Kansas Jayhawks Football

Kansas head coach Les Miles is confident there will be a 2020 college football season. 

"We're gonna play college football in the fall, that's what's been said," Miles said Thursday on KCSP's Cody & Gold (h/t Jesse Pantuosco of Radio.com). "There's a bunch of guys who can't wait to play." 

Spring sports were canceled across the NCAA landscape as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which included practices and spring games for football. The NCAA recently announced a plan for "resocialization," but it will require infection rates of COVID-19 to decline for two weeks and will follow steps similar to the three phases of return laid out by the federal government.

Out of a poll of 114 Division I athletic directors, 99 percent said there will be football in some form during the 2020 season, per Brett McMurphy of Stadium. However, only 24 percent believe the year will start on time as scheduled, with 61 percent expecting a start in October or November.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick argued each conference could start at different times in a split season, per Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports.

Miles still remains confident, although he acknowledged the start of offseason work might be delayed to mid-August or later.

Whenever practices begin, the 66-year-old plans to take proper precautions.

"Now we got to make sure we’re safe with our kids," he said. "Our players, when they take the field, it’s got to be done with the idea that we’re doing it with them in mind."

Miles is heading into his second season with Kansas after going 3-9 in his first year. 

Kansas beat Boston College 48-24 on Friday, earning its first road victory over a Power Five team since 2008, a streak that extended to 48 games.

"I'm proud of them. I think the coaching staff did a great job," Jayhawks head coach Les Miles said after the game, per the Kansas City Star's Jesse Newell. "Those things are going to happen more regularly with our program at a great school like Kansas."

How’s that for a 200th career game, Coach? 😁 pic.twitter.com/I1j0eXjsXs

— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 14, 2019

Somethin’ special. pic.twitter.com/T9bersAgrR

— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 14, 2019

Carter Stanley finished 20-of-27 passing through the air for 238 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams Jr. combined to run for 308 yards and two scores as well.

Williams' 12-yard touchdown run gave Kansas a double-digit lead in the third quarter, and Herbert capped off the Jayhawks' scoring on a six-yard TD run with 5:44 left in the game.

When he succeeded David Beaty as head coach, Miles inherited the biggest rebuilding job among Power Five schools. Kansas hasn't won more than three games since the 2009 season.

Now, the Jayhawks are 2-1 with Big 12 play kicking off Sept. 21 against West Virginia.

Fans will know better than to take anything for granted. Kansas is only six days removed from a 12-7 home loss to Coastal Carolina in which it gained 280 yards of offense.

The Jayhawks dropped their last five meetings with West Virginia by an average of 26.6 points. But the Mountaineers only beat James Madison by seven points to open the season before suffering a 31-point loss to Missouri.

At the very least, keeping close with West Virginia would show Miles has the program headed in the right direction.

Rick Ross is here, standing on a makeshift stage at the 50-yard line of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium an hour after the KU spring football game, wearing sunglasses and dressed in all black, performing for 5,000 or so people who hope that this night, of all nights, is the night when Kansas football will be reborn.        

It may seem like a strange scene for the beginning of a football resurrection: a mostly empty stadium...in the middle of April. But for the Kansas football program and one of the most tormented fanbases in sports, after a decade of defeat and futility, it feels appropriate.

Les Miles, the man who eats grass and stars in movies, is here as well, floating across the stage in a white Kansas pullover, which truth be told will take some getting used to.

He isn't quite sure where he's supposed to stand or when or how to raise his arms, but Miles is feeling it. Standing to the left of Ross, he gyrates awkwardly and spectacularly as "All I Do Is Win" is bellowed to the crowd.

Welcome to Kansas football in 2019. And welcome to the unlikeliest return of one of the now five active college football coaches to have won a national championship.

The other four coaches are stashed away at title-game regulars (Alabama's Nick Saban and Clemson's Dabo Swinney) or resource-rich schools with some recent history of success (Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and North Carolina's Mack Brown). They are not posted up at a program that has won a grand total of 18 football games since 2010. They are also not lining up for a colossal rebuild at the age of 65.

It's not like Miles didn't have other options. Networks would line up to lure his charismatic personality away from the sideline and into the studio. But here he is, at what most would consider rock bottom, looking carefree and at home.

After more than a decade at LSU and two long, restless seasons away from the sport, the Mad Hatter is back, unafraid of the long journey ahead.

---

Somewhere mid-sentence, Miles comes to a silent, uncomfortable halt. He picks up his phone, looking at the device as if laying eyes on it for the first time, and begins to methodically type a text—each letter punctuated by a facial expression more perplexed than the last.

It is the day before Kansas' spring game, and a film crew sits silently in the back of Miles' office, capturing the coach's return in a documentary. Although the room is without noise, the cameras and microphones continue to roll. No coach can turn dead air into captivating content quite like Miles.

On the other end of this text message is a high school quarterback, Miles says. At LSU, where he spent more than a decade, winning a national championship and finishing with an overall record of 114-34, recruiting was often thought to be his signature skill. But Kansas is not a place, historically, that the Patrick Petersons, Odell Beckham Jrs. or Tyrann Mathieus would consider. Miles hopes this player is one of many who will help him change that narrative.

What is clear, as he sits behind his white desk in silence, is that Miles has taken spectacular care of himself since he's been away. His face is tan. His body looks lean and healthy.

He credits sleep for his youthful appearance, which is not something you'll often hear from a head football coach. Most wear their insomnia like a badge of honor, but Miles seems at peace back in a position that regularly produces 18-hour work days.

"I've got plenty of energy, and age is not part of it," he says. "As we go forward, I want to win. And I'm gonna want to win in a grand scope. I guess what I'm saying is, I like the challenge. I like where I'm headed. I like where I'm at."

"Grand scope" is Miles' distinct way of saying he's in this for the long haul.

Only six months ago, it seemed reasonable to speculate whether Miles would ever coach again. He spent years searching for a program that would welcome him after he was fired from LSU following a 2-2 start in 2016. Despite his beloved status in Baton Rouge, Miles went through two coaching cycles without landing a job.

He appeared in commercials. He starred in multiple movies, including taking on the role as a NASA chief in the film The Challenger Disaster, which explored the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.

He dabbled with covering college football as a member of the media for a short while. But that, despite the lucrative opportunities, didn't scratch the itch. If anything, it was a reminder of what was absent.

"I never lost the feel for coaching, the want to coach and the enjoyment of preparing that team to play," Miles says. "That's been with me since I left. Even though I did some other things and arguably well enough to continue to do them, I never lost the want to coach. Period."

---

The Uber driver has seen what football hell looks like, and over the course of an 11-minute drive to Memorial Stadium, he takes a painful trip through the past decade of Kansas football.

It begins in a place of great joy, 2007, when former head coach Mark Mangino led Kansas to a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl win. The team finished seventh in the nation in the final AP poll.

From there, the program began a decadelong dive. Mangino went 8-5 in 2008 and 5-7 in 2009, then resigned after a university probe into his treatment of players. Turner Gill took over and lasted two seasons, winning five games and losing 19. Charlie Weis made it 28 games but lost 22 of them. Clint Bowen went 1-7 as his interim replacement. And David Beaty wasn't retained after last season, his fourth. His teams occasionally flashed glimpses of hope, but he finished his tenure 6-42.

Kansas has not won more than three games in a season since 2009 and has won only six conference games over the past decade. Up until September 2018, the Jayhawks had lost 46 straight road games.

"It's been a decade of s--t," the Uber driver says. "But we're behind Les."

Miles' decision to join Kansas traces back to last fall, when he first met with newly appointed athletic director Jeff Long, a man he's known for 30 years. As part of the hiring process, Long, who spent 10 years at Arkansas before coming to Lawrence, manipulated flight plans coming to and leaving Lawrence to throw the media off his trail.

"There's no more pressure than hiring a head basketball and head football coach," Long says. "I had to relieve some pressure or my brain will explode, so I had some fun with FlightAware and tail numbers. It relieved a little pressure."

What Long found when he met with Miles was a coach who looked and sounded much younger than his age would indicate. He heard everything he needed to hear, specifically a desire to evolve offensively, negating a stigma that chased Miles through the end of his tenure at LSU.

Long brought other administrators with him to the meeting with Miles last fall, too—to showcase what life would be like if Miles took the job.

"I've known Les for 30 years, and he's been unusual in a positive way," Long says. "He's extraordinary in many ways. But I needed someone objective there to be able to judge it as well."

While his tenure at LSU unquestionably built the Mad Hatter persona, that wasn't the piece of Miles' resume that excited Long the most. Before he joined the Tigers, Miles helped a dormant Oklahoma State football program find success. The Cowboys had won more than five games only once in 12 years before Miles arrived. They won at least seven in each of his final three seasons. They didn't win Big 12 titles or have national title hopes; they just had realistic, meaningful development year over year. That's what Long wants for Kansas.

"Get to a bowl game," he says. "We get to a bowl game, and it changes everything."

---

When he was fired, Miles never wanted to dip gently into retirement. He stayed in Baton Rouge and went to work at a condo near Tiger Stadium every day—a place where cherished memories and open wounds seemed to collide.

He watched film of high school players, hoping to naturally step right back into recruiting when the time came. He studied tape and watched the full slate of games on Saturdays, taking notes on plays and schemes that he could eventually run.

"I want to hire a great staff and chase a national championship at a place that wants this pursuit," Miles told Bleacher Report at the time. "I want an AD and president to say, 'I'm with you. Let's go do this.' I want them with me."

A year went by with conversations but no movement. And then another job-seeking cycle where Miles once again dabbled with certain vacancies but left without a job.

What began as a search to take over a program with yearly national championship aspirations ended with the one perhaps furthest from those aspirations. That's at least one way to look at how Miles landed back in football. But this outcome, as rare as it feels for a coach with his pedigree, also has an emotional tie that the cutthroat, business-oriented hiring process rarely produces.

"I want to coach football," Miles says now. "I think I could've taken a couple of other opportunities, but I wanted it to be a Power Five job. I wanted it to be with an athletic director that I really felt like we could compete together with."

It didn't have to be perfect. He signed a five-year contract with an annual salary of $2.775 million, according to Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star, but also gave up $5 million in accepting a buyout from LSU to take the job. He could have kept that money and made millions on top of it as a fixture on Saturday mornings, saying peculiar and engaging things while being himself on camera. Instead, the chance to coach again won out, because he genuinely loves what he does.

"There's certainly a challenge here," Miles says. "I mean, I get that. But this is not something over the top. You have a lot to work with. It's a great school. This is a beautiful community."

He isn't a caretaker. Nor is he a reviver who, if the program turns, plans to give way to someone else to enjoy the spoils. He hasn't put a timetable on how much longer he wants to coach, and he sees no reason to right now. Not with the work just beginning.

---

The field before the spring game is a collection of the past, present and future of Kansas football. As Miles' team readies itself, recruits and alumni gather on the sideline. Both are well-represented to take in this new era, even if everyone isn't quite sure what it will look like.

"LES IS MORE" T-shirts are being sold at the team store. And the words "The Jayhawks Are Coming," Kansas' anthem for 2019, can be seen throughout the stadium.

"Welcome to Late Night Under the Lights," the PA announcer says. There may only be 5,000 or so in attendance, but that's more than those affiliated with Kansas can ever remember having for a spring game. "And welcome to the Les Miles era."

The game itself provides mixed results, as most spring football games do. Whether it's a glimpse into the future or merely a way to expedite the evaluation of his quarterbacks, deep balls soar throughout the evening. The majority of them find the turf.

Given the stigma Miles is trying to escape, though, the exercise carries weight.

During halftime, clips of Miles play throughout the stadium. An acted scene from The Challenger Disaster, which draws applause. An impression of Hannibal Lecter, which draws laughter. An elongated skit with Kansas basketball head coach, Bill Self, which draws the biggest reaction of the evening. The full Mad Hatter portfolio is on display.

Blue easily handles White by the score of 45-7. That offers little insight into what will happen next when the results start to count, but it does offer something the program has not experienced in the past 10 years: hope.

That sentiment is mutual, by the way. For as much as Miles brings to Kansas, it has allowed him a chance to do something he genuinely loves.

"I've never really seen a school or a program that was destined to finish second in their games," Miles says. "This place truly is beautiful and should have victory."

Moments after the game finishes, the makeshift stage is rapidly assembled. Temporary fences are arranged. Many students make their way from the stands to the turf to get a closer look at Ross, the evening's second act. 

No one seems to leave; if anything, they move closer. When Ross appears, a jolt of energy shoots throughout the stadium. When Miles joins him on stage, the vibrations of the response—a combination of Ross' performance and the crowd's collective joy—send shock waves through the ground.

There will be time to bring this football program back to life. Long, difficult hours—perhaps years—to reshape a decade of misfortune. In many ways, this is what Miles has been searching for.

But for at least a few minutes, as Miles joyously pumps his arms out of sync and drifts in and out of movements with no beginning or end, it can wait.

                

Adam Kramer covers college football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @KegsnEggs.

Former Kansas Jayhawks head coach David Beaty has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging school officials are attempting to find a way to avoid paying him his $3 million buyout. 

The Athletic's Stewart Mandel shared a portion of Beaty's filing:

David Beaty is suing Kansas, claiming the school is trying to dig up dirt on him to try to get out of paying a $3M buyout. pic.twitter.com/on1GA7em8a

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 12, 2019

Kansas announced in November it intended to fire Beaty, with the coach staying on through the end of the 2018 season. His $3 million buyout would be distributed over six payments.

According to SB Nation's Steven Godfrey, Kansas wouldn't be on the hook for Beaty's buyout if it could successfully argue it fired him with cause.

On Dec. 14, the school sent Beaty a letter informing him it was looking into whether one of his assistants had committed NCAA violations more than two years ago. Alan Bullington, one of the lawyers representing Beaty, told Godfrey that his representatives "made four separate attempts to communicate with Kansas regarding specific details of an alleged violation and have not received communication back."

Godfrey reported the lawsuit also alleges Kansas hindered Beaty's chances of getting another job by informing prospective employers he "is the subject of an NCAA investigation."

Beaty spent four years at Kansas, compiling a 6-42 record.

Weeks after confirming Beaty's imminent departure, Kansas introduced Les Miles as its next head coach. Horns247's Taylor Estes reported in February the Texas Longhorns were considering Beaty for an analyst role on their coaching staff.

The Kansas Jayhawks have suspended running back Pooka Williams after the freshman was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery on Thursday, according to KUsports.com's Benton Smith.

Kansas head coach Les Miles issued a statement, per KUsports.com's Dylan Lysen: "We are aware of a reported incident involving Pooka Williams, and we are taking these allegations very seriously. We have suspended Pooka from all team-related activities pending further investigation."

Williams was arrested for "knowing or reckless bodily harm to family/person in dating relationship," according to Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star:

KU RB Pooka Williams arrested on suspicion of domestic battery. Les Miles: "We are aware of a reported incident involving Pooka Williams and we are taking these allegations very seriously. We have suspended Pooka from all team-related activities pending further investigation.” pic.twitter.com/vk8HbjYKtJ

— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) December 7, 2018

No further details have been provided.

On Thursday, Williams made a couple of cryptic posts on his Twitter account:

https://twitter.com/laapookaaa/status/1070760818172674050

https://twitter.com/laapookaaa/status/1070763639479640067

A 4-star recruit coming out of high school, Williams has been expected to be a big part of the Jayhawks' future. He showed plenty of potential as a freshman by running for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 7.0 yards per carry. He also hauled in 33 receptions for 289 yards and two scores.

Williams' suspension is one of the first major decisions made by Miles at Kansas. The former LSU Tigers coach was hired by the Jayhawks on Nov. 18.

Les Miles is returning to college football after officially agreeing to a deal that will make him head coach at the University of Kansas, Miles told Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports on Sunday. 

Brett McMurphy of Stadium reported Miles would receive a five-year contract. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reported Miles will make $2.75 million per season, which is "about" $2 million less than his salary at LSU.

Kansas athletic director Jeff Long issued a statement on Miles' hire on his Twitter account.

Since the beginning of our search, we focused on identifying and recruiting an experienced head coach with a strong track record of success on and off the field. @CoachLesMiles is exactly what we need for our program right now.

— Jeff Long (@jefflong21) November 18, 2018

His national reputation as a great recruiter and as a coach who student-athletes love playing for will enable us to break the cycle and return a winning tradition to @KU_Football. We are thrilled to have @CoachLesMiles and his family as Jayhawks!

— Jeff Long (@jefflong21) November 18, 2018

It was becoming increasingly apparent that Miles would be joining the Jayhawks. Dellenger reported on Nov. 16 the two sides were working to finalize a deal for the 65-year-old. 

Miles previously reached an agreement on a $1.5 million buyout of his LSU contract that would allow him to return to coaching. He was fired by the Tigers in September 2016 after a 2-2 start to the season. 

During Miles' two-year sabbatical from college football, he began working on a new career path acting in movies. 

“I have several projects that I’m looking at," Miles told Dellenger in March. "I’m reading for those."

Dellenger shared an image of Miles dressed as a cop in a movie that was filmed in 2016:

Les Miles is appearing in a movie as a cop. That's old news.

We've now got photo proof https://t.co/Wokx7plxkj #LSU pic.twitter.com/QNlfvS8Qyc

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) July 5, 2016

Kansas needed to make some kind of splash with its next head coach. The football program has been a mess for years, but things have gotten particularly bleak recently. David Beaty, who will finish out this season after the school announced on Nov. 4 he wouldn't return in 2019, has gone 6-41 in four years. 

The Jayhawks haven't won more than three games in a season since 2009, and their last bowl appearance was in 2008. 

Miles' tenure at LSU from 2005-16 was a success. He went 114-34, won the 2007 BCS national championship and appeared in a bowl game in each of his 11 full seasons with the program. 

Les Miles is finalizing a deal to take over the Kansas Jayhawks football program, according to Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger.

This news comes one day after Miles and the LSU Tigers reached a settlement on his previous contract, per Dellenger:

Well, hello. #LSU and Les Miles have settled the remaining buyout he's owed. pic.twitter.com/idGHsy5Qoo

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 15, 2018

Miles has been out of coaching since being fired in September of 2016 after 13 years at LSU.

Prior to his removal, the 64-year-old posted a 114-34 record with the Tigers, leading the team to a national championship in 2007. He was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2011 while leading his squad to an SEC title and an appearance in the BCS title game.

In his 12 full seasons with the team, LSU won at least eight games every year, including seven seasons with at least 10 wins. He also posted a 7-4 bowl record in this stretch.

Despite the success, LSU fans expected better and he was removed from his position after a 2-2 start to the 2016 campaign.

While he hadn't found a new home, Dan Wolken of USA Today reported in 2017 Miles' interest in "any Power 5 job." That apparently didn't change as he went more than two years without a job.

The veteran coach will now get a chance to at a fresh start as he tries to build up another program.

He now reconnects with athletic director Jeff Long after the two worked together at Michigan.

Kansas fired head coach Chris Beaty in November after a 3-6 start to the season and is currently 3-7, which is the program's best season since 2014. The Jayhawks have not won more than three games in a single season since 2009, Mark Mangino's final season with the team.

Turning the Jayhawks around won't be easy considering the team hasn't had a winning season since 2008. Still, Miles has proved himself in the past and will provide Kansas with the best chance of creating a winner in Lawrence.

Former Oklahoma State and LSU head coach Les Miles is reportedly the "front-runner" for the vacant Kansas position, according to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic:

Am told by a source that there's a lot of momentum for Les Miles at #KU as the new head coach, and that he's emerged as a frontrunner. https://t.co/XEQhhT036r

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 6, 2018

Kansas fired head coach David Beaty on Sunday. Beaty, who has gone just 6-39 since taking over the position prior to the 2015 season, will finish out the year.

Miles has an impressive resume. After going 28-21 at Oklahoma State (2001-04) and leading the Cowboys to three bowl games, he took over at LSU before the 2005 campaign and stayed there for 11-plus seasons. Under Miles, the Tigers went 114-34, went to 11 straight bowl games, winning seven, and were national champions in the 2007 season.

To put that in perspective, Kansas has played in three bowl games in total since 2005 and just four overall since the Big Eight Conference became the Big 12 in 1996. The Jayhawks haven't had a winning season since 2008 under Mark Mangino.

Miles won't be the only candidate, however. On Monday, Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports listed NC State's Dave Doeren, Troy's Neal Brown, Appalachian State's Scott Satterfield, Toledo's Jason Candle, Alabama offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, Army's Jeff Monken, Los Angeles Rams offensive analyst Jedd Fisch, Tulane's Willie Fritz and Eastern Michigan's Chris Creighton as potential candidates.

Miles topped the list, however. As Dodd wrote:

"His connections are too obvious to ignore. He and [Kansas athletic director Jeff Long] worked together at Michigan as assistant coach and associate AD, respectively, from 1988-94. Miles has plenty of Big 12 experience having coached Oklahoma State from 2001-04. He would bring immediate credibility as a coach, recruiter and face of the program with no NCAA baggage. Miles, who turns 65 on Saturday, is interested, but there has been no contact between he and Long."

Given that Miles has continued to come up in connection with Kansas' head-coaching gig, it seems there may be some interest, and he is likely the leader for the position, at least for the time being.

The Kansas Jayhawks are reportedly interested in bringing in a marquee name for their soon-to-be vacant head coaching position.

According to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports, Kansas has "legit interest" in hiring former LSU coach Les Miles. Feldman noted Miles has a relationship with athletic director Jeff Long, although he cautioned there is concern because of "how hard you have to grind" to be competitive in the Big 12 with the Jayhawks.

Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports noted Kansas announced Sunday it will not bring head coach David Beaty back following the 2018 campaign even though he will be on the sidelines for the final three games.

This is Beaty's fourth year at the helm, and he is just 6-39. However, his team is 3-6 this season, which marks the most wins he's had in a year for the Jayhawks. The program appears to be headed in the right direction after a disastrous 0-12 record in 2015, but it is still the doormat of the Big 12 as a basketball powerhouse that has not been able to establish much success on the gridiron.

Long tweeted he is looking for someone with a track record of success who can help turn the Jayhawks from a football afterthought into a formidable program:

Our search will find an experienced Head Coach. A Head Coach that is a proven program builder and strong recruiter. A Head Coach that is an established leader of men, both on and off the field. A Head Coach who is committed to Breaking the Cycle for @KU_Football #RockChalk

— Jeff Long (@jefflong21) November 4, 2018

Miles would fit the bill given his resume.

He went 28-21 with three bowl appearances in four years at Oklahoma State before taking the LSU job prior to the 2005 campaign. He maintained the Tigers as a national power with a 114-34 record and bowl appearance in all 12 of his seasons. LSU won double-digit games seven times when he was there, including during the 2007 and 2011 campaigns when it reached the national title game.

The Tigers split those two contests, beating Ohio State in the 2007 version but losing the 2011 one to archrival Alabama.

Miles is someone who would bring instant recognizability to the program and potential recruiting momentum to a team in desperate need of it. The 247Sports' composite rankings list Kansas at 171st in the class of 2019 after it was 61st in 2018.

A road win over a Mid-American Conference team may not typically be a big deal for a Power Five school, but the Kansas Jayhawks' 31-7 victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday was a milestone victory.

It marked the Jayhawks' first road win in nearly a decade:

It's about damn time, @KU_Football 👏 pic.twitter.com/Cy15hHhR44

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 8, 2018

Understandably, the Jayhawks were hyped to end the drought:

https://twitter.com/KU_Football/status/1038553808245338113

Before Saturday, Kansas' last road win came on Sept. 12, 2009, against UTEP. That 34-7 victory over the Miners helped the Jayhawks start the 2009 campaign 5-0 before they dropped their final seven contests. It was Mark Mangino's last year on the job in Lawrence. 

Overall, Kansas had gone 18-101 since the UTEP victory, having lost an NCAA-record 46 consecutive road games. They are just 4-34 in three seasons under current coach David Beaty.

This victory moves the Jayhawks to 1-1 on season, matching their win total (1-11) from a season ago.

Kansas will return home to face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights next week, but it won't have long to wait to try to build a road winning streak. Three of the four games following the Rutgers matchup will be away from home, starting with a contest at Baylor on Sept. 22.