What Kansas Does Better Than Oklahoma State and Why It Matters

The Kansas Jayhawks are also trying to turn things around in 2026 as they prepare to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the season finale.

Kansas Jayhawks' Austin Alexander. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Oklahoma State Cowboys hope they're playing for something meaningful when they host the Kansas Jayhawks in the regular season finale on Nov. 28.

The Cowboys are turning everything over after head coach Mike Gundy was fired last season. The Cowboys went 1-11 in 2025, have gone 4-20 in the past two seasons and have not won a Big 12 game since the end of the 2023 season.

Oklahoma State hopes by this point it has won a few Big 12 games and, at minimum, are locked into a bowl game. That would be a solid first season under new head coach Eric Morris.

Kansas is trying to turn things around as well, though they're dealing from a better position than Oklahoma State. Kansas has won five games each of the last two seasons and failed to make a bowl game. The Jayhawks biggest issue going into the season is quarterback. Jalon Daniels doesn't live in Lawrence anymore.

Here’s what Kansas does better than Oklahoma State and why it matters in this matchup.

What Kansas Does Better Than Oklahoma State

Kansas Jayhawks cornerback Jalen Todd. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are some real similarities between Kansas and Oklahoma State when you look at both rosters. Neither team is returning much on the offensive side of the football.

The Jayhawks are turning the page on the Jalon Daniels era at quarterback, while Oklahoma State is basically starting from scratch with a new set of players, except for potential starting offensive lineman Jakobe Sanders.

The defenses are much the same way, though there is one area where Kansas, at least going into the season, clearly looks better than Oklahoma State. That's in the secondary.

The Cowboys do have one returning starter at cornerback in LaDainian Fields, and he has the potential to be an all-Big 12 player in his third season with the program.

But Kansas has three returning starters from a year ago, including both starting cornerbacks and one of their safeties. It should make that position one of their strongest on the field this season.

At corner, the Jayhawks have Austin Alexander and Jalen Todd. Alexander started 11 games and finished with 46 total tackles (34 solo, 12 assist), 3.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery, which he returned for a touchdown. He didn’t have an interception. Todd started 11 games and finished with 44 (30 solo, 14 assisted), two tackles for loss, two sacks, four pass breakups and one forced fumble.

It’s good to see two cornerbacks that had 100 combined tackles. But neither ended up with an interception and that’s the mandate from head coach Lance Leipold this season. The Jayhawks need to create more turnovers.

The returning starting safety is Taylor Davis. He had 11 starts, and unlike the corners, he was able to claim one interception. He also had 41 tackles (29 solo, 12 assisted), and one pass breakup.

Kansas has infused both positions with transfers that have solid track records. The Jayhawks also have returning players who were not starters last year, most notably Jahlil Hurley at backup cornerback and Syeed Gibbs, who could be the starting nickelback. Leipold said a Big 12 media days that with the options Kansas has they have more depth and more opportunity to create turnovers.

It's one area that, at least on paper, the Jayhawks have a clear edge over Oklahoma State. Whether that translates at the end of the season, well, the Cowboys and the Jayhawks will just have to wait and see.