LAWRENCE — Kansas coach Lance Leipold expressed his appreciation final week for the truth that his faculty soccer staff’s 2023 season will open on a Thursday.
The previous two years, the primary two of Leipold’s tenure main the Jayhawks, Kansas opened on Fridays. Leipold famous that may be an issue, for one as a result of it’s usually seen as an evening for highschool soccer. So, along with different advantages that may rank Thursday over Friday in his thoughts, he’s in favor of this alteration.
But Leipold, whose squad will face Missouri State on Aug. 31 at residence, was reacting to that news as he additionally reacted to the discharge of the Jayhawks’ 2023 Big 12 Conference schedule. That revelation accomplished a slate that had already scheduled non-conference matchups in opposition to Missouri State, Illinois (Sept. 9, residence) and Nevada (Sept. 16, away). And listed here are some takeaways from what Leipold mentioned he favored about it:
Jayhawks will play extra video games at residence than away
Kansas’ residence video games throughout Big 12 play come in opposition to BYU (Sept. 23), UCF (Oct. 7), Oklahoma (Oct. 28), Texas Tech (Nov. 11) and Kansas State (Nov. 18). Kansas’ away video games throughout Big 12 play come in opposition to Texas (Sept. 30), Oklahoma State (Oct. 14), Iowa State (Nov. 4) and Cincinnati (Nov. 25). That means the Jayhawks have 5 video games at residence throughout convention play, in comparison with 4 on the highway.
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Overall, that provides Kansas seven residence video games and 5 highway video games in 2023. It’s a chance for much more atmospheres just like the Jayhawks skilled inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in 2022, after they had three sellouts and welcomed ESPN’s “College GameDay” present to Lawrence for the primary time ever. And, for Leipold, that’s one thing price highlighting.
Kansas soccer received’t have back-to-back highway video games
Playing back-to-back highway video games has include its share of success and failure within the early years of Leipold’s tenure. In 2021, it occurred twice — Kansas misplaced back-to-back video games in opposition to Duke and Iowa State, and afterward that fall received at Texas earlier than dropping at TCU the week after. In 2022, Kansas received back-to-back video games in opposition to West Virginia and Houston, and afterward that fall misplaced back-to-back video games in opposition to Oklahoma and Baylor. But it appears Leipold would like to not have a schedule play out that manner, and the way in which the Big 12 slate performs out it received’t in 2023.
It seems, really, that in 2023 there shall be two totally different instances the Jayhawks will play back-to-back video games at residence. That comes first, with the opening weeks in opposition to Missouri State and Illinois. And afterward in November, it’ll occur once more with the video games in opposition to Texas Tech and Kansas State.
Kansas’ bye week comes earlier in 2023 than it did in 2022
Last season, Kansas’ bye week didn’t come till the Jayhawks had already performed eight video games. This season, although, it’ll come after they’ve performed seven. And that got here pretty much as good news to Leipold.
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Kansas can even have the ability to come out of the bye week with a house sport in 2023, prefer it did in 2022. Last season, the Jayhawks appeared to play like a staff that benefited from that point off after they beat Oklahoma State to earn that pivotal sixth win on the way in which to a bowl sport. Time will inform if the Jayhawks’ Oct. 28 sport in opposition to Oklahoma this 12 months will maintain the identical sort of significance.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the 12 months for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
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