Kansas makes its first-ever visit to UCF’s Acrisure Bounce House Stadium on Saturday, with both teams reeling from frustrating losses last week.

The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Henry Greenstein of the Lawrence Journal-World to gain a deeper understanding of the Jayhawks. Here is an edited version of that conversation:

What’s stood out about Kansas’ season so far?

Henry Greenstein: “It’s been a really interesting arc, because they won the West Virginia game two weeks ago in a way that KU has basically never won games, and certainly not during the Lance Leipold era, which is they won with defense and special teams. [Quarterback] Jalon Daniels completed half his passes and wasn’t especially impressive against the Mountaineers and KU completely locked down West Virginia on defense. Coming out of that blowout win over West Virginia, it seemed as though this team could find new ways to win, creating all sorts of optimism about their potential to contend for the Big 12.

“And then this past weekend, Cincinnati came to town, and people largely expected Cincinnati to put up a better fight than West Virginia did, but what they probably did not expect was for Cincinnati to have 600 yards of offense and be completely unstoppable in every facet of the game. So the enthusiasm about the defense and new coordinator D.K. McDonald that was present after the West Virginia game has maybe even tempered somewhat by what we just saw against Cincinnati.

“Meanwhile, Jalon Daniels is quietly off to one of the best starts to a season that a KU quarterback has ever had. He’s got 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. He just threw for almost 450 yards and had about 500 total yards against Cincinnati. However, people won’t remember it because they were unable to come through at the end of the game, resulting in a 37-34 home loss to a team that many people thought they could beat. So suddenly, the game against UCF is a very, very important bounce-back opportunity on the road for the Jayhawks ahead of their trip to Lubbock next week.”

Big things were expected out of Daniels this season. Has he lived up to those expectations so far?

Greenstein: “You can see why he was once a preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. It’s eminently clear he’s mobile, he can avoid pressure and that’s been very key with an offensive line that has been solid, but not quite as spectacular as the previous two iterations of the unit. So far, at least, he can avoid pressure. He can throw on the run incredibly well. He’s developed his accuracy. He’s not taking unnecessary chances. He looks so much more confident and self-assured.

“He’s playing at a level that everyone knew he could, but he didn’t for a lot of last year. The problem is that he won’t be taken seriously in the upper echelon of college football unless they win a bunch of games this year. So we’ll see what happens with that.”

The defense struggled against Cincinnati. How have they performed this season?

Greenstein: “It’s been wild swings from one week to the next. The defensive line is the team’s greatest strength. They have four or five excellent defensive tackles and an all-conference defensive end at the pass-rush spot, who might not even be their best player at that position, Dean Miller. They also have Leroy Harris, who has been a huge breakout player after transferring from Chattanooga. On the other side are Justice Finkley and Alex Bray, two more transfers.

“So the defensive line has been great, but Cincinnati has been pretty impeccable as an offensive line, so the defensive line really didn’t get much pressure and they need to do that to take the burden off the secondary. This is not a group that includes Cobee Bryant and Melo Dotson, two individuals who were voted All-Americans by separate publications over the course of their careers. Not that the guys they have are less talented. In fact, the ceiling may even be higher for players like Jalen Todd and Austin Alexander.”

UCF Q&A: What’s the status of Knights QBs vs. Kansas? Did anyone opt out? 

Who else should UCF pay special attention to?

Greenstein: “That’s a good question. It varies from week to week. We’ve seen a wide range of players contribute. Leshon Williams is a transfer from Iowa who’s been thrust into a role as the starting running back and is obviously an experienced guy and had plenty of opportunities to be a feature back in Iowa before Caleb Johnson took the role. But with Daniel Hinshaw Jr. injured, this was supposed to be Hinshaw’s year with Devin Neal gone, but it hasn’t quite worked out that way. KU needs to establish a consistent presence from Leshon to balance this game against the Knights.

“Boden Groen is another one to watch. He is a tight end who is now KU’s second-leading receiver. He’s a Rice transfer and I don’t know that a lot was necessarily expected from him. He’s been consistently uncovered by opposing defenses.

“A couple of guys to watch on defense are [linebackers] Jon Jon Kamara and Bangally Kamara, no relation. Bangally will be out for the first half due to targeting and Jon Jon is a redshirt freshman from Goodyear, Arizona. Coaches rave about him as being the most athletic guy on the team. It’s just kind of a matter of him developing confidence and familiarity with the position and growing into his role.”

What do you see as a challenge for Kansas against UCF?

Greenstein: “Defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald mentioned that UCF has size at wide receiver that KU hasn’t really seen. The UCF defensive line, in particular, its edge rush, could challenge KU. They’ve been breaking in a new pair of tackles in left tackle Calvin Clements, a redshirt sophomore from Lawrence who has had some growing pains, but has also flashed brilliance. He certainly has the size, and he certainly has the temperament, but between him and Syracuse transfer Enrique Cruz, who was playing at right tackle, he was actually playing quite well. They could have a challenge with that pass rush.”

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/01/ucf-knights-scouting-the-opponent-kansas-jayhawks/