Kansas prepping for undefeated showdown with Duke

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) - Kansas football is attracting national attention in a good way.

The Jayhawks, 3-0 for the first time since 2009, will host undefeated Duke on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a game the athletic department announced Thursday will be a sell-out.

“This is a special place,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said Wednesday, “and it has been starving for good football. I’m fired up for what Saturday is going to be like and it sounds like our crowd is going to be pretty good.”

Second-year head coach Lance Leipold’s group is averaging 53 points per game, a mark that ranks third among Division 1 programs. The 159 total points scored through three weeks is tied for the most over that span in KU history -- with the 2007 Orange Bowl winning team.

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Defensive coordinator Brian Borland said the coaching staff is trying to avoid allowing complacency. The Jayhawks lost to Duke in Durham during the 2021 season.

“Human nature is to take your foot off the gas when things are going our way and relax and feel like you have it,” said Borland. “You’ve really got to guard against that.”

Safety Kenny Logan, who had an interception during Kansas’ 48-30 win over Houston, said the team remains focused.

“It’s been fun but we never try to get too high or get too low,” Logan said. “We just have to focus on the little things that got us here.”

Following the win over the Cougars, quarterback Jalon Daniels was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week.

“We know what we started from,” said Daniels. “We know what we’ve been building this whole entire off-season and the amount of work and preparation we’ve put in. We’re just happy that it’s finally being able to show out there.”

Borland said Wednesday he has to remind the players of the loss they took to the Blue Devils last year. Many of the same players from that Duke team are on this year’s roster as well.

“I don’t know that we have any reason or cause to be overconfident.”

Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. on Fox Sports 1. The Jayhawks are 7.5-point favorites.

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