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LAWRENCE, Kansas — As the ultimate seconds ticked off the clock, Kansas college students poured onto the sector to affix their triumphant soccer workforce Saturday afternoon.
It’s onerous to behave such as you’ve been there earlier than when it has been *this* lengthy since Kansas soccer has been a profitable program.
Behind quarterback Jalon Daniels, Kansas beat Duke 35-27 on Saturday in entrance of a sold-out crowd to maneuver to 4-0 for the primary time since 2009.
Daniels put collectively one other excellent efficiency, with 407 yards and 5 touchdowns. His 3-yard landing run with 4:42 left within the recreation ended up being the distinction. Afterward, Daniels mentioned although the nation has delighted in watching a “basketball faculty” acquire prominence in soccer, the early outcomes have come as anticipated contained in the locker room.
“I would not say that I might be stunned,” Daniels mentioned. “I might positively say that it is good to know that the quantity of preparation that we put in, it is good to see that it is paying off.”
To place into perspective simply how unbelievable it’s for Kansas to be 4-0 proper now, since 2010 Kansas has received not more than three video games in any season. The futility has been sufficient to make Kansas the punchline to many jokes about its soccer program.
However when Leipold arrived final yr, he noticed a possibility. Kansas has had profitable seasons up to now, and he knew the Jayhawks may do it once more. So he started to shift the tradition and mindset within the locker room, holding gamers to accountability and excessive requirements whereas instilling the arrogance and perception this workforce may win.
Although Kansas went 2-10 final season, there have been indicators that this program may be turning a nook. Kansas upset Texas on the highway, then ended the season with one-score losses to TCU and West Virginia.
Gamers approached the offseason with a newfound competitiveness.
“We anticipated this,” receiver Luke Grimm mentioned. “We needed this. We got here out after winter, and we have been like we will earn this, and the stuff that we have executed the over the spring over the summer season, all of the onerous work that everybody’s put in, we’re incomes what we have been working for.”
Daniels is on the coronary heart of all of it. Together with his efficiency towards Duke, he’s the primary participant in class historical past with a number of video games of at the very least 5 touchdowns liable for, in line with ESPN Stats & Data analysis.
Daniels accomplished 82.6 % of his passes on Saturday, the best since Todd Reesing Jr in 2008.
With a rejuvenated offense, Kansas has scored 27 touchdowns this season. It had solely 32 all of 2021.
In all, Kansas had a season-high 528 yards towards Duke and has recorded 500-plus yards of whole offense in three of 4 video games this season.
That is sufficient to have Daniels gaining some nationwide consideration and have his identify talked about in correlation with the Heisman Trophy.
“He is a heck of a participant. So yeah, I am all for it. Who’s ever operating the marketing campaign? Let’s get it going. I do not vote. I simply say this: He is executed a heck of a job getting lots of people to take discover and take this program critically,” Leipold mentioned.
It wasn’t all simple for Kansas. Although the Jayhawks bought off to a a lot quicker begin on this recreation in comparison with its final two, Duke by no means stop. After Riley Leonard threw a 27-yard landing move with 2:40 to go, Kansas went three and out. Daniels mentioned he missed a learn on one play that he thinks may have gone for a primary down.
Duke bought the ball again at its personal 5, and Leonard instantly threw a 40-yard move to Jalon Calhoun all the way down to the Duke 45. From there, the protection was in a position to maintain Duke to only one first down (on a penalty) to seal the win.
Kansas has now received three video games the place it both needed to rally to win, or maintain on to win – and the arrogance Leipold has seen in these moments is likely one of the greatest issues he has discovered about his workforce within the early going.
“The continuous perception in what we’re doing when occasions are robust, how we’re overcoming these robust moments, issues that we noticed late final yr, I’ve seen it play out with physique language and issues of that nature on the sideline in all probability higher than I anticipated,” Leipold mentioned.
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