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

The Kansas Jayhawks take the field for the first game of the season against Fresno State at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025 in Lawrence.

The start of the 2025 season has something of a different pace for the Kansas football team.

That was always going to be the case for the Jayhawks when they opted to schedule a week-zero matchup — last Saturday’s 31-7 victory over Fresno State — and now it’s being borne out on the field. In each of Lance Leipold’s first four seasons at the helm, KU started off with an FCS opponent. Now, the Jayhawks are playing a lower-division foe on a short week, when that team hasn’t even started its season yet.

And like Fresno State did, that team, Wagner, has some sense of mystery to it as well, with a new offensive coordinator in Terence Sino after the previous OC, Stephen Matos, returned to his former employer KU to serve as an analyst. Last year’s defensive coordinator Derek Getchell is no longer on staff, either, leaving head coach Tom Masella to presumably take on a more active role in the defense.

“You don’t have any tape on them besides last year and they have new coordinators and new position guys,” offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski said. “So that’s the unique part about it. It’s that uncomfortableness.”

So, as Leipold put it, “you got to be sound early in the game, find out what the identity of their game plan is going to be on both sides of the ball and then go play.”

Wagner, which will face the Jayhawks at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Lawrence, was picked to finish fifth in the eight-team Northeast Conference, which is its highest placement since 2020. The Seahawks received four preseason all-NEC selections in returning starting center Brady Anderson, defensive lineman Logan Barnes (8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last year), linebacker Jordan Johnson (51 tackles) and receiver Teree McDonald (26 catches, 309 yards, five touchdowns).

Their third captain besides Anderson and Barnes is an intriguing player in senior Sam Martin. As a defensive back last season, Martin, who started his career at Temple, recorded 51 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble while serving as the Seahawks’ kick returner. This season, Masella has said Martin “is doing a lot of different things for us,” including playing some on the offensive side of the ball.

Wagner has two potential options at quarterback in Jordan Barton, a senior transfer from Sacramento State who once led Riverside Community College to the California junior-college title, and Jack Stevens, a returning sophomore who went 6-for-9 for 68 yards last season.

“We’re going to have to come out and we’re going to have to adjust and we’re going to have to just play fast and let everything go from there,” defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said, “and then make adjustments on the fly just like we did last week.”

For Wagner, it’s a chance to beat an FBS opponent for the first time ever; for KU, it’s a chance to move to 2-0 after last year’s early-season stumbles, ahead of a rivalry matchup at Missouri on Sept. 6.

“It doesn’t matter what’s going on, we have to continue to keep on working on our craft,” quarterback Jalon Daniels said. “At the end of the day, what we do inside these buildings is what continues to make us be the offense, defense and special teams that we are, and we have to keep on doing that with our foot on the pedal.”

Added safety Lyrik Rawls: “We always got to make sure that we don’t take anybody lightly, make sure that we’re on top of our things that we need to get done to be successful on the game day.”

Kansas Jayhawks (1-0) vs. Wagner Seahawks (0-0)

• David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 6:30 p.m.

• Broadcast: ESPN+

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

• Betting line: KU -46.5; over/under 56.5

• Series history: None

Keep an eye out

1. Injury report: The Big 12 will only distribute official injury reports for conference games this year, but Leipold provided some updates on Monday, after he had said following Saturday’s victory that there were more players out of uniform than he would have liked. He said defensive tackle Gage Keys would likely miss a second straight game, as would defensive end Dylan Brooks and linebacker Joseph Sipp Jr.; fellow linebacker Jayson Gilliom is doubtful, he added later on his weekly radio show. Defensive end Dean Miller, meanwhile, practiced on Monday and is likely to play. The biggest question is running back Leshon Williams, who took his first rush as a Jayhawk 19 yards for a touchdown and finished with six carries for 57 yards but exited during the second half while holding his wrist; Leipold said he is “questionable to doubtful.”

2. Red flags: Leipold described KU’s season-opening victory as a good one, but also one with plenty of things the coaches could point out on film as areas for improvement. One of those, certainly, was the Jayhawks’ penalty problem. KU committed nine penalties for 72 yards and was flagged for holding on seven occasions in total (five on the offensive line), two of which were declined. As the Jayhawks continue to rotate along the line, Zebrowski said they can improve their prospects in that area by following what offensive line coach Daryl Agpalsa says: “Don’t create grayness” — in other words, don’t do anything that could result in an opportunity for an official to throw a flag.

3. Mop-up duty: Zebrowski touched on the value of having given snaps to younger backup players late in the Fresno State game, but added that he was a bit frustrated KU didn’t get a key first down early in the fourth quarter; if the Jayhawks had done so, they might have scored again and been able to put in reserves sooner. Well, if KU scores against Wagner at the pace it did against Lindenwood at 2024 — or even faster — there will be more than enough time for the Jayhawks to make up for the relatively small amount of time during which their week-zero game was out of hand.

Spotlight on…

Dean Miller: A reigning second-team all-conference selection who was a breakout player at defensive end last year, Miller did his best work late in 2024 as he grew into his starting role and ultimately finished with six sacks. Miller missed the first game of his redshirt senior season due to an injury that had lingered from training camp, and the Wagner game will provide his first opportunity to carry that form into a second season. In addition, Chattanooga transfer Leroy Harris III, a sophomore, started in Miller’s place and displayed the length and athleticism that had made him a training-camp standout, recording a sack of his own along the way; Friday’s matchup will provide the first look at Miller, Harris and Dakyus Brinkley as a pass-rush trio.

Inside the numbers

289: Last year’s passing-yards total of Wagner’s leading returning passer, Damien Mazil, who has since been converted to wide receiver.

31: Defensive tackle Blake Herold’s snap count from the Fresno State game; Herold didn’t start, but McDonald threw in a variety of fronts with three defensive tackles and two ends, allowing him to play alongside the likes of Tommy Dunn Jr. and D.J. Withers.

10: The number of different receivers who caught passes from Daniels in KU’s season-opening win.

Prediction

KU wins 56-10. Wagner has a few key returning pieces in the trenches and the defensive backfield, but KU has a vastly greater quality and quantity of athletes than the Seahawks do. If the Jayhawks let them hang around, as Florida Atlantic did last season, it will be an unsettling development for a team riding high after its solid start to the year.