Kansas travels to #7 BYU on Saturday to try to knock off a second straight ranked team. Head coach Lance Leipold said the Cougars remind him of other conference teams that have overperformed preseason expectations.
Leipold previewed the matchup with BYU and talked about a pair of impactful second-year freshmen and gave injury updates.
BYU’s run mirroring 2022 TCU and 2021 Baylor
Recent history has provided a pattern of Big 12 teams who are underrated in the preseason finding a lot of success. BYU was picked to finish 13th in the conference but sits at 6-0 in Big 12 play on the brink of making the conference championship. Leipold said it was similar to what happened in 2022 with TCU and 2021 with Baylor.
“BYU is that story about a program that people kind of forgot about,” Leipold said. “For them to come through their rivalry game of an exciting game last week and to find a way to win on the road and stay undefeated and be in the College Football Playoff thick of it and playing for a conference championship, they deserve this. And again, we have a lot of respect for them.”
Cougars are a balanced team
Leipold said the thing that sticks out to him is the balance of BYU’s offense. Jake Retzlaff leads the way at quarterback with a lot of options on the conference's second-best scoring offense.
“I think they're [a] well-balanced offense,” Leipold said. “The quarterback does a really good job. He impresses me when he decides to run. He's not running to get down. He's a physical runner and he's going to run to keep getting yards. Very accurate, strong arm. Again, the receiving core is very good. I think it’s just their overall balance.”
Defensively, BYU leads the conference with 16 interceptions. Leipold said 11 different players have gotten those picks, which is a compliment to the Cougars’ depth. He said BYU is good in all three phases, a hallmark of a championship team.
“I think they've punt return and a kick return for touchdowns this year,” Leipold said. “So everything in the special teams area that you want to be game-winning, field goal Saturday, all the things that make teams that have chances to compete for championships what they are and they're solid all the way through.”
Blake Herold, Taylor Davis provide impact in increased role
Herold and Davis have continued to get more reps as the season has rolled on. They are both redshirt freshmen and have developed into strong role players. Leipold said he’s been impressed by Herold’s motor.
“Jim Panagos has been high on him since he arrived here and what Blake's development is and he plays hard, he's a good athlete,” Leipold said. “He's put the weight on needed to play inside. I think you know he continues to learn and get better. He's got a heck of a motor and does some good things.”
Davis once again had to step up after Devin Dye left the game after the first drive. Leipold said Davis has shown he can help and does a good job communicating.
“He continues to improve and show he can help,” Leipold said. “DK [McDonald] has done a great job with them. Working on getting to be a constant communicator and understanding. But you know Taylor is going to have a fine career here.”
Bryce Cabeldue, Cole Ballard “doubtful” for BYU
Cabeldue left the Iowa State game with an injury and did not return after being helped off the field. He’s listed with an “or” in the depth chart with Calvin Clements and is considered doubtful for Saturday. Leipold said he’s confident in Clements if he’s the one starting.
“I know Daryl [Agpalsa] was pleased with his performance and obviously he's going to get a ton of work this week and get him ready to go and we have confidence in what he's going to give us and he'll be ready,” Leipold said. “You know, again, he's come a long way as a college football player in maturity and understanding. And like you said last year's bowl game, when he played, he didn't flinch. He went through and competed.”
Ballard was also not listed on the depth chart, with freshman Isaiah Marshall taking his place. Leipold said Ballard was also doubtful and talked about what he’s seen from Marshall’s development.
“Today he got to take some first-team reps and some of the things we're doing, tempo periods and things,” Leipold said. “He's got a great disposition about him and poise. He doesn't get rattled. He can, he brushes off a mistake and flushes it really well and moves on to the next play. He continues to get better and again, we're excited about his future.”
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