photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas Football holds its first practice in the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 in Lawrence.

Like the rest of his teammates, Kansas center Bryce Foster is excited to play in the revamped David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

He said he and freshman lineman Anderson Kopp were the first two players ever to run out of the new tunnel, and KU’s offensive line unit — which calls itself the MOB, or “men of Booth” — is happy to be back playing in a place where its nickname actually makes sense. That’s after KU spent time at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan., and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., for so-called “home” games during Foster’s first year with the Jayhawks.

However, after having watched the stadium come to life, the Jayhawks are now tasked with making it feel as normal as possible to play games on Kivisto Field. That’s part of why they’ve spent plenty of time practicing there in the lead-up to Saturday’s season opener against Fresno State.

“It’s good to be able to have everybody else finally be introduced to it,” quarterback Jalon Daniels said, “but for us, we have to be able to treat it like it’s another day, it’s another game.”

Added Foster: “We’re not really focused on how cool the stadium is anymore.”

As much as head coach Lance Leipold would like for his team to “thrive off of” the energy and excitement surrounding the venue’s debut, that can’t be a distraction from the task at hand.

“I don’t want to downgrade all the great excitement about this game, the energy, the efforts that have gone in by the athletic department, by our donors and our fans, but in many ways I sometimes equate this to a homecoming game,” Leipold said. “Our job, and like I always say on homecoming, is to play our best football and find a way to win the game.”

The team that would love nothing more than to spoil KU’s homecoming on Saturday is Fresno State, which KU offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski called a “play anytime, anywhere type program.” Even setting aside the fact that KU lost to another Mountain West program last season, the Bulldogs have been known to vex power-conference opponents, including Arizona State, Purdue, a then-ranked UCLA and Washington State (at the time in the Pac-12) just in the last several years.

This is, however, a new incarnation of the Bulldogs. Matt Entz, a two-time FCS champion as Chris Klieman’s successor at North Dakota State, is their first-year head coach. But his staff is a patchwork drawn from all sorts of other programs: past incarnations of Fresno State (Entz retained special teams coordinator Josh Baxter), South Dakota (offensive coordinator Josh Davis), Northern Illinois (defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto, who worked with KU’s offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa there) and USC, where Entz spent the 2024 season as a position coach. That gives KU a lot of potential influences to consider.

“You walk into a film room and you’re trying to figure out who’s playing who, sometimes, in a game,” Leipold said.

KU’s staff can guess that the Bulldogs will attempt to beat the Jayhawks down with their run game. Running back Bryson Donelson averaged six yards per carry as a freshman in 2024, and Fresno State also added Arizona transfer Rayshon “Speedy” Luke behind him on the depth chart.

“I respect anybody who plays a physical brand of football, and that’s what they do,” defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said.

E.J. Warner won a battle in training camp for the starting spot at quarterback. He is the son of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Kurt Warner, and previously started 31 games over three seasons at Temple and Rice. He will be throwing to a newly assembled group of wide receivers, much like what KU has.

“He’s a hell of a hard worker, lives and breathes football, and yeah, only positive things to say about him,” said KU tight end Boden Groen, who played with Warner at Rice last season. “Excited to see him again, say what’s up after a while.”

Fresno State’s lone preseason all-conference honoree on either side of the ball was Al’zillion Hamilton, a senior cornerback who tallied 52 tackles, 13 passes defensed, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in 2024. He entered the transfer portal but reversed course and returned to the Bulldogs.

Much like Fresno State, KU is looking to make a largely new group of talented pieces fit together this season. Throughout the offseason, Leipold has repeatedly stated how impressed he has been with his new players’ assimilation.

“Now it’s a matter of going out, though, and producing, and doing it the way you want it to be on game day,” Leipold said, “and Saturday will be the first evaluation of this football team.”

Kansas Jayhawks vs. Fresno State Bulldogs

• David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 5:30 p.m.

• Broadcast: Fox

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)

• Betting line: KU -13.5; over/under 50.5

• Series history: None

Keep an eye out

1. The booth at the Booth: Zebrowski is entering his first full season as KU’s offensive coordinator after previously serving in that role in an interim capacity for the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl. During the 2024 season, Zebrowski briefly moved to coaching from the booth while then-offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes was on the sideline, but the two switched places after three games. At the time, Zebrowski’s return to the field was a welcome development for Daniels, but on Monday Daniels downplayed any issues with having his longtime position coach in the booth again, calling it “not a new stimulus, per se,” and adding that the presence of analyst Eric Terrazas to work with quarterbacks on the sideline would help. Daniels also said he could feel Zebrowski’s energy all the way from the booth and joked, “He could probably be in Alaska right now and I’d probably feel his energy.”

2. McDonald’s mystery: Over the course of the offseason, it became clear that McDonald’s status as a first-time defensive coordinator, and his wide-ranging background in the profession, could make it a challenge for opposing coaches to scheme against KU. As Entz said this week, “You can look at what they’ve done in years past, but what changes, what adjustments, what new coverages, fronts, will he implement for the Bulldogs?” There have been plenty of clues that KU will operate more frequently in a 4-2-5 with a “nickel,” instead of a “Hawk” linebacker as in years past, but it’s not clear just how many different fronts and looks the Jayhawks will employ this season.

3. Youth movement: Redshirt freshman Austin Alexander, who did not play last season, is expected to start at outside corner with veteran transfer D.J. Graham II still battling nerve damage. Alexander, true sophomore Jalen Todd and redshirt sophomore transfer Jahlil Hurley are the Jayhawks’ top three healthy corners. Leipold and McDonald have reiterated their confidence in this unit, but it’s quite a departure from the veteran groups of years past, and Warner could have some chances to attack the less experienced players.

Spotlight on…

Tate Nagy: Nagy, who at one point looked like one of the longest-term projects in KU’s 2025 recruiting class — an undersized player making the transition from high school quarterback to collegiate wide receiver — is instead set to debut on Saturday as the Jayhawks’ starting punt returner. That’s a lot of responsibility for a true freshman, but Leipold said Nagy combines a consistent ability to catch the ball with elusiveness as a return man. If KU’s defense is doing its job, Nagy will get some early chances to prove himself on Saturday.

Inside the numbers

169: The combined total number of defensive snaps played by Alexander, Hurley and Todd in their careers.

46: The overall number of newcomers on KU’s roster this season, which includes 29 transfers and 17 freshmen.

18: Number of years since Fresno State defeated an active Big 12 school (the Bulldogs beat Kansas State 45-29 on Nov. 24, 2007).

Prediction

KU wins 31-14. The Jayhawks are saying the right things about maintaining their focus in what could otherwise be a highly emotional situation. On the field, KU is stronger on the defensive line and at linebacker than in years past and should be able to prevent Fresno State from killing the clock with Donelson, Luke and its army of running backs; meanwhile, the Jayhawks have dynamic new receivers and will find it easier to pull off big plays than the Bulldogs. This is a different situation from when KU stumbled against UNLV last year, and it’ll produce a different result.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas senior Jalon Daniels calls out instructions during practice Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas head coach Lance Leipold watches his team during practice Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence.