Kansas Listed Among College Football’s Top ‘Wild Card’ Teams

Lance Leipold’s squad was recently named one of the sport’s biggest wild cards heading into the 2025 season.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Coming into the 2024 campaign, the Kansas Jayhawks were expected to compete for a Big 12 title and have one of the best seasons in program history.

Instead, KU got off to a horrendous 1-5 start and failed to reach bowl eligibility even after a late-year surge.

Analysts remain divided on the Jayhawks' outlook for the upcoming season, and CBS Sports’ Carter Bahns echoed that uncertainty in his latest article about college football's biggest wild cards in 2025.

"With Jalon Daniels finally healthy, last season was supposed to be Kansas' opportunity to finally put everything together and shock the college football world," Bahns wrote. "Instead, a 1-5 start stopped the Jayhawks from even reaching a bowl game."

"But something changed down the stretch when Lance Leipold's squad rattled off three straight wins over ranked opponents."

Kansas had a shot at making a bowl game if it had beaten Baylor to close the regular season, but the Bears halted that momentum and ended Leipold’s year early.

"It is impossible to predict which version of Kansas shows up in 2025," he continued. "If it is the former, this could be one of the best seasons in program history. If it is the latter, it will be 'just another year of Kansas football" in the bottom of the Big 12.

The Jayhawks' success in 2025 will hinge on several factors, starting with the play of quarterback Jalon Daniels, who battled turnover issues and poor decision-making last season.

Leipold and Co. also face major losses on both sides of the ball to graduation, including top cornerbacks Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson, leading receivers Luke Grimm, Quentin Skinner, and Lawrence Arnold, and all-time leading rusher Devin Neal.

With so much roster turnover, how quickly KU's incoming transfers adjust could make or break the season.