Jalon Daniels in Midst of Unprecedented Season for Kansas Football

Despite some drawbacks early on, Jalon Daniels is enjoying his best season of college football in his final year of eligibility.

Oct 4, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) warms up before the game against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

The Kansas football team bounced back with a victory on Saturday night to defeat UCF for its first road victory of the season. It was a much-needed win for the Jayhawks after a heartbreaking loss to Cincinnati.

While it was not the best game from quarterback Jalon Daniels in the box score, he still helped guide the Jayhawks to an impressive victory. Now that the regular season is at its halfway point for KU, Daniels' numbers are excellent for his standards.

He has already thrown for 16 touchdown passes, the second-highest number in his career, adding 1,497 yards on a 67.3% completion percentage with just two interceptions.

Even though it hasn't been perfect, with some costly turnovers that contributed to KU's two losses, Daniels is playing some terrific football right now.

Jalon Daniels is the 8th-highest graded QB in college football (minimum 100 dropbacks). It's been a fantastic first half of the season for the #KUfball QB.https://t.co/Uh2kKN8GIn pic.twitter.com/ClZSSExgHM

— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) October 5, 2025

Last week, Daniels' historic 445-yard, four-touchdown outing vs. the Bearcats was overshadowed by a fourth quarter fumble at the goalline. However, that wouldn't have been very relevant if the defense had held its own for most of the game.

He only has a pair of interceptions on the season, a year after he threw a career-high 12 in 12 games, and neither were particularly important.

It took him a while between the injuries and outside drama over the years, but he deserves credit for what he has accomplished. He made his way back from what seemed to be a degenerative back issue and has gone through the rollercoaster that it is to be a college football player.

Oct 4, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels (6) is tackled by UCF Knights defensive back Demari Henderson (8) during the second quarter at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Fans were calling for his benching last season during the Jayhawks' rough stretch at the beginning of the year. Even when he wasn't playing at 100%, he has dealt with the media criticizing him and other outside factors, yet he stuck in Lawrence through thick and thin.

He is the only quarterback in college football to have started a game at the same university for six years in a row now. That shows just how loyal he has been to the university and coaching staff over the years no matter what.

His tenure has been far from perfect at Kansas, but Daniels is turning in his best season yet for the Jayhawks.

Even if the defense still has some flaws and the offense has kinks to work out, the Jayhawks are in their best position to make a Big 12 title game in Lance Leipold's era. All of that will be predicated on whether Daniels can lead the squad to the next level.