Kansas — Big 12
PPA off / def
0.21 / 0.24
2025
Class rank
#61
class of 2026
Returning PPA
18%
returning production
2026 schedule
2025 results (5–7)
Statistical comps — 2025 Kansas's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (31 in / 26 out)
Origins
Naismith brought basketball here and it never let go, but Sayers ran for 2,675 yards in three seasons and the 2007 Orange Bowl team went 12-1. Mostly the football has been an act of faith.
Founded 1865 · Founded on a hill above Lawrence, eight years after the town was sacked · first football 1890 · defined by Gale Sayers
All-time record
All-time
558–675–54
1892–2025
Win %
45.5%
130 seasons played
Winning seasons
47
36% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2007 | 12 | 1 | Big 12 |
| 1905 | 10 | 1 | FBS Independents |
| 1995 | 10 | 2 | Big 8 |
| 1908 | 9 | 0 | Missouri Valley |
| 1968 | 9 | 2 | Big 8 |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1892 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 306 | 61% |
48% | 15 of 136 | 6.7 | 15% |
| 2nd down | 220 | 45% |
51% | 7 of 136 | 6.0 | 14% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 41 | 68% |
73% | — | 5.0 | 12% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 41 | 27% |
34% | — | 6.7 | 12% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 47 | 30% |
19% | — | 5.3 | 17% |
| 4th down | 19 | 37% |
68% | — | 8.6 | 21% |
132 drives · 38% ended in points · 7.2 plays and 44.9 yards per drive · 1.17 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 5 | Cincinnati |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Emmanuel Henderson Jr. for 93 yds for a TD (Laith Marjan KI… |
93 | 6.87 |
| 5 | Cincinnati |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Emmanuel Henderson Jr. for 75 yds for a TD (Laith Marjan KI… |
75 | 6.08 |
| 4 | West Virginia |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Levi Wentz for 41 yds for a TD (Laith Marjan KICK) |
41 | 5.05 |
| 4 | West Virginia |
Leshon Williams 62 Yd Run (Laith Marjan Kick) |
62 | 4.95 |
| 1 | Wagner |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Emmanuel Henderson Jr. for 62 yds for a TD (Laith Marjan KI… |
62 | 4.95 |
| 2 | Missouri |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Levi Wentz for 50 yds to the MIZ 2 for a 1ST down |
50 | 4.82 |
| 14 | Utah |
(06:01) No Huddle-Shotgun #6 J.Daniels pass complete deep left to #1 E.Henderson Jr. caugh… |
54 | 4.13 |
| 7 | Texas Tech |
Jalon Daniels pass complete to Boden Groen for 24 yds for a TD (Laith Marjan KICK) |
24 | 3.96 |