Kansas Jayhawks

The Kansas Jayhawks, currently coached by stormstopper, are a collegiate football team playing in the Big 12. The Jayhawks play in Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, and were a member of the North Division of the Big 12 under the old divisional format.

## History

### Stormstopper era

#### 2014

During the 2013 season, Kansas made the decision to join CFBHC. Though they were ineligible in 2013, they hired stormstopper to take the reins after Duke passed on him. The move paid off immediately. In the program's first year, Kansas finished with a 12-2 record (6-1 in conference play) and won the Big 12 championship. Their wins included a rally from a 21-0 deficit to beat TCU on the road, a 28-14 road win over then-#8 Oklahoma to seize control of the division, and a 35-6 victory over Baylor in the 2014 Big 12 Championship Game. They finished the regular season ranked #5 and were the highest-ranked team left out of the playoffs. They subsequently lost the Sugar Bowl to Georgia, 42-17. Their leading passer was Christopher Brooks, their leading rusher was James Otero, their leading receiver was Richard Zimmerman, their leading tackler was Benjamin Lin, their sack leader was Peter Griggs, and their interceptions leader was Ricky Rose.

#### 2015

With DeAndre Jackson and Paul Gibbs stepping up to replace Christopher Brooks and James Otero, the Jayhawks struggled to start off their second season. They started 2-3 with losses to Washington and UNC, as well as a loss to Texas Tech in which the once-vaunted KU offense put up just 3 points. Week 6 against TCU proved to be a turning point. Kansas quarterback DeAndre Jackson ran for a school-record 203 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 9 carries. He followed it up by breaking his own record the following week in an upset of then-#1 Oklahoma, rushing for 204 yards on 12 carries and one 95-yard touchdown run. This was Kansas's second straight win over the Sooners. These two wins started a 5-game win streak that put the Jayhawks within one game of a second straight division title before blowout losses to rivals Kansas State and Missouri. After the pair of devastating setbacks, Kansas went to the Alamo Bowl against #10 Oregon. The Jayhawks ran out to a 14-0 lead and turned back an Oregon rally to win 24-21 on a 37-yard Joshua Stewart field goal with 1 second to play. They finished the season ranked #22 in the country.

#### 2016

After a disappointing 2015 campaign, Kansas returned most of its players for 2016. They boasted an incredibly experienced lineup with 14 seniors starting, including returning starters DeAndre Jackson, Paul Gibbs, Jonathon Robinson, and Jeremy Bell. However, that experience failed to translate to success. Kansas lost their first five games and never recovered. Kansas's bowl hopes were dashed with a 20-14 loss to then-#15 Texas, and their only wins this year are a pair of blowouts over Duke and Iowa State. After DeAndre Jackson's senior night against Iowa State, the Jayhawks turned to redshirt freshman Eric Jennings at quarterback to face Kansas State and Missouri. The Jayhawks would go on to lose to the Wildcats, 20-14, and close their season with a 21-point loss against the Tigers, their worst loss of a 10-loss season.

#### 2017

With the core of the team graduated and most of the starters on the team being talented but young, Kansas was expected to have a decent but not great year. They got off to a hot start at 6-1 and rose to #17 in the nation through week 8, though the second half of the season would feature losses to highly ranked Texas, West Virginia, and Missouri. Despite the team's youth, the Jayhawks were able to win 8 regular-season games for the second time in team history, defeat rivals Oklahoma and Kansas State, and secure a bowl bid after a one-year gap, making the season an unqualified success in comparison to the disaster that was 2016.

#### 2018

Kansas came into the season with high hopes. They were favored to win the Big 12 North and were ranked #6 in the preseason poll. After blowing out Notre Dame at home to open up the season, they would need all 60 minutes to hold off West Virginia and Iowa State. After the 3-0 start, the Jayhawks would fall into a deep slump, losing 4 of their next 6 games. The low point was following a blowout home loss to Texas by listlessly dropping their next game against BYU to fall to 5-4. They were able to collect wins over Kansas State and Oklahoma for the second straight year, and they could still clinch the North with a win over Baylor. Eric Jennings's touchdown pass to Malcolm Davis with 50 seconds to play would prove decisive in that matchup, a 17-16 Kansas win that gave the Jayhawks momentum for the remainder of the season. They blew out Oregon, rallied to defeat Missouri for the first time in the history of the Border War, and upset TCU to win the 2018 Big 12 Championship Game. However, they were denied a 10-win season in the Cactus Bowl, as a 6-0 lead turned into a 24-6 loss to UCLA with three interceptions from Eric Jennings.

#### 2019

Kansas was expected to contend for a second straight Big 12 title in the 2019 season behind an experienced and high-powered offense and a strong defense. The former emerged as expected, but cracks began to show in the defense early on. Kansas started out 2-0 with a blowout of Washington and a high-scoring win over West Virginia, rising as high as #4 in the polls. Subsequently, they were upset on the road by Iowa State and were shocked in a neutral-site game against ECU, 38-35, falling out of the polls as a result. They recovered with back-to-back wins over Kansas State and TCU, setting up a critical two-game stretch against Oklahoma and Baylor, both of whom were undefeated and leading their respective divisions. Kansas's fate was sealed when they allowed Oklahoma to rally from a 14-0 deficit in a home overtime loss to the Sooners, followed by a shootout loss to the Baylor Bears to fall to 4-4. Although they were eliminated from division contention with those losses, the Jayhawks still managed to close out the season on a high note. They set a school record for points against Notre Dame, held off an Oklahoma State rally, routed Rice on the road, and turned back a Missouri comeback bid with a Bradley Spurlock pick-six to finish the regular season 8-4. With a win over #17 Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, the Jayhawks secured their second straight nine-win season. Eric Jennings threw for a school-record 4132 yards and 35 touchdowns, winning the Johnny Unitas and Kellen Moore Awards, and Kansas would set a school record by averaging 33.1 points per game for the season.

## All-time record vs. Big 12 opponents

This is the Jayhawks' football record against current Big 12 Conference opponents through the 2019 season.

## Bowl games

The Jayhawks have appeared in 6 bowl games, posting a record of 2-4.

## Individual Award Winners

### Players

* **Doak Walker Award**

James Otero – 2014 CFBHC Season
* **Johnny Unitas Award**

Eric Jennings – 2019 CFBHC Season
* **Kellen Moore Award**

Eric Jennings – 2019 CFBHC Season
#### All-Americans

* **2014**

James Otero
Ricky Rose
#### All-Big 12 Players

James Otero
Ricky Rose
Thomas Todd
James Johnson
Benjamin Lin
Thomas Cooke
Christopher Massey* **2015**

Jeremy Bell
Jeffrey Goss* **2016**

David Robinson

Russell Farr* **2018**

Ben Goode
James Carson* **2019**

Eric Jennings
Noah Hills
Ben Goode
Bradley Spurlock

### Coaches

* **Big 12 Coach of the Year**

stormstopper – 2014 CFBHC Season
## External Links

2014 Depth Chart

2015 Depth Chart

2016 Depth Chart

2017 Depth Chart

2018 Depth Chart

2019 Depth Chart

2020 Depth Chart