Kansas Football: 3 Losing Streaks the Jayhawks Must End in 2026

The Kansas Jayhawks enter the 2026 season with a trio of ugly losing streaks that they need to overcome to move the program forward.

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Kansas football program has several major storylines entering the 2026 season.

It’s a big year for head coach Lance Leipold who faces a critical point in his KU coaching career as he attempts to avoid a third consecutive year without a bowl game appearance. KU’s schedule has also been a major topic of discussion as the Jayhawks face three preseason AP Top 25 teams, they welcome Missouri back to Lawrence for the first time since 2005, and must travel overseas to face Arizona State in London in Week 3.

Another big storyline is that KU has the opportunity to end three ugly losing streaks that each now span over 15 years.

Baylor

KU’s losing streak to Baylor is the longest of the three (in terms of years). The last time KU beat Baylor was during the Orange Bowl run on Oct. 13, 2007, when the Jayhawks thumped the Bears 58-10 in Lawrence.

Since then, KU has dropped 14 straight to the Bears and have managed just four wins out of the 23 times they’ve met dating back to their first matchup on Sept. 18, 1971. They’ve also never beaten Baylor in Waco.

However, this year presents a golden opportunity for the Jayhawks to end the streak with the game happening in Lawrence and the Bears projected to be an average team at best, according to ESPN’s 2026 Football Power Index. It’s also a game that KU is likely going to need to win if they hope to reach bowl eligibility.

READ MORE: Best-Case vs. Worst-Case Scenario for 2026 Kansas Football Season

Kansas State

Although not the longest losing streak by years, the ugliest losing streak KU has against any one school is by far the one they currently suffer to in-state rival Kansas State.

The Wildcats have defeated the Jayhawks a mindboggling 17 games in a row. The last time KU beat K-State was on Nov. 1, 2008, in Lawrence by a score of 52-21 when Mark Mangino was the head coach at Kansas and Ron Prince was head coach at Kansas State.

The losing streak is due to a combination of bad coaching, bad performances, and bad luck on KU’s part. But frankly, it’s embarrassing that an in-state rivalry such as this has gotten so one-sided.

If the Jayhawks hope to take a meaningful step forward as a program this year, they will need to put an end to this humiliating losing streak to K-State. But it won’t be easy as the game takes place in Manhattan.

READ MORE: AD Travis Goff Backs Lance Leipold Ahead of 2026 Season

Missouri

There’s no one that KU fans hate losing to more than Missouri. For the true Jayhawk fans, it’s engrained in their blood to hate their rivals across state line.

But unfortunately, that’s been the case for the last 18 years as the Jayhawks have lost four straight games to the Tigers and six of the last seven.

KU’s last win against Missouri came on Nov. 29, 2008, in one of the most memorable games in Kansas football history when the Jayhawks defeated the Tigers 40-37 in a thrilling, back-and-forth contest in front of a hostile, split crowd at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

The good news for this year is that the game takes place in Lawrence. And you can bet that Jayhawk fans (and hopefully the team) will be amped up for that one as it’s easily the biggest game on KU’s schedule this year.

Leipold has often struggled during his time at KU to win big games when expectations are on the line, but if he can lead the Jayhawks to a win over Missouri, that could be a moment that cements his place in KU football history forever and gives the Jayhawks a confidence-building win that sets the tone for the rest of the 2026 season.

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