A First Look at Arizona’s Matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks
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The Arizona Wildcats (5-3,2-3 in Big 12) will be returning to their home field after a successful dismantling of the Colorado Buffaloes (3-6)at Folsom Field in a one-sided 52-17 routing of their longtime rivals.
In that dominating victory, the Arizona offense was nearly unstoppable, scoring seven touchdowns in a impressive time. All eight of Arizona's drives that resulted in points averaged 1.29 minutes.
Danny Gonzales' defense was more than up to the challenge of suffocating the Colorado offense, as it generated five turnovers and yielded 299 yards of offense.
"When we went into the bye-week, we knew we had to return to fundamentals," Head coach Brent Brennan said. "We had lost two heartbreaking, gut-wrenching games, and our players responded. We believed we had a good football team, and I think that showed up tonight. So I'm incredibly proud of our progress. I know we still got work to do, but I'm excited about this win."
The Kansas Jayhawks will be coming to Tucson for the Wildcats' homecoming game and they will hope to replicate their success from Colorado. Kansas is currently 5-4, 3-3 in the Big 12 and are coming off a 38-21 win against Oklahoma State.
With Kansas coming to Arizona Stadium for the first time since 1966, we will be taking a look at the team, how they have performed so far, and the history between the two programs.
A brief history
The Wildcats will meet the Jayhawks in a highly touted game, and to the surprise of many, it won't be on the basketball court just yet. Arizona is playing Kansas in a football game for the first time since 1966.
The first time the two schools played each other on the gridiron was in 1936, when the game ended in a 0-0 tie in Lawrence.
Arizona won the next game 9-7, which was in 1936 on their home field. The third meeting wasn't until 10 years later, in 1947, when Arizona lost 24-7.
Overall, the Wildcats are 2-3-1 against the Jayhawks. A win in front of an always electric Zona Zoo and a crowd of passionate fans will tie the series up at 3 apiece.
On offense
The Jayhawks own the 11th-ranked offense in the Big 12 and are led by their leader under center, Jalon Daniels.
In nine games, the redshirt senior has thrown for 1991 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions while also running for 271 yards and two touchdowns.
Alabama transfer wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. leads the wide receiver room with 36 catches, 573 yards, and four touchdowns. His best games come against Cincinnati, where he caught five passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
The rushing attack of Kansas is not one to be taken lightly, as both Daniel Hishaw Jr and Leshon Williams are a potent duo. Together, they have run for a combined 754 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense
The Jayhawks' defense is a determined unit ranked 11th in the Big 12. Against Texas Tech and Kansas State, they gave up a combined 84 points, but have gotten back on track with their recent game against Oklahoma State, yielding just 21 points in a win.
The Arizona offensive line will need to be at its best if it wants to leave Saturday's game with another impressive showing, as Kansas is ranked 7th in sacks with 19 for 99 yards through nine games. Sophomore defensive end Leroy Harris III leads the team with 4.5 sacks and has shown no signs of slowing down.
Junior linebacker Trey Lathan leads the Jayhawks in tackles with 60 and is an explosive player who can fly from sideline to sideline.
The Wildcats will also have to key off of defensive back Lyrik Rawls, who is ninth in the Big 12 in passes defended with six. Arizona has multiple wide receivers who can make big plays, so the No. 4 passing offense shouldn't run into too many problems against the secondary.
Leipold's rebuild
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has been instrumental in rebuilding the Jayhawks into a successful program.
Since being hired in 2021, after coaching at Buffalo, Kansas has been in back-to-back bowl games for just the second time in its history. Its win over No. 18 Oklahoma State in November 2022 was the first ranked win in the program's history since 2010.
In 2024, Kansas was ranked in the preseason rankings for the first time since 2008 and had beaten three ranked teams.
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Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.