photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

The Kansas offensive line goes through a drill during KU Football's practice on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Lawrence.

Long Island University didn’t exactly start the 2026 season, its eighth overall as a Division I program since its two campuses merged their athletic departments into one, in good form.

The Sharks, who play at the FCS level, went behind 42-0 by halftime against North Dakota in their Week 0 opener.

But the Fighting Hawks have done that sort of thing to a fair number of teams over the years. What really stood out to Kansas coach Lance Leipold in watching LIU was that “even though the score got lopsided, how well their coaches kept coaching their guys and you didn’t see frustrated kids. They kept playing hard.”

The final score was 42-21. As the Jayhawks now prepare to kick off their own season at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m., they’ll have to maintain their concentration against a little-known program that, while a colossal underdog, did beat FBS Eastern Michigan early in 2025.

“Our focus needs to make sure we respect all,” Leipold said. “Our focus needs to be that we’re ready to play and play our best football right out of the gate.”

A lot has changed for KU in the offseason after the Jayhawks finished 2025 with an underwhelming 5-7 record. Andy Kotelnicki, architect of KU’s excellent offenses in 2022 and 2023, returned from Penn State to serve as associate head coach and offensive play caller; Jim Zebrowski moved to passing game coordinator. Joe Dineen earned a promotion to defensive ends coach as Taiwo Onatolu shifted his focus to special teams.

On the field, KU brought in dozens of transfers to replenish its roster with a bit of an overhaul for the second straight offseason, leading to the acquisitions of playmakers like running backs Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis and wide receiver Nik McMillan. On defense, the Jayhawks strengthened their secondary with players like cornerbacks Elijah Cannon (Mississippi State) and Roman Pearson (Ball State) and safeties Khijohnn Cummings-Coleman (Iowa State), Corey Gordon (Louisville) and Jaden Harris (Georgia).

Maybe the most notable change of all was at quarterback, where promising former three-star recruit Isaiah Marshall beat out incumbent backup Cole Ballard in the race to replace Jalon Daniels.

Various members of the KU coaching staff have reiterated throughout the offseason that the Jayhawks have gotten deeper (for example, at linebacker, where Quincy Davis and Jibreel Al-Amin will back up Trey Lathan and Bam Crouch) and generally bigger (in the trenches in particular).

Now it’s time for the Jayhawks to start proving on the field that they can surprise the Big 12 in a year when not all that much is expected of them on a national level.

Kotelnicki was asked on Monday if he likes the offense right now.

“I love it, I ‘Gotta Have It,’ like it’s Cold Stone, right?” he said. “That’s the biggest flavor, ‘Gotta Have It.’ That’s where I’m at.”

Tasked with limiting that offense will be the Sharks, who were a top-10 scoring defense in FCS in 2025, although their performance against North Dakota does not inspire much confidence in that realm. Rafael Fasolino, a sixth-year linebacker who was preseason all-conference, led LIU with 10 tackles in the loss and intercepted a pass. Defensive back Trey Watkins is a turnover machine, but doesn’t appear to have played in the opener.

“On defense, they move a lot, they show a lot of different things, so I think eyes have to be perfect for the offense,” left tackle Calvin Clements said.

On offense, LIU used three quarterbacks last year. Now it has a new offensive coordinator, “so they’re probably getting a feel for what they’re really about,” Leipold said.

Ethan Greenwood, who also earned a preseason all-league selection, went just 3-for-9 with an interception against UND, while Luca Stanzani replaced him in the second half and was much more effective (12-for-16, 173 yards, one touchdown to Boakai Veikei). Nathan Gray, a true freshman running back, carried the ball eight times for 30 yards.

KU is far removed from its days of close calls against FCS foes, but it’ll need to take care of business against the Sharks just as it did against fellow NEC squad Wagner last season.

“Across the board, I think we’ve got great depth, and I think we got really good playmakers on offense and defense,” defensive tackle Blake Herold said, “so I’m ready to see what we can do in a real game.”

KANSAS JAYHAWKS (0-0) VS. LONG ISLAND SHARKS (0-1)

• David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 7 p.m.

• Broadcast: ESPNU

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

• Betting line: KU -41.5; over/under 54.5

• Series history: None

KEEP AN EYE OUT

1. Vanguard: When KU comes out for the opening coin toss, it will be represented by five team captains: Ballard, Clements, Herold, linebacker Trey Lathan and long snapper Rino Monteforte. All five are new selections, and Monteforte, whom Leipold has called “the most vocal, best leader from the long-snapping position that I’ve ever come across in all the years I’ve been involved in college football,” is a transfer from Cal. Leipold said the five players selected “clearly separated themselves” in a vote among players on the roster. Herold called it an honor to captain a historic program: “I know I’m not from Kansas, but being able to be in this program and kind of follow in the footsteps of everyone before me is a big deal,” he added.

2. Lingering concern: Last season, Cam Pickett scored the first touchdown in the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. He caught another by halftime of his first game as a Jayhawk but then got injured and saw limited action for a chunk of the season as a result. This year, KU may not have Pickett at all in its opener. He has been dealing with an unspecified injury since the late stages of fall camp, and Leipold said he did not practice on Monday. (Availability reports are only issued for Big 12 games.) Sophomore Tate Nagy is listed as Pickett’s direct backup in the slot on KU’s depth chart, but Kotelnicki suggested that if the Jayhawks are without Pickett, the next man up for schematic purposes could be an extra running back or tight end.

3. New routine: This will be more of a storyline to watch throughout the season, but following its somewhat different fall camp schedule, KU is changing its weekly practice schedule. Where the Jayhawks used to take the day off after a game and return the next morning, they will now practice prior to an off day. In a typical game week, they will also hold a walkthrough-style practice on Thursday and a more fast-paced one on Friday, following a model that Leipold credited to former Oregon coach Chip Kelly (and one that Kotelnicki experienced at Penn State and assistant wide receivers coach Kelton Copeland at Iowa). Leipold said he hopes this routine will allow KU to be a fresher and healthier team.

SPOTLIGHT ON…

Isaiah Marshall: Who else but the new starting quarterback? The redshirt sophomore has thrown three career passes and will now make his first-ever start under the lights at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. It may not be the biggest possible stage by college football standards, nor will Marshall need to run the most elaborate or dynamic form of Kotelnicki’s offense in order to have success against Long Island. But it’ll be a brand-new experience for the young quarterback all the same and an opportunity for him to make an early statement of intent, giving the Missouri defense something to think about ahead of the Border War.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

657: As of Friday, the number of days since a KU cornerback intercepted a pass.

116: Years since a KU head coach, A.R. Kennedy, compiled a 6-0 record in season openers — a feat Leipold can match with a win on Friday.

32: Total number of transfers on KU’s roster, many of whom will debut against Long Island.

PREDICTION

KU wins 42-3. The Jayhawks are going to run the ball quite a lot this season. That’ll reduce the overall number of possessions on both sides and prevent this score from getting too dramatic. But this team is absolutely talented enough to assure that the outcome is never in doubt, and that its reserves get plenty of action in the second half.