Because sports is real, and there has to be a winner and a loser every time out — all due respect to the Packers and Cowboys, of course — the Kansas football team is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play heading into this week’s road game at UCF.
But there’s a world that exists — a small window within a world, perhaps — where KU is sitting at 5-0 and 2-0 right now, with a couple of fumbles and a near-interception that wasn’t brought down being the difference between those two realities.
While living in the 5-0 world certainly would be a lot more fun for fans and supporters of Kansas football, KU coach Lance Leipold made a key distinction during Monday’s press conference that’s worth highlighting.
And it shows, like it or hate it, just how small the difference actually is between the two worlds on the inside.
“If we would’ve won that (Cincinnati) game, and we get a stop, we would be talking about the same issues with our guys, except your questions might be slightly different because it would be a lot more positive about winning a football game probably,” Leipold told reporters on Monday. “But we still, win or lose, have these issues that get identified and have to be addressed.”
Put another way, if Trey Lathan catches that ball on the Bearcats’ final drive, KU would have won.
Yea, Jayhawks, right?
Sure. But the defense still would have given up nearly 600 yards of offense and 30 points. And that’s not something Leipold and his staff would’ve just brushed aside.
"Win or lose, (we still) have these issues that get identified and have to be addressed.”
— KU football coach Lance Leipold
These guys have jobs to do. The coaches and the players. And while the ultimate goal of every coach, player and staff member in the country is to do his or her part to help the team win, the coaching aspect is not irrelevant.
Even in the good times — perhaps especially in the good times — coaches are still coaching and searching for ways to make their players and teams better.
That’s probably a given in the eyes of many. But it also can get disregarded pretty quickly when you’re talking about a bottom-line business.
The popular “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” quote that was said by UCLA coach Red Sanders and is often incorrectly attributed to legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi seems to fit in nicely here.
And it applies accurately to both the KU fans and Leipold and his team.
When teams win, all is well in the eyes of most who sit in the stands and cheer them on. When teams lose, it’s we suck, fire everybody!
Maybe Lombardi’s actual take on the popular quote fits better.
See, in referencing Sanders’ words years later, Lombardi used the famous line but later had to clarify that what he meant to say was that the will to win is the only thing that’s important.
See how that fits here?
Leipold would love to be 4-1 and 2-0 right now. No doubt about it. But even if his team was, he would still need to find a way to coach up the KU defense to be better if he wanted the winning to continue.
It's the will to win and yearning to work and get better that matters most and leads to desired outcomes. Not the outcomes alone.
Winning can mask a lot of what ails a team, but it’s not always the best indicator of how good a team actually is.
Clearly, Leipold gets that. And I don’t think that should be taken lightly.
Remember, this is a fan base that, not too long ago, had to listen to its head football coach borderline brag about being first in the Big 12 in net punting despite owning a record of 1-4, six days removed from a 56-16 loss to Kansas State.
Leipold's Jayhawks might be struggling in one-score games. And they're both aware of it and working to fix it. But in the net-punting days, Kansas even playing one-score games seemed like a fantasy.
Let’s dive into that a little bit more, just to complete the thought.
In KU games under Leipold against Big 12 foes since 2023, the Jayhawks are 10-10.
In Big 12 Conference games from 2008 to 2020, which included the final two years of the Mark Mangino era and the entire time under head coaches Turner Gill, Charlie Weis, interim head coach Clint Bowen, David Beaty and Les Miles, the Jayhawks were 11-102.
I know the 9-win season in 2023 and the shiny new stadium and the uptick in recruiting success and the respectability and competitiveness the program displays most weeks has everyone hoping that Kansas football is past the point of comparing its current success to the dreadful days that came before it.
And, in many ways, that’s the case. But the greater reality is that this is still a program that’s building its future. And there are plenty of people, both in house and nationally, who believe that Leipold at the helm and the commitment from the KU administration, puts KU football on the path to reaching a level that’s never been seen here.
You don’t get there with smoke and mirrors or by putting Baby Jay in a tiara and tutu and calling her Miss Universe.
You get there by grinding and with an honest assessment of where you’re at. Of course Leipold would rather be 4-1 or 5-0 right now. But even if Kansas had that record, this team would still have issues to address and questions to answer.
All teams have them. The ones that really want to fix them are the ones that aren’t afraid to talk about them.
Win or lose, Leipold and his staff continue to be real with their words, facts over fantasy and the 1% better every day mantra on repeat. That approach should lead to even better days ahead.
Call it modern-day sawing wood.
“We’re gonna keep plugging along,” Leipold said Monday. “I appreciate our guys’ efforts and our staff is still diving in and grinding.
“There’s not gonna be a particular player, there’s not gonna be a particular coach. It starts with the head coach. You wish it could be magical, (but) we’ve gotta get back to great practice habits (and) a sense of urgency of doing our jobs. Again, there’s not a magic potion to this. We’ve gotta be able to have consistency Monday through Friday and be excited for kickoff on Saturday.”
Some Saturdays may still end with frustration and disappointment. But, for the most part, KU fans look forward to them and are optimistic about what each one will bring.
Isn’t that better than wishing for 6-day weeks and skipping from Friday to Sunday to protect your football heart?
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
