Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 96. Kansas
Bronze Medal for the Jayhawks
Kansas survived to be 96th, only the 3rd worst Power 5 team. 2007 and 1995 carried them hard—if you remove those 2 years, Kansas would’ve been 110th on this list. Kansas is one of the oldest programs in the country, having fielded their first football team in 1890, and their glory years were 1890-1952, posting 4 unbeaten seasons and a .603 winning percentage. It wasn’t until 2012 when the program’s all-time win percentage fell below .500 for the first time since their inaugural 1890 season, where they went 1-2. Former legendary program members include Fielding Yost, John Outland (Outland Award), and even legendary basketball coach Phog Allen, who served the 1920 season as head coach. Phog went 590-219 as KU’s basketball coach from 1919-1956, and went 5-2-1 as the football coach.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
| 6 | Kansas | 2007 | 38.409 | 12-1 |
| 13 | Kansas | 1995 | 27.017 | 10-2 |
| 35 | Kansas | 2008 | 9.827 | 8-5 |
| 25 | Kansas | 1992 | 7.203 | 8-4 |
| 40 | Kansas | 2005 | 1.869 | 7-5 |
| 41 | Kansas | 1991 | -1.654 | 6-5 |
| 48 | Kansas | 1994 | -5.39 | 6-5 |
| 58 | Kansas | 2006 | -7.162 | 6-6 |
| 63 | Kansas | 2022 | -9.253 | 6-7 |
| 62 | Kansas | 2004 | -12.884 | 4-7 |
| 64 | Kansas | 1984 | -13.426 | 5-6 |
| 57 | Kansas | 1983 | -14.203 | 4-6-1 |
| 56 | Kansas | 1985 | -15.49 | 6-6 |
| 76 | Kansas | 2009 | -15.819 | 5-7 |
| 64 | Kansas | 1993 | -17.246 | 5-7 |
| 73 | Kansas | 2003 | -17.26 | 6-7 |
| 70 | Kansas | 1997 | -19.234 | 5-6 |
| 73 | Kansas | 1996 | -21.702 | 4-7 |
| 76 | Kansas | 2000 | -21.848 | 4-7 |
| 73 | Kansas | 1998 | -23.089 | 4-7 |
| 82 | Kansas | 1990 | -24.946 | 3-7-1 |
| 86 | Kansas | 1999 | -27.334 | 5-7 |
| 81 | Kansas | 1989 | -32.37 | 4-7 |
| 92 | Kansas | 2001 | -34.979 | 3-8 |
| 103 | Kansas | 2018 | -36.015 | 3-9 |
| 112 | Kansas | 2019 | -37.48 | 3-9 |
| 101 | Kansas | 2010 | -38.913 | 3-9 |
| 112 | Kansas | 2014 | -40.603 | 3-9 |
| 103 | Kansas | 2013 | -41.933 | 3-9 |
| 94 | Kansas | 1986 | -43.888 | 3-8 |
| 110 | Kansas | 2011 | -44.642 | 2-10 |
| 120 | Kansas | 2021 | -48.823 | 2-10 |
| 124 | Kansas | 2016 | -49.208 | 2-10 |
| 98 | Kansas | 1987 | -49.308 | 1-9-1 |
| 116 | Kansas | 2012 | -54.548 | 1-11 |
| 127 | Kansas | 2020 | -55.953 | 0-9 |
| 111 | Kansas | 2002 | -56.439 | 2-10 |
| 99 | Kansas | 1988 | -57.745 | 1-10 |
| 126 | Kansas | 2017 | -61.885 | 1-11 |
| 127 | Kansas | 2015 | -70.725 | 0-12 |
+------+--------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 5824 (96th)166-297-3 record
0 conference titles
5-2 bowl record
1 consensus All-American
45 NFL players drafted
2010-2021 make up 12 of the 16 worst seasons, to illustrate just how bad Kansas has been recently. They had a 23-118 record over that span, and just a 7-99 record in the Big 12! 2 of those against Texas. Despite being so bad for stretches of time, they had solid runs under Glen Mason (1988-96) and Mark Mangino (2002-09), with each of Kansas’ top 8 seasons falling under one of the two coaches. With 45 players drafted, Kansas has managed to produce about 1 NFL player a year, including 5x Pro Bowler Aqib Talib and 4x Pro Bowler Chris Harris Jr.. Talib is also Kansas’ only Consensus All-American with his 2007 season.
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2015 (0-12 overall, 0-9 Big 12)
Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the worst Kansas team of them all? 2015 isn’t just the worst Kansas team—it’s the 25th worst season by anyone in the last 40 years! New coach David Beaty took over the mess Charlie Weis left, but instead of cleaning it up, lit it on fire. A season-opening 38-41 loss to South Dakota State was bad. A 23-55 loss to Memphis next week was arguably worse. A battle against Iowa State came 2 weeks later to essentially determine who’d finish last in the conference, and Kansas lost that 13-38. The lowest might’ve not even come until the next week, when they lost 7-66 to #3 Baylor. Losses the rest of the year included 10-58 to #14 Oklahoma State, 7-62 to #14 Oklahoma, 20-59 to Texas, 0-49 to West Virginia, and 14-45 to West Virginia. Surprisingly they only lost 17-23 to TCU, who finished #7. On the year, Kansas averaged just 15.2 PPG while giving up 46.1 PPG. DB Fish Smithson was really the only quality player on the team, earning 2nd Team All-Big 12 honors with 111 tackles and 2 INTs. Beaty would go just 6-42 in his 4 years as head coach.
5. 2005 (7-5 overall, 3-5 Big 12)
Mark Mangino was feeling the heat, having gone just 12-24 in his first 3 years. 2005 marked a major turning point for Kansas football at the time. A 3-0 start soon turned into 3-4 with 4 straight losses to Big 12 opponents, and the season was slipping. That’s when things changed. A 13-3 over 5-2 Missouri in the Border War improved their record to 4-4. That’s when Kansas scored a HUGE 40-15 win over Nebraska, their first win over the Huskers since 1969, ending a 37 game losing streak in the series, the second-longest streak of consecutive losses to one team in NCAA history. After losing to #2 Texas, Kansas’ final game determined if they would make a bowl or not. A 34 yard FG in OT clinched a 24-21 win over Iowa State to send Kansas to the Forth Worth Bowl, where they dismantled Houston 42-13. RB Jon Cornish led the team in rushing with 780 yards and 9 TD on 5.8 YPC, and would go on to run for 1457 yards in 2006. Cornish, born in Canada, would go on to have a Hall of Fame CFL career and the Jon Cornish Trophy was established in 2018 for the top Canadian player in D1 football.
4. 1992 (8-4 overall, 4-3 Big 8)
Let’s go allll the way back to 1992 when it was just the Big 8 with no Texas teams. Kansas raced out to a 7-1 start and a #13 ranking, with a 4-0 Big 8 record. They looked to challenge #7 Nebraska and #8 Colorado for the title that year. At the time, they’d continue their long losing streak against Nebraska in a 7-49 loss, and then followed up with an 18-25 loss to Colorado. An upset loss to 2-8 rival Missouri the next week just rubbed salt in the wound for what originally appeared to be a promising season. They managed to claim a 23-20 win over #25 BYU in the bowl, however, to finish #25 in my rankings. This team had a great stable of RBs; starter Maurice Douglas going for 1000+ yards from scrimmage and the 2 backups adding 600+ each. QB Chip Hilleary added 537 rushing yards and 6 TD himself to go with his 1583 passing yards 12 TD 11 INT. Overall, the offense ranked 10th in the nation with 31.1 PPG and the defense was solid as well with 21.8 PPG allowed. The defense turned out to be loaded with talent as 2 players went on to win Super Bowls, 2 other players played 9 seasons in the NFL, another played 7, and DT Dana Stubblefield was the 1997 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
3. 2008 (8-5 overall, 4-4 Big 12)
It was a down year after 2007, but the offense was still very good led by QB Todd Reesing. Reesing, the best QB in school history, completed 67% of throws for 3888 yards 32 TD 13 INT. If not for a Big 12 loaded with QBs (Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Graham Harrell, RGIII, and more), Reesing would’ve been 1st/2nd all-conference in almost any other league. WR Dezmon Briscoe put up 97 catches for 1405 yards and 8 TD. Converted QB → WR Kerry Meier was a great possession receiver, adding 99 catches for 1045 yards and 8 TD. Briscoe would go for 1337 yards the next year and Meier followed up with 102 catches for 985 yards. Meier was a particularly interesting player. Recruited to play QB, he started in 2006, completing 57% for 1193 yards 13 TD 10 INT as a freshman, but after Reesing took over in 2007, Meier was athletic enough to make the switch to wideout. As a 6’2 224 lb possession receiver, he wasn’t exceptionally fast, but had great hands despite playing without gloves, and played well enough to be a 5th round NFL selection in 2010 by the Atlanta Falcons. For the season, Kansas’ most notable win was 40-37 over #12 Missouri on the final week. Reesing threw a 26 yard TD to Meier with 27 seconds to go to get revenge for 2007. Kansas was a solid team in 2008, but ultimately was dominated by the top dogs (Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech).
2. 1995 (10-2 overall, 5-2 Big 8)
The final year in the Big 8, and Glen Mason’s final year before going to Minnesota. What a wild season. Kansas finished #9 in the nation, and 4 teams from the Big 8 (half the conference!) finished in the top 10. After starting 4-0, #24 Kansas headed to #4 Colorado. Kansas pulled off the 40-24 upset thanks to 2 TDs from RB June Henley. After a dominant victory over Iowa State, #7 Kansas headed to Norman to play #15 Oklahoma, winning 38-17 in a statement game. Kansas was for real. That set up #6 Kansas @ #14 Kansas State, the only time in the rivalry’s 100+ year history that both teams were ranked entering the game. Kansas State had their best performance of the season, winning 41-7, and Kansas would fall to #11. After a win over Missouri, #10 Kansas hosted #1 Nebraska, whose 1995 team is regarded as one of the best in NCAA history. The Huskers showed why, winning 41-3 in Kansas’ 2nd blowout loss. The Jayhawks finished with honor, beating Oklahoma State then UCLA 51-30 in the bowl to finish 10-2 and #9 (13th in my rankings). Kansas had 7 NFL players drafted over the next 2 years, so it wasn’t a fluke—this team was talented.
1. 2007 (12-1 overall, 7-1 Big 12)
Is there any other team with a top season as obvious as Kansas’s? The 2007 Jayhawks boat raced their schedule to a 11-0 start and #2 ranking, and finished with a BCS Bowl win over #5 Virginia Tech. They played a weaker schedule than most, but were 2nd in the nation in scoring with 42.8 PPG and 4th in points allowed with 16.4 PPG. Kansas was a legit team who could’ve beaten Ohio State/LSU in the national title game had they made it. Wins included 76-39 over Nebraska, 30-24 over #24 Kansas State, and 24-21 over #5 Virginia Tech. Plus 6 other wins by 30+ points. Kansas’ 11-0 start set up the biggest Border War in history between #2 Kansas and #3 Missouri. Unfortunately Missouri would take it 36-28, taking an early 21-0 lead and fending off Kansas’ comeback attempt.
QB Todd Reesing threw for 3486 yards 33 TD 7 INT, earning 2nd Team All-Big 12. RB Brandon McAnderson joined him with 1125 rushing yards and 16 TD on 5.9 YPC, and same for WR Marcus Henry with 1000+ receiving yards and 10 TD on 18.8 yards per catch. Backup RB Jake Sharp had a fine season with 821 rushing yards and 7 TD himself. TE Derek Fine was a 4th round NFL selection after the season. OL Anthony Collins was 1st Team All-American and a 4th round selection. 5 players on defense had 10+ total TFL. CB Aqib Talib was a Consensus All-American with 5 INT for 195 yards and 2 TD. DT James McClinton was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year with 2.5 sacks and 8.5 TFL. LB Joe Mortensen was also 1st Team All-Big 12 with 106 tackles, 3 sacks, and 12 TFL. Justin Thornton was a 6’5 228 lb DB who registered 5 INT. Kick returner Marcus Herford was the Big 12 Special Teams POTY, averaging 28.6 yards per kick return and 2 TD. Mark Mangino was the Consensus National Coach of the Year.
2007 Kansas is my 200th best team since 1983.
5th Quarter
What’s your memory of the everlasting 2007 Kansas team? Do you think they were good enough to win a national title? How do you expect Kansas to look in 5 years if Lance Leipold stays?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
Image is “Todd-Reesing-ku-vs-mizzou-nov-29-08”, by David Reber, licensed under CC BY 2.0
