Kansas

Placing Blame for Kansas Football’s Gut-Wrenching Loss to Arizona

Published

4 months ago

November 9, 2025

Placing Blame for Kansas Football’s Gut-Wrenching Loss to Arizona

The Kansas Jayhawks suffered another tough loss on Saturday, this time at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats.

After trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, KU was able to tie up the game 7-7 thanks to a goal-line score by quarterback Jalon Daniels.

The Jayhawks scored 17 unanswered points in the first half before Arizona scored a touchdown with 0:23 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 17-14 entering the half.

After trading field goals in the third quarter, KU held a 20-17 lead all the way through the end of the fourth quarter. But after (normally reliable) Laith Marjan missed a 30-yard field goal to put the Jayhawks up six, the Wildcats drove the length of the field and scored the game-winning touchdown with just 0:39 seconds remaining.

There were a number of reasons that led to yet another frustrating loss which now puts the Jayhawks in further jeopardy of missing a bowl game for the second straight season.

Penalties

KU suffered a number of costly penalties at inopportune moments that could have easily changed the course of the game.

The first one came late in the second quarter when Leroy Harris III picked off Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita on an errant throw and returned it for a 77-yard touchdown. The play would have put the Jayhawks up three scores (24-7) entering half time had it not been for a defensive holding call on Kansas cornerback Jalen Todd.

The play wasn’t anywhere near the intended receiver and gave the Wildcats a first down on KU’s 15-yard line where they scored two plays later to cut the score to 17-14 in Kansas’ favor.

The second major penalty came on the final drive of the game as the Jayhawks were attempting to make their comeback when running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. had a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced the Jayhawks back to their own 38-yard line (from Arizona’s 47) and all but sealed their fate in a loss.

In total, KU had five penalties for 55 yards.

Dropped passes and interceptions

The Jayhawks had multiple opportunities at interceptions throughout the game but were never able to make the play.

Early in the fourth quarter, Kansas cornerback Taylor Davis nearly picked off Fifita after it ricocheted off of receiver Kris Hutson’s hands. It was a tough ball to catch but had Davis made it, the Jayhawks would have had the ball at Arizona’s 37-yard line with a chance to add to their 20-17 lead.

Later in the fourth quarter, cornerback Syeed Gibbs dropped what would have been an easy pick-six and instead allowed the Wildcats to punt away on fourth down.

Kansas wide receivers had their share of drops in the game too that forced the Jayhawks into several third-and-long situations and failed third down conversions.

It put the offense in a tough spot multiple times and contributed to the low scoring day from the Jayhawks.

Coaching

Some peculiar play calling and questionable decision making by head coach Lance Leipold and his staff definitely played a role in KU’s loss today – as it has in other games this season.

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Kansas had a 3rd and 5 on Arizona’s 40-yard line. Daniels threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Emmanual Henderson Jr., and then instead of electing to go for it to extend the drive and perhaps go up two scores, Leipold decided to take an intentional five-yard delay of game penalty to move the Jayhawks back to Arizona’s 45-yard line where they then decided to punt.

The punt landed in the end zone in a touchback – resulting in just a 20-yard net gain for the Jayhawks compared to if they had gone for it on 4th and 5 and gotten zero yards.

Then late in the fourth quarter with the game seemingly in hand as the Jayhawks were driving towards the end zone, the drive stalled on Arizona’s 11-yard line with 2:39 remaining in the game. Daniels was shaken up on the previous play after trying to run for the first down but had to exit the field to get quickly examined by the training staff.

Facing a 4th and 2, Leipold chose to kick a field goal to try to put the Jayhawks up 23-17 (still a one score game), but Marjan missed the 30-yard attempt. The Wildcats took over from there and drove the length of the field to win the game 24-20.

The decision to not go for it on both of those fourth downs ended up being a big part of why the Jayhawks lost that game.

It shouldn’t even be a question as to whether to go for it in those situations when you have a six-year quarterback at your disposal and a suspect defense.

The conservative play calling has doomed this team time and time again. And if this coaching staff can’t finally learn that lesson, it’s just going to result in more of these tough losses.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

12 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

24 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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