As Kansas readies for K-State, Lance Leipold wants Jayhawks to uphold their end of rivalry

LAWRENCE — Lance Leipold doesn’t have to look far to find someone who can illustrate how important the Kansas football’s rivalry with Kansas State is.

Leipold, in his second season as the Jayhawks’ head coach, recalled this week a moment he shared this past weekend with super-senior defensive lineman Sam Burt after Kansas played Texas. Leipold had asked Burt how Burt was feeling, considering Burt has been banged up recently. And Burt responded succinctly.

“Have to be,” Leipold said Burt told him, because the Kansas State game is next.

But Leipold does have to look far into Kansas’ past, at least further than anyone who supports the Jayhawks would like to, in order to pick out the last time Kansas topped Kansas State. The Jayhawks haven’t defeated the Wildcats since 2008. Kansas hasn’t won in Manhattan, where the 2022 edition of this series will take place, since 2007.

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So, more than anything, there’s one thing that Leipold wants to be able to accomplish. After losing 35-10 in Lawrence last year, this is especially true. Leipold is looking for the Jayhawks to uphold their end of the rivalry in a way they haven’t for some time.

“This hasn’t been a real, much of, a rivalry when we’re not — we didn’t make that a competitive game last year,” Leipold said. “So, that’s going to be the first and foremost that I’m focused on. Anything after that is what it is.”

Kansas may not have the same heights available to it at this point in the season as Kansas State when it comes to what can be accomplished in the Big 12 Conference, but there’s still a lot for the Jayhawks to play for as well. Kansas (6-5, 3-5 in Big 12) is still chasing a record that, should it win Saturday and then in a bowl game as well, would be its best since Kansas also went 8-5 and won a bowl game in 2008. The Jayhawks could also dent what the No. 13 Wildcats (8-3, 6-2 in Big 12) are working toward.

Kansas will have to overcome a defense that Leipold described as one of the best in the country. The Jayhawks will have to battle a Wildcats offense that’s been able to thrive in recent weeks. And Leipold and company will have to do that in front of a hostile crowd.

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“I’m sure there’s probably … some recruiting aspects to it,” said Leipold, speaking to what a win would mean for Kansas. “It’s us playing well and showing the way that we’re taking steps. You look again how well they've played all year and what they’ve done, it’ll be a chance to knock off another ranked opponent and doing it on the road and giving us a little shot of energy as we head into bowl prep.”

Leipold wasn’t yet able to share exactly what the weeks that follow this weekend’s regular-season finale will look like for the Jayhawks. But he did highlight how important he thinks it’ll be as he looks for the program to continue to develop. That will matter as Kansas prepares for 2023.

A comprehensive schedule for what the Jayhawks’ bowl prep will look like will be put together after Kansas learns the date of its bowl game. Once that’s finalized and announced, Leipold said they can work backwards from there. The date is more significant, he noted, than where the bowl game is played.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Lance Leipold wants Kansas football to be competitive with K-State