Despite the shaky start, the Jayhawks have remained confident in their preseason goals of competing for a conference title. The slate has essentially been wiped clean, giving Kansas a chance at a fresh start.

“I think we understand that all of our goals are in front of us, and ultimately, the Big 12 matters most,” Devin Neal said. “We obviously have to play up to that. These are great teams that we’re about to face, and we have to match their intensity and play better. We have to execute better on, you know, in all phases honestly.”

Lance Leipold said on Monday that his message to the team would not have changed if the Jayhawks were 3-0, 2-1, or even 0-3. The slate has been wiped clean, and Kansas still has a lot of football to play.

“Everything starts over right now,” Leipold said. “So if that's easy, I guess, I don't know, but easy, it's consistent. That would be the conversation. So, you know, you continue to learn about yourselves in a lot of different ways during these moments and we're learning about ourselves, but at the same time, we got a lot of football to play.”

Two years ago, Kansas used its conference opener in Morgantown to showcase the “New Era” of Jayhawk football and built momentum for the rest of the season. Bryce Cabeldue talked about how the start of that game had mirrored the start of this season.

“We started off [down] 14-0, and I kind of think that’s kind of how the beginning of this season starts,” Cabeldue said. “We’re 1-2 right now, we started off slow, and now I think it’s time to ramp things up.”

Cabeldue also echoed the sentiment that the Jayhawks’ goals still lie ahead of them.

“Our minds need to shift,” Cabeldue said. “We can still win the Big 12 Championship. Just because we’re 1-2 right now doesn’t mean that they can count us out. Us finding new ways to be, you know, becoming better and better every single day is what we’re trying to do.”

OJ Burroughs said this game gives Kansas the opportunity to get back on track and build some confidence at the start of conference play.

Dylan Wudke said the talk in the locker room has been positive, knowing that the team can do great things despite the rough start. Wudke also said while the Jayhawks do talk about their future goals, the team’s focus remains on the here and now.

“I feel like our focus is the day and the week,” Wudke said. “We talk about [it] a little bit, but it’s not our main topic. We always want to talk about what’s now.”