Four takeaways from Kansas football’s blowout win over Wagner to improve to 2-0
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
- Wideout Emmanuel Henderson tallied 130 receiving yards and two scores.
- Kansas built a 29-0 lead before coasting to a 46-7 win over Wagner at home.
Kansas football did precisely what it was supposed to do against Wagner on Friday night.
The Jayhawks walked out of the renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with a dominant 46-7 victory.
Kansas, now 2-0, raced to a 29-0 lead and didn’t look back. This one was never in doubt.
Kansas coach Lance Leipold like what he saw from his defense.
“I thought we could control the line of scrimmage and we did,” Leipold said. “I thought defensively we played really well, other than the fourth-down play, (which) was probably the one that we’d like to have back. But again, to limit them to 48 plays or something like that, 140 yards of offense, I thought was a really outstanding day.”
Now, the real fun begins.
The Jayhawks will travel to Columbia to play bitter rival Missouri on Saturday, Sept. 6. The two sides haven’t met on the football field since 2011, with the Tigers departing for the SEC the next year.
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels enters that matchup red-hot. He finished 18-of-25 passing for 280 yards with four passing touchdowns and one interception against Wagner. KU wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr. had six catches for 130 receiving yards and finished with two touchdowns.
Running back Daniel Hishaw added 89 rushing yards on 6.4 yards per carry. He also scored a touchdown.
This game had plenty of highlights, and a main lowlight, too.
Redshirt-freshman linebacker Jon Jon Kamara started in place of Game 1 breakout Bangally Kamara — but he didn’t even play one full quarter: Jon Jon Kamara was disqualified due to a targeting penalty in the first quarter. He will be eligible, though, to play in next week’s game at Mizzou.
Bangally Kamara’s status, Leipold said, is uncertain after he sustained a practice injury.
Here are four takeaways from Friday’s game …
Jalon Daniels is off to a hot start
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels’ hot start to the season continued Friday.
Daniels wasted no time going to work against a lesser opponent. He was in complete control for most of the first half. Daniels went 16-for-23 passing for 205 yards and three touchdowns through two quarters. He added 18 yards on the ground.
Still, he wasn’t perfect. Right before the end of the first half, Daniels lofted a ball into the end zone with his intended wide receiver sandwiched between two Wagner defenders. Seahawks DB Jayden Brown snagged the ball out of the air for Daniels’ first interception of the season.
It was the first time this season that Daniels had forced a ball into a tight window, an issue that occurred at several points last year.
But Daniels bounced back quickly in the second half when he connected with Henderson for a 62-yard passing touchdown.
This game got sloppy for the Jayhawks
At no point did it feel like Kansas would lose to Wagner.
Still, KU’s end to the first half was lackluster. After pulling ahead 29-0, it seemed KU started to take its foot off the pedal.
First, the Jayhawks allowed Wagner to convert a fourth down on a screen pass, which turned into a 45-yard touchdown. On KU’s next offensive possession, Daniels threw an interception in the end zone.
It wasn’t the best end to a half for the Jayhawks — something that also was an issue last season. It didn’t matter too much Friday as Kansas was in the midst of a blowout win.
But Kansas likely will not be able to do that against Missouri next week and expect to win. The Jayhawks must maintain focus moving forward.
Emmanuel Henderson had a day
Oh man, Henderson is electric.
The wide receiver has received enormous hype since he arrived in Lawrence from Alabama. He told The Star he wanted an opportunity to play after catching just five passes in three seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Well, he had more catches in this game alone.
Henderson posed a significant challenge for the Seahawks’ defenders. It felt like he could get open in an instant. That was never more evident than on the 62-yard bomb from Daniels that Henderson hauled in for a touchdown early in the second half.
“He’s a speedy guy — he’s a speedster,” Daniels said. “He has a lot of ability to go out there and outrun a lot of people. I’m glad everyone was able to see that tonight.”
Henderson and Ball State transfer Cam Pickett (who played limited snaps due to injury) have quickly become favorite targets for Daniels, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to his 130 receiving yards, Henderson also drew a defensive pass interference call on a deep ball.
Three different Kansas QBs play
For the second straight game, each of the top-three Kansas quarterbacks saw snaps. And each quarterback had at least one scoring drive.
After a dominant two quarters and some change for Daniels, backup Cole Ballard took over the offense. He went 2-of-6 passing for 38 yards, leading one drive that resulted in a field goal and two others that did not produce points.
Isaiah Marshall replaced Ballard with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. He went 3-for-3 passing for 28 yards. His scoring drive ended in a touchdown.
Between Ballard and Marshall, Kansas fans got a glimpse of what the future at QB could look like.
This story was originally published August 29, 2025 at 10:08 PM.
