Lance Leipold proud of resiliency from Kansas in second half vs. Illinois

The Kansas Jayhawks built a commanding 34-7 advantage in the third quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday night, but they had their lead trimmed to 34-23 late in the fourth quarter. They finished the job and pulled out the win, 34-23, moving them to 2-0 on the 2023 campaign.

The last time the Jayhawks started 2-0 in back-to-back seasons came during the 2008 and 2009 campaigns. Following the game, KU head coach Lance Leipold spoke with ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra on the field.

Lance Leipold was very proud of his team on Friday night

In the second half, where did he feel his team was tested the most? “Well, you know, I think some penalties and adversity. They got the momentum a little bit. We turned the ball over. We weren’t getting a lot of pressure on the quarterback, but we got some turnovers when we needed it. And, really proud of the resiliency of this football team,” Leipold said.

The Jayhawk defense had two interceptions in the second half, and both were very impressive, highlight-reel type picks. They were certainly big in determining the final outcome. Unfortunately for Kansas, they also had to deal with a number of targeting penalties in the second half.

The Jayhawks rolled up 542 yards of total offense on Illinois, thanks to the return of their dynamic dual threat quarterback, Jalon Daniels.

What’s the strength of his team? “I think the strength of our unit, I think our staff does a great job of spreading the ball around and utilizing everybody. And a lot of personnel groupings. They get a lot of touches to different guys. And guys are accepting that role. It’s a lot of fun and they’ve embraced it. And of course, they have a quarterback that’s making some plays,” the Jayhawks head coach said.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was impressive in his first game action of 2023, throwing for 277 yards and tossing two touchdowns. Jayhawks running back Devin Neal had 167 total all-purpose yards and one touchdown in the win.

When he took the job two years ago, the stadium didn’t look the way it did on Friday night in Lawrence, Kansas. What does it feel like for the coaches, the staff, and the players to see a packed stadium for their home crowd? “It’s awesome. We really appreciate the support that’s come out here. Proud of our players for really embracing what we’ve been about since we’ve been here. And we’re just getting started with the season. We’ve got a lot of work to do yet,” Leipold said.

Due to the targeting penalties in the second half, Leipold and the Jayhawks will be without Austin Booker and Cobee Bryant in the first half of Week 3’s game against the Nevada Wolfpack.

That one will be played on Sept. 16th at 10:30 PM EST. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.