Kansas is coming out of a bye week after taking a tough loss to Kansas State. The Jayhawks are looking to turn the page and finish the season strong, starting with a tough matchup against Iowa State.

Lance Leipold met with the media on Monday, discussing the team’s mentality heading out of the bye, what he’s seen from the Cyclones, and what Devin Neal has meant to the program as he’s on the brink of breaking the all-time rushing record.

Kansas worked on situational football during the bye, looking to finish strong

Leipold said the Jayhawks worked on some situational things during the bye that have not gone their way during the course of the season. He also said they had a spirited practice on Sunday night and have remained strong despite the disappointing season.

“I can't tell you how proud I am of this football team, of how they've stuck together, through frustration and disappointment,” Leipold said. “They continue to work hard and be coachable. They continue to see that the margin is very small and own it, that we haven't made the plays at the right opportunities... But at the same time, they continue to work hard and see that winning football is not far from our grasp.”

Kansas will look to continue the trend of winning after bye weeks. The Jayhawks have won their last four games coming off the bye dating back to the 2022 season.

“Hopefully the routine and the focus and resetting ourselves and a point to go out and play and hopefully be a little further than we’ve been at other times,” Leipold said. “Obviously we’ve had decent success off of it and hopefully it can repeat itself.”

The Jayhawks would need to win out to salvage its season somewhat by achieving bowl eligibility. Leipold said his team is “focused on doing everything we can to win out here and give us opportunities to play more football.” He also wants to prove that the Jayhawks can still play winning football.

“I want to see us to continue to play at a level where no one questions our effort,” Leipold said. “We want to execute better at the key moments, as I've been saying for many weeks, we continue to see that winning is not easy. And the difference of winning and losing is a few plays where I can continue to put ourselves in a position to play winning football."

He continued: "I think our guys understand that. They want to get it done. I want to continue to see us to see the improvement that we've seen in certain areas and increase the improvement in the areas that we have not.”

Matt Campbell leads strong Iowa State team

The Cyclones sit at 7-1 after suffering its first loss of the year 23-22 against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to knock Iowa State out of the unbeatens. Leipold was very complimentary of Iowa State’s head coach, calling him one of the better football coaches in the country.

“Matt's done such an outstanding job, you know, building that program, and he's done it in the way of his culture and beliefs, of building a football program for not just periodic success, but sustained success,” Leipold said. “And again, as you know, they had a down year and everybody kind of about them and kind of wrote them off as it was going, and then all of a sudden, last year, he put them right back into it.

"Now he has them ranked and again competing for a championship. And it’s a testament to him and his staff and how they go about it.”

On the field, Iowa State has a complete team. The defense is at the top of the conference, allowing just 15.5 points per game. Leipold said their defense executes their scheme well and rotates guys to allow them to finish games at a high level.

The Cyclones offense is led by Rocco Becht, who Leipold said has great command of what Iowa State does offensively, and complemented by a trio of strong running backs and equally good receivers in Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins.

“They continue to operate offensively with a lot of different weapons,” Leipold said.

Devin Neal leaving his mark on Kansas football

Neal sits seven yards away from breaking the Kansas all-time rushing record. Leipold was asked about what he’s meant to the program.

“To me, it's the person each and every day and what he's given this program,” Leipold said. “As I've said before, we all know in this room what kind of person he is, his contributions off the field. What I'll always remember is the guy who walks in the building every day and you know, from where he was as a freshman to where he is now as a confident young adult is probably impresses me most."

Leipold said there are several runs and performances he can recall from Neal, but it is more than football that stands out.

"There's probably some runs here and there that will always stick out of some of his ability of vision, stopping and starting some of those that kind of put us in a great spot. But I think it's just the whole collection of what his career has been for this university.”

Leipold said he’s seen Neal grow into a leader over his years at Kansas. Now, he’s looked at as a leader for younger running backs like Johnny Thompson and Harry Stewart.

“I think it's extremely important for any of our younger players to watch our older players go through it, but especially in that room,” Leipold said. “Johnny and Harry get to see a guy every day that comes in with a humble attitude, wanting to get better, watching how he takes care of himself, how he prepares and watches films the questions, how he remains coachable again, how helps them out by what he sees. He talks about things that he learned.”