Kansas head coach Lance Leipold is one of two Kansas coaches that have beaten Texas since the establishment of the Big 12 in 1994.

In his first season as Kansas head coach in 2021, Leipold’s Jayhawks shocked the college football world when they topped the Longhorns in overtime 57-56 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. While Texas wasn’t held in high regard by the AP Poll at the time after getting battered 30-7 by Iowa State a week prior, it still opened up as a 31-point favorite against Kansas, who only had one conference win at the time.

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During the game, Kansas showed poise in front of a rowdy crowd of 95,202. After jumping out to a 14-point lead in the first quarter, Texas quarterbacks Casey Thompson and Hudson Card threw touchdowns to Marcus Washington and Xavier Worthy, tying up the ballgame. However, Kansas shut down any offensive productivity before the half, scoring another two touchdowns before Jayhawk cornerback Jacobee Bryant picked off Card for the touchdown.

While Texas battled back to force the game into overtime, Kansas sealed its first road victory in 56 straight contests with a two-point conversion pass into man coverage.

“We made a decision earlier that if we score, we are going for two,” Leipold told The University Daily Kansan. “Our athletic director, Travis Goff, I sort of gave him a look saying, ‘Hey, we are going to go for this thing,’ and we did it.”

Despite the Jayhawks not winning any of their games after topping Texas, the win evoked faith in Leipold. Originally set to be paid $16.5 million over six years, his contract was extended into 2027 by Goff.

“This is a statement about our exceptional confidence in Lance, his outstanding staff and the unlimited potential of Kansas football,” Goff said in a statement. “I could not feel more strongly about the trajectory of this program under Lance’s leadership, as well as our shared commitment to elevate Kansas Football to unprecedented heights.”

This season, Leipold has indeed taken Kansas to unprecedented heights. After defeating then-No.18 Oklahoma State 37-16, the Jayhawks became bowl eligible for the first time since 2008. Sitting at 6-4, their losses came after starting quarterback Jalon Daniels exited the TCU game with a shoulder injury. 

Leipold said that winning against Texas was an early sign of Kansas’ eventual resurgence as a contender in the Big 12. The win was a confidence builder for the program and jumpstarted Leipold’s restructuring of the offense into a unique, three-set spread system that is tough to defend.

“I would like to think that was a starting point,” Leipold said. “It was a sign of things now.”

For this Saturday’s rematch, Leipold said that he doesn’t want to think about last season’s success against Texas, and instead prepare for the game.

“I’m sure (Texas is) going to answer enough questions in their conferences this week,” Leipold said. “(But) they’re going to be ready to come here and play extremely well. We have to be able to match that in our focus and preparation.”