The 2019 Kansas Jayhawks football team, representing the University of Kansas for the 130th season, was led by first-year head coach Les Miles. Members of the Big 12 Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the Jayhawks played their home games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Their season was chronicled by ESPN+ in the docuseries Miles to Go: Les Miles and Kansas Football.
The Jayhawks attempted to end two major losing streaks, but instead extended the streaks. They extended their consecutive losses on the road to Big 12 teams to 45 games. They also extended their streak of consecutive games lost to teams ranked in the AP poll to 38. With a 48–24 win over Boston College, KU ended a 48-game road losing streak against power five conference teams. With the Jayhawks seventh loss of the season to Oklahoma State, they became ineligible for a bowl game for the eleventh consecutive season, the last time they were eligible was the 2008 season. They finished the season 3–9, 1–8 in Big 12 play to finish in last place.
On July 8, 2019, Kansas announced that 1st team All-Big 12 running back Pooka Williams Jr. would be suspended for the first game of the season against Indiana State as discipline for his arrest for domestic battery in December 2018.
On October 6, 2019, Miles fired offensive coordinator Les Koenning. Senior offensive analyst Brent Dearmon was promoted to replace him. Additionally, Dearmon was named quarterbacks coach.
Preseason
Big 12 media poll The 2019 Big 12 media days were held July 15–16, 2019 in Frisco, Texas. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, Kansas was predicted to finish in last in the standings.
Schedule
Game summaries No. 16 (FCS) Indiana State
Statistics INSTKU First downs 20 20 Total yards 365 344 Rushing yards 146 103 Passing yards 219 241 Turnovers 2 3 Time of possession 31:25 28:35 Team Category Player Statistics Indiana State Passing Ryan Boyle 22/34, 219 yards, TD, 2 INT Rushing Titus McCoy 14 rushes, 88 yards Receiving Dante Jones II 4 receptions, 79 yards, TD Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 20/29, 241 yards, 2 TD Rushing Khalil Herbert 17 rushes, 88 yards Receiving Andrew Parchment 8 receptions, 121 yards
Coastal Carolina
Statistics CCUKU First downs 20 17 Total yards 291 280 Rushing yards 172 173 Passing yards 119 107 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 34:26 25:34 Team Category Player Statistics Coastal Carolina Passing Fred Payton 6/9, 98 yards, TD Rushing C. J. Marable 24 rushes, 148 yards, TD Receiving Isaiah Likely 2 receptions, 46 yards Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 13/19, 107 yards, 2 INT Rushing Pooka Williams Jr. 22 rushes, 99 yards Receiving Stephon Robinson Jr. 4 receptions, 45 yards
At Boston College
Statistics KUBC First downs 23 26 Total yards 567 447 Rushing yards 329 228 Passing yards 238 219 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 31:53 28:07 Team Category Player Statistics Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 20/27, 238 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Khalil Herbert 11 rushes, 187 yards, TD Receiving Andrew Parchment 8 receptions, 100 yards, 2 TD Boston College Passing Anthony Brown 18/36, 195 yards, TD Rushing A. J. Dillon 27 rushes, 151 yards, TD Receiving Hunter Long 2 receptions, 48 yards
The Kansas Jayhawks came into the game as a three touchdown underdog, but performances by quarterback Carter Stanley (238 yards passing) and running back Pooka Williams (121 yards rushing) combined with other efforts to give the Jayhawks their first road win against a "power 5" team in almost 11 years.
Boston College scored first and had the lead 10-0 until the Jayhawks scored on six straight possessions. Kansas took the lead 28–24 at the half thanks to an 82-yard run with 40 seconds remaining before the break to set up a 3-yard score just two plays later. Kansas continued to score in the second half but Boston College could not match the effort. The final score was Kansas 48, Boston College 24.
West Virginia
Statistics WVUKU First downs 25 20 Total yards 394 417 Rushing yards 192 142 Passing yards 202 275 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 37:41 22:19 Team Category Player Statistics West Virginia Passing Austin Kendall 25/37, 202 yards Rushing Kennedy McKoy 20 rushes, 73 yards, TD Receiving T. J. Simmons 4 receptions, 46 yards Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 19/25, 275 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Pooka Williams Jr. 15 rushes, 76 yards Receiving Andrew Parchment 5 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TD
Kansas started conference play having just rolled off a win against Boston College, but West Virginia was expected to take advantage of observing the Jayhawks offensive performance the prior week.
When the game rolled around, the Jayhawk offense made two specific mistakes that impacted the game: A lost fumble and a fourth quarter interception. On the positive side, KU averaged 7.4 yards per play. It also appeared that KU kicker Liam Jones faked an injury after a field goal to make way for Jacob Borcila to "replace" him at the next kickoff to execute an onside kick—which they recovered but then lost due to a penalty. West Virginia won the game 29–24.
At TCU
Statistics KUTCU First downs 8 29 Total yards 159 625 Rushing yards 75 319 Passing yards 84 306 Turnovers 0 0 Time of possession 20:25 39:35 Team Category Player Statistics Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 12/29, 84 yards, TD Rushing Velton Gardner 4 rushes, 61 yards, TD Receiving Pooka Williams Jr. 3 receptions, 33 yards, TD TCU Passing Alex Delton 10/15, 186 yards Rushing Darius Anderson 18 rushes, 115 yards, TD Receiving Derius Davis 2 receptions, 85 yards
Texas Christian scored 21 points in the first quarter against Kansas and led 38–0 at halftime, with Max Duggan making his second consecutive start at quarterback. However, Alex Delton still was on record as a team captain and he saw play time in the second half. Headed into the fourth quarter with no score, Kansas had only managed 55 yards on 34 plays. Quarterback Carter Stanley finished 12–29 in passing with 84 yards, but the Jayhawks managed to score in the fourth quarter to avoid being shut out. The game ended with TCU scoring 51 to the Jayhawks 14.
No. 6 Oklahoma
Statistics OUKU First downs 29 18 Total yards 545 360 Rushing yards 268 130 Passing yards 277 230 Turnovers 1 0 Time of possession 29:31 30:29 Team Category Player Statistics Oklahoma Passing Jalen Hurts 16/24, 228 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Rhamondre Stevenson 5 rushes, 109 yards, TD Receiving Brayden Willis 2 receptions, 38 yards Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 18/28, 230 yards, 3 TD Rushing Pooka Williams Jr. 23 rushes, 137 yards Receiving Stephon Robinson Jr. 5 receptions, 131 yards, 2 TD
Oklahoma traveled to Lawrence for what resulted in an "easy victory" for the Sooners, but Kansas "outplayed" the sooners for the bulk of the first quarter. Kansas even scored first with a touchdown after forcing Oklahoma to punt. Kansas then gained 98 yards for their touchdown and led 7–0 in the first quarter. Oklahoma then took control and led 21–7 at halftime.
Oklahoma managed 29 first downs and converted 6 of 9 times on third down, with 545 total yards of offense. Oklahoma also threw an interception for the only turnover of the game. Kansas only managed 18 first downs with 6–14 on third down. They also attempted 2 fourth-down conversions but both were unsuccessful, with a total of 360 yards of offense. Kansas did manage a little more clock time of offense with 30:29 time of possession compared to Oklahoma's 29:31. The final score was Oklahoma 45, Kansas 20.
Oklahoma completed their 22nd straight true road win, which was the second longest streak since at least World War II in major college football when Coach Bud Wilkinson led the sooners to 25 wins from 1953 to 1958.
At No. 15 Texas
Statistics KUTEX First downs 27 33 Total yards 569 638 Rushing yards 259 239 Passing yards 310 399 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 31:31 28:29 Team Category Player Statistics Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 27/47, 310 yards, 4 TD Rushing Pooka Williams Jr. 25 rushes, 190 yards, 2 TD Receiving Andrew Parchment 3 receptions, 83 yards, TD Texas Passing Sam Ehlinger 31/44, 399 yards, 4 TD, INT Rushing Keaontay Ingram 14 rushes, 101 yards, TD Receiving Devin Duvernay 8 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TD
The underdog Kansas Jayhawks stayed with the #15 Texas Longhorns for four quarters of play. In the last minutes, Carter Stanley was successful with a 22-yard scoring pass to Stephon Robinson. The following 2-point conversion throw to Daylon Charlot put the Jayhawks ahead by one point. With 1:11 left to play when Texas took over and put together an offensive drive that ended with a game-winning field goal for the Longhorns.
Even with the loss, several of the Kansas players gave great performances: Pooka Williams rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns; quarterback Carter Stanley threw 310 yards and four touchdowns for the Jayhawks. For the Longhorns, Sam Ehlinger rushed for 91 yards and managed 399 yards passing with four touchdowns. When everything was complete, Texas won by a score of 50–48.
Texas Tech
Statistics TTUKU First downs 28 22 Total yards 483 527 Rushing yards 212 112 Passing yards 271 415 Turnovers 1 1 Time of possession 32:28 27:32 Team Category Player Statistics Texas Tech Passing Jett Duffey 23/34, 271 yards, 3 TD Rushing SaRodorick Thompson 20 rushes, 80 yards, TD Receiving Dalton Rigdon 7 receptions, 76 yards, TD Kansas Passing Carter Stanley 26/37, 415 yards, 3 TD, INT Rushing Pooka Williams Jr. 21 rushes, 69 yards Receiving Stephon Robinson Jr. 6 receptions, 186 yards, 2 TD
Texas Tech controlled the game early, racing to a 17–0 lead in the second quarter before Kansas quarterback Carter Stanley scored 2 touchdowns, 1 rushing and 1 passing, in the final 5 minutes of the half to go into halftime down 17–14. Texas Tech would similarly dominate the early part of the second half, scoring 10 unanswered points, before being answered with two long touchdown passes by Stanley to tie the game at 27. After each team scored another touchdown, Kansas would force a Texas Tech punt and then drove to the Texas Tech 22 with 13 seconds left. With the score tied 34 each, Texas Tech blocked a field goal attempt—but when Douglas Coleman of Texas Tech fumbled during an attempt to return the field goal it gave the Jayhawks a second chance with better field position. Texas Tech successfully blocked the first 40-yard field goal attempt and Coleman caught the ball, who then tried to lateral the ball to another teammate. However, the lateral went in the direction where no Red Raider player was and Kansas recovered the ball. Kicker Liam Jones then got another chance to win the game and was successful. The final score was Texas Tech 34, Kansas 37.
The Kansas offense scored on four of its last five possessions to overcome a 17-point deficit. The win was the first Big 12 Conference victory for Les Miles while as the coach at Kansas, and the first Homecoming victory for Kansas since October 10, 2009. Jones won Big 12 Special Teams player of the week honors thanks to his game-winning kick, while Stanley's 415 yard, 4 touchdown performance made him the Big 12 Offensive player of the week.
Texas Tech's coach Matt Wells praised Jayhawk coach Les Miles after the game: "I think Coach Miles brings credibility to that program. I mean, the job that he obviously did at Oklahoma State and did at LSU speaks for itself. He's had success everywhere he's been. And those kids played hard on Saturday. They really did. They went out and, man, they did. They emptied the tank and had every right to win and deserved to win."
No. 22 Kansas State
Statistics KSUKU First downs 23 12 Total yards 471 241 Rushing yards 342 61 Passing yards 129 180 Turnovers 0 2 Time of possession 38:03 21:57