The 2026 Kansas football season is finally on the horizon. After a long offseason full of changes for this KU roster, it’s time to see what this team has in store, starting with their season opener against Long Island University on Friday night.

While excitement is certainly in the air in Lawrence, there are plenty of questions as to what this year’s team will ultimately look like and what they’ll accomplish.

Let’s dive into the three biggest questions facing this year’s team.

No. 1 – Can Isaiah Marshall and Andy Kotelnicki lead the KU offense?

KU’s hopes of having a successful season largely rely upon two people’s shoulders this year: Quarterback Isaiah Marshall and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

Marshall was recently selected as the team’s starting quarterback after weeks of fall camp that had KU fans guessing as to whether he or junior Cole Ballard would be the one to get the call. With Kotelnick and head coach Lance Leipold finally settling on Marshall, that means all eyes will be on him to see how he takes over this offense from longtime former starter Jalon Daniels – who, incredibly, just earned the backup quarterback job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Marshall played sparingly last season, primarily just entering the game on option plays. Now, he’ll be asked to do a lot more in the hope that the team can improve upon their 10th place finish in the Big 12 in scoring offense (28.1 points per game) last year.

A big part of that equation relies upon the return of Kotelnicki to the KU coaching booth and his ability to scheme the right plays for Marshall and the offense. The Jayhawks had a lot of success under his guidance a few years ago – if he can repeat that magic, KU could go far.

No. 2 – How do the Jayhawks perform against their rivals?

There’s no question that arguably the two biggest games on KU’s schedule this year come against their long-hated rival Missouri and their in-state rival Kansas State.

Both own commanding winning streaks over the Jayhawks that started way back in 2009. The Tigers have since won four straight versus the Jayhawks and six of the last seven, while KSU has remarkably won 17 games in a row over KU.

The game versus Kansas State will always be big until KU can find a way to end that horrendous losing streak. Meanwhile, the Missouri game is the first Border War matchup in Lawrence since 2005. And with KU losing a tightly contested game in Columbia last year, that makes this year’s matchup a monumental game – especially considering KU may desperately need the win in order to reach bowl eligibility.

Speaking of …

No. 3 – Will the Jayhawks reach bowl eligibility?

The ultimate question for this year’s team is will they reach bowl eligibility? That’s the benchmark that’s been set for success by KU fans, and it’s a bar that the Jayhawks have failed to reach in back-to-back seasons.

To do so, Kansas will have to overcome a tough 2026 schedule that features three preseason top 25 teams, a home game overseas, and just one bye week that comes before the end of September.

Another losing season could be disastrous long term for KU football. Missing a bowl game could hurt ticket sales for next year and financial support that KU Athletics desperately needs. It could also put Leipold firmly on the hot seat entering the 2027 season.

The answer to this question at the end of November is what will ultimately determine whether or not this season was a success.

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