of success in this game as well. But they need to make sure that they don’t translate that into overconfidence, and use every snap in this game as a chance to practice and learn the things they will need to do well against Missouri next week.

No Injuries
Big blowout wins are always fun. But even more important is making sure that they don’t lose anyone to an injury this week. That means pulling starters after the game is secured, making safe reads and calls to avoid unnecessary hits on Daniels and the other key players, and avoiding any silly penalties in the second half. I’m not THAT worried about a Lance Leipold team being undisciplined in that regard, but it still needs to be a focus.

Staff Predictions

Derek: This is the kind of game that Kansas should win handily with a massive amount of rest dished out for the starters. I want to see early output from the offense (especially Jalon Daniels, Daniel Hishaw, and Leshon Williams) and solid play making and stops from the defense. Fine tune some stuff before Mizzou and get out of there healthy. Kansas 49, Wagner 10.

Kyle: There won’t be quite the fanfare as the opener, but I have a hard time believing that the shine of the new Booth will wear off, even against an opponent like Wagner. The question is not if Kansas will win, but by how much. If you’re into that sort of thing, I’d look at the running backs to have huge games and Jalon Daniels do just enough to keep the consistency going. The goal of this game is to put it away early, get the backups some run, and don’t get hurt. Kansas 52, Wagner 7

Andy: It’s hard not to get too excited about this game, especially since Wagner is not as talented as the Fresno State team that Kansas just dominated. I expect Kansas to take their foot off the gas pretty early in this one to give the second and third stringers plenty of opportunities to get some game action. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, I don’t think it’s going to matter as Kansas rolls. Kansas 56, Wagner 14.

Game Notes

• The Kansas defense held Fresno State to just 39 rushing yards, the lowest total allowed since a 9-yard effort by BYU on September 23, 2023.

• With last week’s victory, Kansas improved to 74-53-7 all-time in season opening games.

• The Jayhawks are looking for their third consecutive 2-0 start to the season. Prior to Lance Leipold’s arrival, the Jayhawks last went 2-0 in the 2011 season.

Athletic Whiparound

Andy Mitts

Volleyball

The 14th-ranked Jayhawks are 1-1 after a pair of 5-set matches last week. They defeated Vanderbilt in the first match of the season before falling to defending champion #2 Penn State in the second. This week, they have two more matches against top-15 opponents as they take on #8 Wisconsin at 6pm Central on Friday night. They follow that up with a 3:30pm match on Sunday against #12 Creighton. Both matches will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Soccer

After a scoreless draw Sunday on the road against Utah State, the Jayhawks come home tonight to host the 2nd-ranked Florida State Seminoles. This is the third meeting between the two squads, with Kansas winning the last matchup back in 2003. This is the highest opponent hosted by the Jayhawks in program history. The game kicks off at 7pm on ESPN+

On Sunday, Kansas takes on the Drake Bulldogs in Lawrence. They have not lost in five prior matches. Kick-off is slated for 6pm on ESPN+.