Image courtesy of Kansas Athletics

The Kansas Jayhawks started the 2026 football season with a commanding 51-6 victory over Long Island on Friday night at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. 

Kansas (1-0) rolled up 613 yards of total offense, the second-highest total of KU head coach Lance Leipold’s tenure, with 336 passing yards and 277 yards on the ground. Defensively, KU held Long Island (0-2) to 146 yards of total offense, which is the second-fewest yards allowed in the Leipold era.

KU quarterback Isaiah Marshall completed 14-of-19 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns while adding 49 yards on the ground. Yasin Willis carried the ball 11 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns, while Micah Johnson, Jalen Dupree and Donald Collier also scored rushing touchdowns for the Jayhawks. Nik McMillan made a strong debut as well, hauling in six receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown. Tate Nagy also recorded his first career touchdown reception. 

Kansas had 11 tackles for loss in the game, with Leroy Harris III leading the way with four while Garrett Martin added two. David Santiago had four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, while also forcing and recovering a fumble. Quincy Davis led the Jayhawks with five tackles.

With the win, Kansas improves to 6-0 in season openers in Leipold’s tenure as head coach. By holding Long Island to six points, KU has now held its first opponent to fewer than 10 points in three consecutive seasons. 

Willis scored the first touchdown of the season, capping KU’s nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive with a five-yard touchdown run that put the Jayhawks on top 6-0 at the 5:59 mark of the opening quarter. It remained a one-score game until the second quarter, when the Jayhawks put together a 16-play scoring drive that culminated with a 32-yard Martin Connington field goal, making it 9-0 with 9:46 to play in the half.

After KU’s defense forced its third three-and-out of the night, the Jayhawks struck quickly with a four-play scoring drive. Marshall found McMillan for a 46-yard gain that set up a 10-yard touchdown run for Willis, extending the lead to 16-0. With its defense continuing to dominate, the Jayhawks forced another quick stop and score, this time on a three-play, 67-yard scoring drive that featured a 47-yard connection from Marshall to Nahzae Cox before Dupree scored from three yards out, making it 23-0.

Kansas added a 19-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to McMillan in the final minute of the first half, sending the Jayhawks to the intermission with a 30-0 lead after scoring 24 points in the second quarter.

The Jayhawks got the ball to open the second half and used another long scoring drive to extend the lead. KU covered 72 yards in 15 plays, the final one being a six-yard touchdown pass from Marshall to Tate Nagy, which made it 37-0 at the 8:13 mark in the quarter. 

That’s where the score remained until Micah Johnson scored his first career touchdown on an eight-yard run early in the fourth quarter. LIU got on the board with a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter, which sandwiched a three-yard touchdown run by KU’s Donald Collier, which put the Jayhawks over 50 points in a season opener for the third time in Leipold’s tenure. 

Kansas returns to action next Friday, Sept. 11, as the Jayhawks host #25 Missouri for the StorageMart Border Showdown. Kickoff from David Booth Memorial Stadium is set for 7 p.m. CT on FOX.