Kansas Football 2026 Opponent Preview: Arizona State

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BOULDER, CO – NOVEMBER 22: Head coach Kenny Dillingham of the Arizona State Sun Devils yells to his team in the first half against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field on November 22, 2025 in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Jayhawks will travel to London in Week 3 to take on Arizona State in the legendary Wembley Stadium.

2026 Arizona State Football at a Glance

Name: Arizona State Sun Devils
Stadium: Mountain America Stadium (Cap. 70,491)
Head Coach: Kenny Dillingham, 4th season (22-17, 15-12 in Big 12)
Offensive Coordinator: Marcus Arroyo
Defensive Coordinator: Brian Ward
2025: 8-5, 6-3 in Big 12, 42-39 Loss vs. Duke in Sun Bowl

2025 Arizona State Season-In-Review

Key Returners: OL Wade Helton, DL CJ Fite, DB Adrian Wilson
Transfer Additions: WR Reed Harris, WR Omarion Miller, QB Cutter Boley, LB Owen Long, DE Jalen Thompson, WR Raiden Vines-Bright, OL Tana Alo-Tupuola, S Lyrik Rawls, CB Ashton Stamps, RB David Avit
Incoming Class: QB Jake Fette, DE Julian Hugo, RB Cardae Mack, OL Cortavious Tisaby, OL Jarmaine Mitchell, DL Landen Anderson, S Davis Kinney
Key Losses: QB Sam Leavitt, WR Jordyn Tyson, RB Raleek Brown, OT Josh Atkins, CB Javan Robinson

Strengths

A strength is the man who the Sun Devils have running the show — Marcus Arroyo.

The strong offensive mind will have a retooled group to work with. Sam Leavitt is now at LSU and the new quarterback will have new weapons to work with.

Arizona State went to rebuild the outside with the likes of Reed Harris and Omarion Miller. The transfers continued with Raiden Vines-Bright coming over from Washington. The skill positions should also get a boost with the addition of David Avit in the backfield, replacing Raleek Brown, who has gone to Texas.

Defensively, the front seven will be stout. The pass rush has a chance to be the best in the conference, despite the loss of Justin Wodtly and Elijah O’Neil. The Sun Devils added Jalen Thompson and Emar’rion Winston in the portal and they have a chance to turn into stars.

The interior line will be just as good with CJ Fite and Zac Swanson. This will make the team very difficult to run against, which makes for an intriguing matchup with Kansas.

Weaknesses

Dillingham and Arizona State did a nice job in the transfer portal filling in holes but it is hard to ignore the losses.

Leavitt turned into a star and took a step up while Jordyn Tyson left for the NFL. Those are two major pieces for a team to replace. Cutter Boley is set to take over at quarterback and will need to revitalize an offense that needs to be better on third down.

As good as the front seven has a chance to be, the secondary will be a bit thin on the depth chart. Ketih Abney II is in the NFL and it is up to the transfers to step up. Ashton Stamps and Caleb Chester come in to take on extended roles right away.

Kansas Football Schedule

Sept. 4: vs. Long Island University
Sept. 11: vs. Missouri
Sept. 19: vs. Arizona State
Oct. 3: vs. Middle Tennessee
Oct. 10: at Utah
Oct. 17: at Kansas State
Oct. 24: vs. Baylor
Oct. 31: at TCU
Nov. 7: vs. UCF
Nov. 14: at West Virginia
Nov. 21: vs. BYU
Nov. 28: at Oklahoma State

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