With the newly constructed east stands in place and the wheat-themed lighting surrounding the field, the Kansas Jayhawks opened the 2026 football season with a convincing 51-6 win over Long Island at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Playing in a reduced-capacity environment during all of its home games this season — 32,000 max, with 30,904 fans in attendance on Friday night — the Jayhawks gave the home fans plenty to cheer about in the easy victory.
Friday's game was the debut for redshirt sophomore Zeke Marshall as KU's starting quarterback and he performed quite well, completing 14 of 19 passes for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 49 additional yards on the ground.
Marshall looked poised, spread the ball around, made quick, clean decisions and played under control all night. He certainly will be tested in much bigger ways as the season rolls on, but it's hard to look at this as anything but an outstanding start.
While the Jayhawks (1-0) weren't always their sharpest, this one was never in doubt. Kansas jumped out to an early lead with a couple of scores late in the first quarter, and led 30-0 at halftime, having dominated the Sharks in just about every aspect of the game.
Kansas tacked on three more touchdowns in the second half and only surrendered points midway through the fourth quarter, when LIU trailed 44-0 and settled for a 39-yard field goal try instead of going for the first down. They added another field goal late in the game to set the final margin.
It did very little to dispel the dominance on the stat sheet, where KU out-gained LIU 613 to 146 in total yards.
In addition to the lopsided win, the Jayhawks benefited from getting a lot of bodies into the game, going four and five deep at some positions. While that not only got those guys valuable game reps, it also helped keep their first and second-string guys fresh.
For instance, prized offseason acquisition Dylan Edwards logged just 6 carries all night, gaining 32 yards there and 34 more yards on 4 receptions. Fellow-transfer running back Yasin Willis carried 11 times for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
KU will take the feel-good win into Week 2 and will get a much tougher test the next time out. That's when Border War rival Missouri comes to town next Friday night for a second consecutive clash in the bitter longtime rivalry. Missouri won last year's matchup in Columbia, 42-31. It was the first game between the rivals in 14 years.
Kickoff for the rematch is set for 7 p.m. on FOX.
Here's a look back and some of Friday night's action from the opener.
LIKES
• Zeke down the field – There was a lot to like about Marshall's debut as KU's starting quarterback. But his ability to both take shots down the field and connect on them was as good as anything he did. Marshall uncorked a couple of deep throws that were worth watching again. Some hit receivers in stride. Others were thrown into tight windows. And still a couple others were balls that he simply threw up and allowed his receivers to go make a play, which, more times than not, they did. One of the questions about Marshall all offseason was whether he could be good enough as a passer to inspire Kansas to take advantage of what he offers as a runner. It was an overmatched Long Island team and KU will certainly see tougher talent, more advanced schemes and better defenses, but this first outing should give him a boatload of confidence to take into whatever comes next.
• McMillan's mastery – It seemed to be a safe bet that people knew there was talent at the wide receiver position for this Kansas football team. And, yeah, Nik McMillan's name was at or near the top of that list most of the time it was discussed. Still, I'm not sure anyone knew he would make this big of a splash right away. Long before his 19-yard touchdown catch that put KU up 30-0 late in the first half, McMillan already had put his stamp all over this game. Clutch catches. Yards after the catch. And a reliable option for Marshall to find whenever he needed one. McMillan did it all and then some in this one, showing that he has the ability to be a big time option in the KU passing game. One of his best moments — the TD catch was mostly a great throw by Marshall — came early in the game, with the KU offense slow to get going. On 3rd-and-18, with the game still tied at 0, he took a quick pass to the left and turned it up the field for a gain of 19 yards, tip-toeing along the sideline to reach the first down marker. The defenses he faces will get much tougher, but he'll now take extreme confidence into his matchups with them.
• Defense dominates – Not only did the Jayhawks hold Long Island to 146 yards and just 6 points, but they also did something that they hadn't done a whole lot of during the past couple of seasons — they took the ball away from their opponent. Literally in this case. With LIU driving in the second half for what looked like it might turn into points, KU defensive end David Santiago simply ripped the ball out of the hands of an LIU ball carrier and advanced it to the 33-yard line, where KU took possession. The takeaway was significant given the fact that the Jayhawks managed just 10 takeaways all of last season. It also was the perfect play to sum up the lopsided nature of this matchup.
• Gary Woodland ovation & other special guests – Season openers tend to draw good crowds, not just in terms of capacity — the announced attendance on Friday night was 30,904 — but also in terms of star power. During an early break in the action, KU golf legend Gary Woodland, who had one of the best years of his professional career and has been one of the best feel-good stories of the PGA Tour in recent years because of his battle back from brain surgery and fight to overcome PTSD, was introduced to the KU crowd while standing and waving on the field near the north end zone, smiling all the while. Later in the first half, former KU greats Jalon Daniels, Devin Neal, Luke Grimm and Quentin Skinner also were introduced on the field, with highlights of their time at KU playing on the video board before the waves and smiles.
DISLIKES
• Slow start – It was a bit of a bumpy first quarter, with KU giving the ball away on a failed fourth down on its first drive and not cracking the scoreboard until 5:59 remained in the first quarter. Even after that, the Jayhawks had to settle for a field goal a couple of drives later and there were some execution issues and a few plays that didn't run as planned. KU eventually found its rhythm and the slow start was mostly forgotten. Because they did, it seemed fair to chalk the first quarter up to knocking off some rust and easing back into the flow of the game and a new season.
• No Pickett – Wide receiver Cam Pickett, who missed the end of preseason camp and did not practice early in the week this week, was held out with an injury on Friday night. Pickett was not dressed in uniform for Friday's game, but he also was not really needed. He will be next week against Missouri, so it'll be interesting to see how he progresses in the next five or six days before that one.
• Bam Crouch injury – Starting linebacker Bam Crouch, who had a great camp and was expected to be a big part of KU's defense this season, was injured and partially helped off the field after making a tackle and hitting the ground on the fourth defensive play of the game. He initially went to the tent on the sideline and did not return to the game. His status moving forward was unknown at the time the game went final. New Mexico State transfer Quincy Davis filled in for Crouch when the starters were out there and finished with a team-best five tackles on a night when most players didn't even play half of the snaps they normally would in a closer contest.
WHAT THE?
• Here we go again? – Late in the second half of Friday's game, KU defensive back Khijohn Cummings-Coleman, a transfer from Iowa State, was called for targeting after a review of a big hit that drew oohs and ahhs from the fans in the stands and his teammates on the field. Initially, nothing was called. But the officials were buzzed and the play was reviewed. At that point, officials called it a personal foul for targeting and ejected Cummings-Coleman for the remainder of the game. Last year, that would've meant he would miss the first half of his team's next game, but that rule was changed in the offseason and first-time-offenders are no longer dinged for the next game. Still, this call was awfully reminiscent of the times last year when several Jayhawks were called for targeting over multiple weeks. KU coach Land Leipold was visibly frustrated and made his case to the officials on the sidelines, probably as much for the deja vu nature of it as this specific penalty.
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