What do Lance Leipold, Kansas Jayhawks think of bowl-game hopes after upset over ISU?

Don’t tell Kansas football the odds.

No matter how small a chance, the Jayhawks believe they will make a bowl game in 2024.

The first step: KU kept its dreams alive with a 45-36 victory over Iowa State on Saturday afternoon at GEHA Field in Arrowhead Stadium.

In a season filled with unmet aspirations, Kansas finally lived up to them … for a day, at least.

“The one thing this team hasn’t done is waver,” quarterback Jalon Daniels said. “I feel like we haven’t stopped going about things the way that we go about them, and I feel like that allowed (us) to be able to keep pushing, no matter what happened. We’re going to keep on pushing as a team.”

For the Jayhawks, that’s precisely the mentality they’ll need in preparing for a daunting road ahead.

Kansas (3-6, 2-4 Big 12) must go a perfect 3-0 the rest of the season to make a bowl game.

The Jayhawks’ remaining games:

• at No. 9 BYU in Provo, Utah

• vs. No. 21 Colorado at Arrowhead

• at Baylor in Waco, Texas

Kansas, of course, has yet to win two straight games this season. And consistency? Well, forgot about it. The only thing KU has been consistent about this season is its inconsistency game-in, game-out — and often half to half.

Still, there are positive signs for the Jayhawks. Daniels continues to get better. He had perhaps his best game of the season vs. the Cyclones.

Daniels finished 12-of-24 passing for 295 yards with two passing touchdowns. He also ran for a score. He had multiple throws into tight windows that turned into huge gains.

It’s a continuing trend for Daniels, who looks like a completely different quarterback since KU’s close loss to Arizona State.

Daniels has passed for 1,011 yards with eight passing touchdowns and just one interception over the last four games. He’s also run for a touchdown in four straight games.

The difference between the season’s first five games and the last four is stark. Daniels had 805 passing yards with five touchdowns to eight interceptions to start the season. Now, it seems like Daniels’ confidence is growing every game.

“He’s always smiling 90% of the time, but it’s one of those things you can see him feeling good about what he’s seeing,” coach Lance Leipold said. “He’s feeling that he’s prepared. The game plan fits what he wants to do and execute.

“When you see him feeling good about that on the sideline, even if a series doesn’t go our way, he’s confident that we can come back and make a drive after that.”

Running back Devin Neal also ran for two scores in what turned into a record-breaking performance Saturday.

KU needs that level of play to continue as it chases its bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season. On Saturday, Kansas will face a strong BYU team that has yet to lose at home this season.

Kansas knows what’s at stake. Three straight bowl appearances would be a first in KU football history. A loss ends that possibility.

While needing three wins, linebacker Cornell Wheeler says the Jayhawks will focus one game at a time.

Leipold, meanwhile, addressed the bowl hopes, too.

“Today was a important game for us in a lot of different ways as far as maintaining bowl eligibility, which I don’t ever really talk about, but I will at this moment,” Leipold said. “It was important for us, for this group to keep fighting and having purpose each and every day — from what the expectations were (at) the start.”

Now, the Jayhawks have three more games to reshape their season and meet those expectations.

Kansas players believe it’s possible. It’s up to them to show it.