The Rundown

Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0) at Kansas Jayhawks (0-0)

Saturday, August 23rd, 5:30 p.m. Central
Lawrence, KS: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (41,525)

TV: FOX
- Tim Brando (Play-by-play), Devin Gardner (Analyst), Josh Sims (Sideline)
Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network
- Brian Hanni (Play-by-play), David Lawrence (Analyst), Brandon McAnderson (Sideline)
Online: SiriusXM (383), Westwood One
Line: KU -13
O/U: 50.5
Series History: First meeting

Scouting the Opponent

Kyle Davis

There’s a lot that’s new about this Fresno State team that went 6-7 last season and lost in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Northern Illinois. But I want to start with an area that’s returning, because to me it’s going to be one of the more fascinating areas to watch. 

Last season, the Bulldogs had one of the best pass defenses in the entire country, giving up just 216 yards through the air per game. Granted, one game was against an Air Force team that averaged less than 100 yards passing (and had just 14 for the game against FSU), but it was still impressive. Fresno State held Michigan, UNLV, and Washington State to fewer than 200 years passing. 

And the thing is, most of the secondary is back. Alzillion Hamilton (great name) is the one to watch. He was seventh in the entire country in passes defended last year and had five tackles for loss. Jayden Davis and Jakari Embry are two other upperclassmen in the secondary with big roles last year who are back again. Teams could run on Fresno last year well enough, but this is a bigger challenge for Jalon Daniels’ first game than fans are probably thinking. 

Now to what’s new. It starts with the coach, where Matt Entz takes over for the first time at the FBS level. If you don’t know the name, he won two FCS titles at North Dakota State after Chris Klieman left. And his quarterback is transfer E.J. Warner, and yes, that is Kurt Warner’s son. Warner was at Rice last year and Temple for the two years prior to that. He can throw for a lot of yards, but also is prone to mistakes, getting picked off at least 12 times in every season of his career. 

And the Bulldogs skill players will be a bit of a question mark. The top three receivers are gone and it looks like the main running back duties will fall on sophomore Bryson Donelson, who had 462 yards as a freshman a season ago. How opportunistic can the KU defense be in forcing mistakes against a group largely new to playing together?

Players to Watch

Derek Noll

It’s the first game, so anyone and everyone is a player to watch if we’re being honest, but the spotlight shines brightest on the quarterback, so Jalon Daniels gets our nod as the player to watch against Fresno State in the brand new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Entering his final season at KU, Jalon Daniels is ready to have a(nother) breakout season. He’s mentioned it a few times in the press leading up to the beginning of the season, and a healthy and high functioning Daniels will go a long way in determining how successful Kansas is this season. 

Last season, it seemed like the pressure might have been too much for the Kansas quarterback. He tried to press the issue, to force his will into situations that could’ve easily been avoided (and in the process, likely eliminating KU from bowl eligibility but others were also responsible). He certainly improved after the abysmal stretch last year against Illinois, UNLV, West Virginia, and TCU where he threw seven INTs, but he never really got that old Daniels magic back. 

No one expects the sixth year man to perform like he did in the 2022 season finale against Arkansas where he did everything you could ever ask a quarterback to do, but we need to see flashes of it in 2025. That pinpoint accuracy downfield combined with the threat that Daniels could break off a thirty yard run used to frighten opposing defenders. Kansas needs that back. Something tells me that the playcalling will be more Jalon-friendly than it was last season under new offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski, the man previously tasked with coaching Jayhawk quarterbacks.

Of course, a lot depends on the new faces at receiver and the fact that Devin Neal won’t be there, and things can be a bit slow in gameweek one, but unlike last season, there is no easing into the season with Lindenwood. Fresno State was down last season, but Daniels and the Jayhawks should be taking them very seriously.

So if JD6 comes out with a bang against Fresno State, a team Kansas is picked to beat by double-digits, if nothing else it will be a positive going into Wagner and Missouri. My prediction for Jalon Daniels is modest but successful: one passing TD, one rushing TD, no interceptions, and the fourth quarter off.

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

Keys to the Game

Andy Mitts

Limit Big Plays
The Jayhawks are breaking in a brand new secondary, with redshirt freshman Austin Alexander and redshirt sophomore transfer Jahlil Hurley both seeing their first significant action. Plus, true sophomore Jalen Todd is stepping into the role as a top cornerback after showing a lot of promise last season. But even last year’s veteran group struggled with giving up too many big plays downfield. If new defensive coordinator D.K. MacDonald is going to field an improved defense this season, it will require stopping the big passes down the field, especially since a younger secondary won’t have the experience to be as opportunistic at creating turnovers.

Build Early Chemistry
After three seasons of essentially the same group of offensive skill players, Jalon Daniels and Daniel Hishaw are going to have to help mold a group of role players and new arrivals into a productive offense. Without the deep lineup of proven pass-catchers to lean on, any struggles by Daniels will be his to overcome, so he will need to get on the same page as his receivers quickly. And as talented as Hishaw has proven himself to be, the loss of arguably one of the most productive running backs in program history is going to be a big hole to fill.

Harness the Hype
There is no doubt that the first game inside the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is going to provide an emotional boost. In the past, Lance Leipold has been able to lean on the core of veteran leadership to keep the team level-headed. But with so many new faces and young players, the emotion of the moment could backfire. The crowd should bring plenty of hype into the matchup, but multiple players have noted how the team is focused on the game and not how cool the stadium is. Keep that focus, and the excitement should work for them, not against them.

Staff Predictions

Derek: I’ve gotta pick Kansas to win the first game at the newly renovated Booth, right? Right. Fresno State was a pretty mundane 6-7 last year (very close to Kansas, although the Jayhawks were anything but mundane) and Kansas is picked to win by double figures so I’m going to go ahead and pick a confidence building performance by Jalon Daniels, a few bruising runs for TDs by David Hishaw, and newbie Leshon Williams start a bit of a redemption tour in a KU uniform. Kansas 38, Fresno State 21

Kyle: I’m with Derek that there’s no way I can pick an upset in the debut of the new (phase 1) Booth. But I do think this is a bigger first-week challenge than fans may give it credit for. Fresno now has a winning coach and a good defense. I think KU can get by running the ball effectively and having its front seven on defense get to Warner and cause some havoc. I like KU to cover the spread, but don’t see this being a blowout. Kansas 34, Fresno State 17

Andy: The Jayhawks have a more difficult task ahead of them than their usual home openers, but the turnover for the Bulldogs should work to the advantage of the home team. Add in the steady presence of this coaching staff, and Kansas should be able to exploit the weaknesses they find. The biggest question for me is how successful the defense will be, and how long does it take to shake off the rust. Counterintuitively, I expect both teams to struggle to get going on offense early, but Kansas should hit their stride in the second half. Kansas 21, Fresno State 10.

Game Notes

• Lance Leipold has led the Jayhawks to 22 wins in his first four seasons in Lawrence, the most wins over four seasons since the 25 wins accrued from 2007-2010.

• The Phase 1 renovations are the first rebuild at Memorial Stadium since it originally opened on October 3, 1921.

• Leipold and Daniels are in their fifth season together, the most of a head coach-quarterback duo in Power Four football.

Athletic Whiparound

Andy Mitts

Head Coach Matt Ulmer opens his tenure as the head coach of the 14th-ranked Kansas Women’s Volleyball program with two matches. First up is a Saturday, Aug 23rd opener against the Vanderbilt Commodores, the first ever matchup for the new program at the SEC school. The match will be broadcast at 3pm Central on FS1.

Kansas faces second-ranked defending national champion Penn State on Monday in Sioux Falls, SD. The match airs on the Big Ten Network at 5:30pm Central.

Nate Lie has the 23rd-ranked women’s soccer team out to a hot start in his second season at the helm. They rolled to a 5-2 victory over Missouri State in the opener before hanging on against South Dakota State in a 1-0 victory. And last night, a quick goal by Lexi Watts just 34 seconds into the game got the Jayhawks started before Jordan Rowan’s first career goal and another Watts goal sealed the win against Utah Valley.

The Jayhawks take to the road for the first time this season on Sunday as they take on Utah State in Logan, UT. The match starts at 2pm Central and will be broadcast online on the Mountain West Network