Week 2 Coaches Poll: Kansas Football Narrowly Misses Top 25 Rankings

After opening the 2025 season with back-to-back wins, Kansas football has quickly won people over following last year’s disappointing campaign. The Jayhawks have looked like one of the Big 12’s most impressive teams and are looking to prove that 2024 was just a bad outlier.

Now, KU’s first true test comes this weekend in Columbia against Missouri in the renewed Border Showdown.

Ahead of the rivalry game, the Week 2 US LBM Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday. Kansas did not crack the top 25 but did pick up four votes, which would hypothetically rank them No. 41 nationally.

Week 2 US LBM Coaches Poll

1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. Oregon
6. Texas
7. Miami (FL)
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. Arizona State
11. South Carolina
12. Illinois
13. Michigan
14. Ole Miss
15. Florida
16. SMU
17. Tennessee
18. Iowa State
19. Florida State
20. Alabama
21. Indiana
22. Texas A&M
23. Texas Tech
24. Oklahoma
25. BYU

The Big 12 had four teams represented in this week’s coaches poll, led by Arizona State (No. 10) and followed by Iowa State (No. 18), Texas Tech (No. 23), and BYU (No. 25).

Kansas’ upcoming opponent wasn’t ranked but received the third-most votes among non-top-25 schools with 88. A win over the Jayhawks would boost the Tigers into the top 25, but a Jayhawk upset would give KU a strong case for its own spot in the rankings.

For context, Lance Leipold and Co. opened last season ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25. Although it was the program's first preseason ranking in 15 years, the Jayhawks quickly dropped out after nonconference losses to Illinois and UNLV.

A 1-5 start kept the Jayhawks far from consideration the rest of the year. Following the strong start this year, though, KU has a chance to earn perhaps the biggest win of the Leipold era against Eli Drinkwitz’s squad fresh off a 61-6 rout of Central Arkansas.

MORE: What Eli Drinkwitz Said About Kansas Football Ahead of Border Showdown

The Tigers entered the campaign as one of the stronger teams in the SEC, led by quarterback Beau Pribula, running back Ahmad Hardy, and a formidable defense. Neither school has faced a true test yet, but Saturday should change that.

It will be a raucous atmosphere in Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium when Kansas makes its first trip to Columbia in nearly 20 years. The matchup kicks off a home-and-home series that will rekindle one of college sports’ most deep-rooted, historical rivalries.

Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2011, and while the two schools have squared off annually in basketball since 2021, they haven’t met on the football field in 14 years.

Both enter this season with postseason aspirations, so it will be crucial in determining potential bowl games down the road.