With Kansas 4-0 and soon to be ranked, Lance Leipold continues to make his case to be Nebraska's top target

After torching Duke’s defense for more than 500 yards and 35 points, Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has the Jayhawks 4-0 for the first time since 2009. 

In the month of September, Leipold has already doubled last season’s win total and has the Charlie Browns college football looking like not only a bowl team but a real spoiler in the Big-12. 

Kansas, repeat Kansas, will be ranked come Sunday.

Search Lance Leipold on Twitter on Saturday and KU fans want to build their head coach a statue and are calling him the second-year messiah for leading a hapless program out of the wilderness. 

Leipold inherited once of the saddest situations in the entire Power 5, but in less than two seasons, the former six-time Division III national champion head coach has the Jayhawks playing with confidence and pride. 

Led by do-everything quarterback Jalon Daniels, who had five total touchdowns and over 400 total yards in the 35-27 win over Duke, Kansas is legit fun in 2022. 

A year ago, KU’s athletic department was giving away tickets to a game against Oklahoma. On Saturday, David Booth Memorial Stadium was sold-out in a showdown with Duke.

“There was times a year ago when it was really tough that we thought, ‘We’ll get this (stadium) filled someday,’” Leipold said Saturday. 

“I’m really proud of the way our guys are just progressing and finding ways to win.”

Plenty around the nation have taken notice of Kansas’ rapid assent under Leipold, and hopefully, tops on that list is Nebraska athletics director Trev Alberts. 

Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported that in the early stages of its search to replace Scott Frost, Nebraska was really “high on” three names: Lance Leipold, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell and Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. 

Nebraska doesn’t need a retread hire in O’Brien, and while Campbell has been successful with the Cyclones, his team laid an egg at home against Baylor on Saturday and doesn’t play a particularly imaginative brand of football.

To be clear, a single win or loss shouldn’t determine Nebraska’s search, but with each week, it’s becoming more and more obvious that Lance Leipold looks like the ideal candidate for the Cornhuskers. 

If Nebraska isn’t targeting the Luke Fickell’s or Mark Stoops’ of the world, then Leipold should be Trev Alberts’ guy.

The guy is a builder. A visionary. A winner. His offense is innovative. His teams play hard and smart. Leipold also has ties to the region, as the 58-year-old coach is a former Cornhuskers assistant from 2001-03, and also spent 10 seasons at Nebraska-Omaha.

It’s the exact combination of skills and veteran savvy Nebraska needs right now. With an NIL war-chest that can compete with any team in the Big Ten not named Ohio State or Michigan, recruiting shouldn’t be an issue.

Under Leipold, neither will organization or preparation. 

While it’s stunning that Kansas is 4-0 in 2022, it certainly isn’t an accident. 

Leipold looked at his roster after the 2021 season and aggressively used the transfer portal to upgrade at nearly every position — sans quarterback. 

He believed he had his guy there, and with Daniels playing like a darkhorse Heisman contender, the Jayhawks have won all four games, including two on the road for the first time in 15 years.

There’s a real chance Kansas — with Campbell’s Iowa State coming to town next week and then a home date with TCU after that — could legit be bowl eligible before Halloween. 

That’s remarkable. 

For those who may have forgotten, Lance Leipold was hired at Kansas in April of 2021. The dysfunction of the Les Miles Era was fresh and still seeping through the walls. The former Buffalo head coach did not get to see his new team in spring practice last season. He wasn’t on the field with the Jayhawks until August.

Naturally, they struggled out of the gate last fall, but then they upset Texas, and gave Oklahoma, TCU and West Virginia real scares to end the season. They still have one of the youngest rosters in college football in 2022, but those tough lessons in Year 0 have become confidence-boosting wins in Year 2.  

“People are starting to pay attention (to KU football),” Leipold said. 

“They’re seeing change.”

They certainly are.

Leipold was asked this week about his name being linked to the Nebraska opening. In an interview on Ryan Leaf’s podcast, he said all the right things about “staying in the moment” and “being where your feet are.”

“My wife, Kelly, and I, we came to Lawrence, Kansas, not to move. At this stage of our career, it’s flattering,” Leipold explained.

“But our focus is (on) trying to build the Kansas Jayhawks into a winner and a consistent winner for the long haul.”

It’s a wonderful sentiment. And likely very true here on Sept. 24. But if Nebraska calls, Leipold would have to jump at the opportunity.

It sucks for Kansas fans that this turnaround may end up being such a short-term tease, but Nebraska is looking to dream big, too, and with each week, Leipold continues to make his case that he could be the Cornhuskers’ Moses, too.