3 lingering questions following Kansas football’s road loss against Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — Kansas football’s first road trip of the 2024 season did not end well.

The Jayhawks (1-1) lost 23-17 at Illinois on Saturday, and later dropped out of the top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll after the defeat. Redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels threw three interceptions, and on the final play of the game wasn’t able to get a final pass off because the Fighting Illini (2-0) forced and recovered a fumble. An opportunity to garner more momentum ahead of Big 12 Conference play was squandered.

But moving forward, what are some lingering questions that remain after the loss? What about how the defense performed, and how the offense can regain its footing? What does the defeat mean for Kansas moving forward?

After loss, Kansas football coach Lance Leipold says it’s time ‘to see what we’re made of’

Here are three things that should be considered, ahead of the Jayhawks’ game this upcoming Friday against UNLV (2-0) at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas:

Although Kansas football struggled offensively, what stood out about its defense?

Kansas didn’t lose this game because of how it played on defense, even if Illinois proved capable of making enough plays late during the fourth quarter. Although Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold said postgame he’d probably need a couple days to fully grasp what stood out on that side of the ball, he outlined he thought they played the run well. Leipold also thought holding a team under 300 yards of total offense in this era of the sport is decent, too, which is fair.

Kansas does have to do a better job at getting off the field in pivotal situations, an area it fell short in against Illinois, and redshirt senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler highlighted that reality. But on the road against a Big Ten Conference opponent, the Jayhawks also forced a turnover, collected two sacks and tallied nine tackles for loss. Wheeler praised how well redshirt senior safety Marvin Grant played, and Leipold mentioned Grant among others, too.

What can the offense do to rebound from this defeat?

Leipold didn’t want to totally discount what Kansas’ offense was able to do postgame. He mentioned how the Jayhawks gained more yards of total offense compared to Illinois — 327 against 271. He highlighted senior running back Devin Neal rushing for 101 yards on 14 attempts and redshirt junior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. adding 39 yards on seven attempts, as Kansas finished with 186 yards on the ground on 33 carries overall.

But there’s no escaping the four turnovers, and Daniels certainly not having a quality night throwing the ball overall. As Neal mentioned postgame, at its peak the Jayhawks’ offense looked really good and at its lowest it looked really bad. There’s a need to be more consistent and balanced, and on top of that Kansas can’t lose the aggressiveness that’s helped make it so successful that it seemed to avoid at times against the Fighting Illini.

How significant is this loss against Illinois?

Looking at how things appeared ahead of the start of the season, and the varying trajectories both programs were on, this is a loss for Kansas that should sting for some time. The Jayhawks didn’t meet the moment in the same way Illinois did. Because of what the Fighting Illini were able to accomplish, there seems to be an even heightened level of attention on what Leipold and his program are going to be able to do in the weeks ahead.

However, this was a non-conference game. Competing for a Big 12 championship, and therefore a spot in the College Football Playoff, is still an attainable goal for Kansas. As long as the Jayhawks handle this learning moment well, and respond appropriately, they can still enjoy a special season in 2024.

Jordan Guskey covers the University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: 3 lingering questions after Kansas football’s road loss at Illinois