Wednesday Walkthrough: Houston Week

The Kansas Jayhawks continue to turn heads around the college football world as we enter Week 3 of the season. Thanks to a thrilling victory over West Virginia last week, KU was named one of the teams of the week by ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, while The Athletic bumped the Jayhawks up to No. 65 in their ranking of all 131 FBS programs.

Another major test awaits Kansas this weekend, as coach Lance Leipold's group will travel down to Texas to face old foe Dana Holgorsen and the Houston Cougars. It hasn't been an easy start to the season for Houston, but it still presents a challenge to the fledgling Jayhawks. If KU passes the test, however, its already rising expectations may truly know no bounds.

LISTENING IN ON LANCE

"I'm focused on this football team and getting ready for Houston, but I appreciate you asking."

Leipold was tied to the now-open job at Nebraska immediately after Scott Frost was fired this past weekend, both from well-sourced reporters like The Athletic's Bruce Feldman and from overzealous Twitter users alike. He was quick to shut down the topic, but whether his answer and headshake were enough to dispel the rumors and drama is in the eye of the beholder.

"You know you're going to be in a four-quarter, could be four quarter plus, obviously, game with them. They're highly dynamic ... heading into the season they're a team people talked about as this year's version of Cincinnati, being a team in the College Football Playoff."

After Houston's Holgorsen was highly complimentary of Kansas this week, including saying “This ain’t the Kansas of old” and comparing preparation for the Jayhawks to preparations for the Navy Midshipmen, Leipold returned the favor on Tuesday. The original question and first part of Leipold's reply pertained to the dramatic nature of Houston's first two games this year, a triple-overtime win over UTSA and a double-overtime loss to Texas Tech. For what it's worth, including the win over WVU, KU has won its last three overtime games (dating back to 2016).

"There's a little bit different energy in the building, there's different energy outside within the community, hopefully in our fanbase, and that's going to be critically important as we're focused on this one, but then you come home for three in a row; we got to be able to take advantage of that, and hopefully our fans are going to be excited."

KU is in relatively unfamiliar territory, having won its first two games of the season for the first time since 2011. Leipold emphasized that a hot start can help develop confidence for players and for coaches alike. He added that he takes responsibility both for building on this current positive momentum and for keeping the Jayhawks focused on what's ahead.

"I don't know if they're going to get the same publicity or all the other things that other people in this conference may get, but you can see guys that are making plays."

Jalon Daniels and the KU running backs have gotten plenty of publicity both going into the year and now through two games as the offense has taken off, but the wide receivers room has quietly put together some solid moments. Luke Grimm, Quentin Skinner and Lawrence Arnold, among others, even received specific shout outs.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

When: Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. CT

Where: TDECU Stadium, Houston, Texas

Spread: Houston -10.5

The Cougars have been sliding ever since the season kicked off. After starting the year ranked 24th in the AP Poll, Houston dipped one spot to 25th following the aforementioned win over UTSA, then fell completely out of the poll and didn't even receive a vote this week following the Texas Tech loss.

UH was picked first in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, narrowly edging out Cincinnati. Offense hasn't been an issue for the Cougars, who have averaged 33.5 points per game, but they have been half a point per game worse defensively. Bill Connelly's SP+ metric currently has Houston as the 38th-best offense in the nation and the 58th-best defense.

The Houston offense is led by senior quarterback Clayton Tune, a one-time KU commit. In fact, he was in the same 2018 class that also briefly included Ja'Marr Chase. Tune has thrown for 472 yards, four touchdowns and one interception though two games, and he tallied 51 rushing yards against UTSA.

It should also be remembered that Houston will join the Big 12 next year alongside fellow AAC league mates Cincinnati and UCF, plus BYU.

JAYHAWK TO WATCH

The easiest pick this week is Jalon Daniels to see if he can replicate his sensational performance in the air and on the ground from the West Virginia game.

But Devin Neal is on a remarkable pace in his own right to start the season. He's touched the ball just 16 times across two games and has already racked up five total touchdowns. KU is facing a defense that's susceptible to allowing a lot of points and a lot of yards, which could spell big things for the Jayhawks' top running back.

Daniel Hishaw has looked good and Sevion Morrison has had his moments over the last two weeks, and Ky Thomas hasn't even gotten going yet, but Neal has been the skill-position star for KU. If he keeps up that pace, expect another productive weekend for the Kansas offense.