Urban Meyer, Matt Leinart discuss Kansas Jayhawks football team and national perception

As the Kansas Jayhawks football team prepares to play its eighth game of the season on Saturday, there’s a new word associated with the program:

Expectation.

The expectation to be competitive against No. 6 Oklahoma (7-0, 4-0 Big 12) — an opponent that’s beaten KU 18 straight times — and the expectation to play another bowl after qualifying for their first in 14 years last season.

KU head coach Lance Leipold and his staff have brought those sorts of expectations to Lawrence.

It’s been a somewhat tumultuous third season for Leipold and his Jayhawks (5-2, 2-2). But he’s handled the obstacles as well as one could expect so far.

Injured star quarterback Jalon Daniels is likely to miss his fifth game, but the Jayhawks have taken his absence in stride. The team predicted by media to finish ninth in the 14-team conference ranks closer to the top of the league standings than the bottom.

And that’s caught the attention of the rest of college football world — the Jayhawks on Saturday will play in their third nationally televised game of the season, this time on FOX.

FOX has even brought its “Big Noon Kickoff” pre-game show to Lawrence. Last year, KU played host to ESPN’s “College Gameday” as the Jayhawks welcomed TCU to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

KU is one of five schools to have played host to both shows in the last two years, joining Texas, Ohio State, Colorado and Notre Dame.

Who could’ve seen that coming?

FOX Sports analyst and former college and NFL coach Urban Meyer is among those dazzled by KU’s turnaround.

“I actually brought my Bowling Green team here in 2002,” Meyers said Friday. “It was Mark Mangino’s first year. Within five years, he had them in the Orange Bowl. It’s always amazed me that Kansas can’t support a great, elite basketball program and great football. It’s too nice a place — a lot of good players around the area.

“I think Lance Leipold is the right guy at the right time. I went to practice today and spent a lot time with him. The guy’s won six national titles. The guy won at Buffalo. He has a lot of competency coming here.”

Meyer noted the morphing landscape of the Big 12 and the opportunity for Kansas to make its mark.

“You’ve got two big dogs (OU and Texas) leaving the conference,” Meyer said. “That’s going to open up an opportunity for somebody to really take charge, to take ownership. It could be Iowa State, it could be Kansas, Kansas State (or) Oklahoma State. There’s a lot of good programs here.”

Meyer isn’t the only admirer of KU football’s turnaround. The Jayhawks have also caught the attention of Heisman winner and FOX Sports analyst Matt Leinart.

“I’ve been at FOX for a decade now and we’ve covered the Big 12 forever ...” Leinart said. “And now that Coach Leipold has come, you can just see the difference. Coach is a winner — he’s won everywhere he’s been, he’s got an incredible staff, and he’s brought that kind of culture, what he knows, and he’s instilled that into the team. This isn’t just a fluke. Kansas football is solid, you know what I mean?”

Leinart believes the next step for KU football is competing for a Big 12 championship.

“Maybe they are not there yet, but they’re climbing,” he said. “I would say this: TCU, last year, nobody expected them to get to a title game. No one had picked them to win the Big 12. They came out of nowhere to win. They had an incredible run. That happens with the transfer portal, and now how you can build teams.

“(With T)he playoffs expanding to 12 (teams), there’s just a lot more avenues and things where teams like Kansas and some of these programs are trying to find a way to make a run and be a part of that discussion.”