Lance Leipold attributes 'good week of prep' to hot start, 14-0 lead over Oklahoma

Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks have come out of the gates firing, putting it on the Oklahoma Sooners to start Week 9.

After the Sooners defense stopped the Jayhawks on fourth down on their opening drive, Dillon Gabriel and the offense looked to get Oklahoma on the board. However, a gigantic mistake happened instead, as Kansas defensive back Mello Dotson telegraphed the throw, and it led to a pick-six.

Afterward, the Jayhawks stopped Oklahoma on fourth down during their ensuing drive and then took the ball down the field for another touchdown. Kansas leads 14-0 at the moment, and Leipold spoke with FOX regarding what he’s seeing that’s led to their hot start against the Sooners.

“I think we’ve had a really good week of prep, plus our kids are excited for this opportunity,” Leipold started. “Mello Dotson’s played pretty well for us. He’s been waiting for his opportunity, and we made it happen. This crowd’s been great, but we’ve got three more quarters to go.”

Kansas has a golden opportunity at their hands now. It’ll be up to Lance Leipold’s team not to let a monstrous upset slip through their fingers on Saturday.

Brent Venables delivers strong message to defense ahead of Kansas matchup

For an Oklahoma team looking to stay undefeated, the Kansas Jayhawk offense is certainly a challenging matchup, and Sooner head coach Brent Venables isn’t taking the matchup lightly. 

Against a terrific Kansas offensive line and an offense that’s scored more than 30 points in each of their five wins, physicality and discipline will be the name of the game for the OU defense. When asked on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff what he wants out of that unit, Venables answered:

“Just be disciplined, do your job, don’t try to make a play. Let the game come to you, let the defense work for you.”

It may be tempting to go for the pick-six or the big sack, but Venables knows that the Sooners need to play smart to avoid allowing huge gains to this explosive KU offense. That goes for the whole team, too. Because when Venables was asked what themes were on the white board ahead of this game, he said: “good discipline and being physical.”