Postgame Thoughts: Kansas Football’s Defense Is Becoming Its New Identity

The Kansas football team set an impressive program record today, tallying a single-game best 706 yards of total offense to steamroll Middle Tennessee State 55-0. However, KU's scoring output may not have been the most impressive part of the victory.

You can call it a fluke, but the Jayhawks' defense was on another level today. It held MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano to 9-for-26 passing for 81 yards and surrendered just 3.4 yards per carry on the ground. The Blue Raiders were forced to punt nine times and didn't convert a third down after their opening drive.

Kansas' defense, not the offense, has been the bright spot through four weeks. Today wasn't the only example of that, either. The offense's struggles against Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic made it easy to forget that D.K. McDonald's group held Cutter Boley to fewer than 100 passing yards while allowing the Jayhawks to outgain ASU by nearly 200 yards.

Defense doing their big one pic.twitter.com/Eyeih5r7Tw
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) October 3, 2026

In his first year as KU's defensive coordinator, McDonald and Co. finished in the bottom half of the Big 12 in both rushing and pass defense. If things continue trending in the right direction, his unit could find itself in the top half of the conference in 2026.

Albeit versus an inferior opponent, Kansas ended the afternoon with its first shutout since September 2008 under Mark Mangino. There is a level of excellence required to maintain 60 minutes of scoreless football against an FBS opponent, regardless of who is lining up across from you.

Kansas Football's Defense is an Unexpected Strength

Between Isaiah Marshall's inconsistent passing and questionable offensive play-calling, it has been easy to bury the success of the defense behind the more glaring issues with this squad. However, there have been very few criticisms of McDonald this year after many fans called for his job a season ago.

Realistically, the Jayhawks' defense has played well enough to win in each of their first four outings. As we mentioned, it would have been responsible for a victory in London had special teams miscues and costly turnovers not gotten in the way. The unit also didn't allow a point for nearly 20 minutes against Missouri in the Border Showdown before turnovers repeatedly gave the Tigers favorable field position.

The secondary, which was a major point of concern entering the campaign, has been surprisingly solid. And of course, we can't leave out Leroy Harris III, who is emerging as a potential early entrant into the 2027 NFL Draft and forced his third fumble of the season today.

Kansas Jayhawks defensive end Leroy Harris III (33) recovers a fumble from Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the game inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on October 3, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When's the last time a Kansas team could say its defense was its biggest strength? The only issue is that KU hasn't done its part to play ball-control football and keep the defensive players rested between possessions. Fans can't expect McDonald's players to trot out for 40 minutes a week amid the offense's shortcomings.

Thanks to Dylan Edwards and the potent rushing attack, the Jayhawks were finally able to play football the way they intended to, and McDonald's defense responded with excellent results. Without question, this KU team is going to live and die by its defense moving forward.

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