The Jayhawks have a veteran receiver group led by Luke Grimm, Lawrence Arnold, and Quentin Skinner. Against Kansas State another senior stood out among the group in senior Trevor Wilson.

Wilson had four catches and led the team with 69 yards receiving in the loss. Lance Leipold said during the bye-week Wilson has come up with some key catches.

“In back-to-back weeks he has come up with some really nice catches.” Leipold said. “(Last) Saturday was probably his best receiving day as a Jayhawk, and he continues to gain confidence. He's been very solid for us as a returner and it's great to see a guy who's a senior that's a talented player, and one of the faster players on the team.”

He adds speed to the position and waited his turn playing behind a group of seniors who have been in the program for four years. Wilson, who transferred from Buffalo, could provide more production in the back half of the season.

“We know we have some established receivers that have been very productive for us,” Leipold said. “Trevor stayed positive and hardworking and has waited for opportunities and he's somebody that'll continue to get opportunities here as we move forward.”

The Kansas State game ended in heart-breaking fashion like so many games this season. The Jayhawks had the ball and were starting a drive trailing by two. But a Jalon Daniels run at the end of the game came up short of the first down on fourth down.

On the drive before that Daniels fumbled near midfield with 3:54 left in the game with KU leading 27-26.

“Jalon would be one of the first to admit ball security is something he has to continue to work on,” Leipold said. “If you remember early in the game there was a third and seven or so, and he's scrambling and doesn't even look like we're going to get probably sacked. And he gets around the corner on our sideline, tightropes, the sideline, gets us a big first down.”

Daniels outran the Kansas State blitz several times and created something when the play looked like it would break down. He finished with 66 yards rushing and helped the offense put up nearly 200 yards on the ground.

“It's those type of scrambling, aggressive plays that he makes for us,” Leipold said. “It doesn't go unnoticed and appreciate it as much. And then here he is trying to scramble, make a big play. And again, things we talk about are wrist above elbow, keeping the ball high and tight to your body and things like that.”

The Jayhawks will return to the practice field tonight after giving the players off Saturday. Leipold said they practiced on Thursday and had a light weight session on Friday during the bye-week.

The oddsmakers are calling for a close game against Iowa State. The early line came out giving the Cyclones a 3.5-point point edge.

“Matt Campbell is an outstanding head coach, and you can see they were down a couple years ago and bounced back nicely. Matt's always being mentioned as a guy who's one of the top coaches in the country, the way he's built that program.

“He built his program back up. They're very solid. They're fundamentally extremely well coached. I think they're the fewest, the least penalized team in the country right now.”

Iowa State is known for their 3-3-5 defense that coordinator Jon Heacock installed years ago. That is the same scheme Kansas State uses. They have faced Iowa State every year since Leipold arrived in 2021 and are familiar with that alignment, although teams use different schemes out of that look.

“Defensively, they're another team that utilizes a 3-3-5 defense that can cause a lot of disruption,” Leipold said. “It's a unique look that you don't always see. Blocking the extra safety and where they kind of place the extra defenders is always going to be challenging, and it'll be a big test for us.

“They have physical running game, two outstanding receivers, and Rocco Becht is really a scrappy quarterback who does an excellent job running their scheme.”

Iowa State will enter Saturday's game as the top-ranked defense in the Big 12 allowing under 16 points a game. They are second in total defense only giving up 311 yards a contest.