Notes & Numbers: KU-Kansas State

Manhattan — Throughout each season, there are interesting notes and nuggets of information that come out of every game, win or lose.

Here’s a quick look at some of the more interesting and noteworthy facts and stats from KU's 35-24 road loss at Kansas State on Saturday, which handed the Jayhawks their 18th consecutive loss to the Wildcats in the Sunflower Showdown series.

Series History: Kansas leads the all-time series, 65-54-5

Kansas Captains: Cole Ballard, Calvin Clements, Blake Herold, Trey Lathan III, Rino Monteforte.

Coin Toss: Kansas called tails, Kansas State won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.

Team Notes

• Kansas falls to 618-697-58 all-time, including 30-39 under head coach Lance Leipold. Leipold’s career record goes to 175-77 overall.

• Kansas’ series lead over Kansas State falls to 65-54-5, while Kansas State holds a 30-28-3 advantage in games played in Manhattan.

Offensive Notes

• Kansas running back Dylan Edwards and offensive tackle Calvin Clements started their 20th career game on Saturday. Edwards started nine games while at Kansas State from 2024-25 before starting five games this season at KU.

• Edwards, a junior from Derby, carried the ball 16 times for 57 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, while hauling in two receptions for 28 yards. Edwards now has four rushing touchdowns this season and 12 over his career.

• Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Marshall completed 12-of-26 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a career-high 117 yards on 14 carries. Marshall recorded his second career 100-yard rushing performance, both coming in the past three games.

• Redshirt senior Nik McMillan had a team-high five catches for 55 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The touchdown was McMillan’s fourth of the season and ninth of his career.

• Redshirt senior tight end Leyton Cure had a career-high two catches for 44 yards on Saturday. His previous high of 32 yards came against Oklahoma State in 2025.

Defensive Notes

• Kansas linebacker Trey Lathan started his 40th career game on Saturday, which is a team high. Lathan has now started 31 consecutive games dating back to the 2023 season while at West Virginia. Lathan, KU’s leading tackler this season, finished with 8 stops (4 solo, 4 assists) against Kansas State.

• In the first quarter, defensive end Dak Brinkley forced a fumble, the first of his career, which was recovered by redshirt junior David Santiago, his third fumble recovery of the season and fourth of his career.

• Redshirt freshman linebacker Malachi Curvey recorded his first solo tackle-for-loss on Saturday, marking a loss of five yards. Curvey now has 1.5 career tackles-for-loss. He finished the game with two tackles.

• Redshirt junior defensive tackle Marcus Calvin recorded his first sack of the season and second of his career on a three-yard sack in the second quarter.

• Senior linebacker Bam Crouch finished with a season-high 8 tackles (4 solo, 4 assist) for the second straight game. He also had one tackle-for-loss against KSU.

• Senior safety Corey Gordon totaled 7 tackles (5 solo, 2 assist) in the contest. He has now made seven or more tackles in three games this season.

Special Teams Notes

• Redshirt freshman wide receiver Bryson Hayes scored his first career touchdown as he returned Kansas State’s first kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, marking the first kickoff return for a touchdown by the Jayhawks since Emmanuel Henderson Jr. had a 94-yard return for a score in 2025 vs. West Virginia. Hayes’ return is KU’s longest kickoff return for a touchdown since Kenny Logan Jr. had a 100-yard return vs. Iowa State in 2020 and the Jayhawks’ longest ever kickoff return against Kansas State.

• Redshirt sophomore kicker Martin Connington connected on a 31-yard field goal in the first quarter and is now 6-of-8 on field goals this season and 20-of-24 over his career.