View From the Press Box: #22 Kansas Wallops Lindenwood in Season Opener

The start of the most anticipated Kansas football season in years was a smooth one for the 22nd-ranked Jayhawks, who manhandled Lindenwood 48-3 in front of an announced crowd of 20,829 at Children’s Mercy Park on Thursday night. 580 Sports Talk’s Dan Lucero was in attendance and has these observations from the KU win:

1. Jalon Daniels shook the rust off. Back for the first time after missing the final eight games of the 2023 season with a back injury, the Jayhawk signal-caller missed a couple of deep throws early and had a miscommuniation on a route that led to an interception. But he also hit on a couple of sharp timing routes, and delivered a deep ball to Luke Grimm for a 58-yard touchdown that was the third of three TDs for KU in a 3:04 stretch of the second quarter. All told, Daniels was 9-of-15 for 148 yards with the TD and the interception. He looked crisp moving about the pocket, and most importantly, when he took a big hit after delivering a throw, he popped right back up. Positive early returns for the most important player on the KU roster.
2. The most hyped defensive players from camp showed out. KU coach Lance Leipold was effusive in his praise of defensive end Dean Miller and linebacker Cornell Wheeler, with the latter earning a captaincy. Both Miller and Wheeler made an impact for the Jayhawk defense, with Miller recording a fourth-down sack and Wheeler tallying five tackles and two pass breakups. It was great to see that there was substance to the fall camp sizzle for both players.
3. Luke Grimm rules. You’re aware, if you listen to 580 Sports Talk, that it is a very pro-Luke Grimm radio program. The senior was KU’s leading receiver on the night, with six receptions for 111 yards, including the 58-yard bomb from Daniels. But it was his moves in the open field and ability after the catch that made his night worth celebrating. He’s just a heck of a good football player.
4. It was a different kind of ‘Blue Hell’ at Children’s Mercy Park, with blue-clad Jayhawks students (and the band) occupying the standing section typically filled with the most passionate Sporting Kansas City supporters, behind the north end zone. But they and the rest of the Jayhawk faithful showed up and showed out, making for a unique college football atmosphere. I imagine it will be even better for the UNLV game two Fridays from now.
5. Lindenwood stinks. It’s not nice to say but it is unequivocally true, and it makes it hard to truly evaluate the Jayhawks’ performance from this game. The Jayhawks tackled well, blocked well, overcame some early offensive sloppiness, and kept the Lions scoreless until a sad field goal with 6:12 to play. Seventy-five players got to get some game action tonight for KU. That’s all worth celebrating. But we won’t really know what this team is made of until their trip to Champaign, Illinois next Saturday to take on Illinois.

Here’s Dan’s video recap from Children’s Mercy Park: