We’re excited about football season! As Kansas fans!
What better way to open up the football season than playing David Beaty’s alma mater? No one on this year’s Kansas team was around for the Beaty years, but it’s probably safe to say that fans might get just a little bit of extra satisfaction if the Jayhawks can kick the crap out of the school that produced one of the worst coaches in Kansas history (which…man that’s saying a lot). The Lindenwood Lions will be visiting Memori…that is, Children’s Mercy Park to start the season for the 2024 Kansas Jayhawks, a team that for the first time in a while has some meaningful preseason expectations.
You probably aren’t too familiar with Lindenwood. Part of that is probably that they’re still new to D1 football. They played NAIA ball through 2010, moving to NCAA D2 from 2011-21, and are only in year three of Ohio Valley membership in the FCS ranks. They have yet to find their footing at the D1 level, going 3-7 last year and picked 8th out of 9 in the OVC headed into 2024. The Lions have little to be threatened by, which might be the scariest thing about them.
Last year’s Lions relied on a slightly run-oriented offense, with 351 rushing attempts compared to 296 passes. Last year’s leading rusher, Robert Giaimo, returns as a junior after a decent 2023 campaign in which he ran for 440 yards and averaged 5.4 per carry. It’s notable that he did that in just five games, whereas the second leading rusher played in eight, so it’s safe to say the kid can play a bit. That said, he’s listed as 5’8, 189 pounds, so he’ll need to rely on his speed to compete with a Kansas defense that finally resembles a power conference unit on the field, and would no doubt like to send a message by refusing to allow a low-level FCS school to win the line of scrimmage and put up big rushing numbers.
When passing the ball last year, the Lions had trouble finding a QB and sticking with him. Last year’s leading passer, Cole Dugger, is gone, though their second leading passer is back in Carter Davis. Davis played in five games, completing just under 54% of his passes with 3 TDs to match 3 INTs. He did run for 100 yards, so if he’s the man under center, KU will need to at least keep somewhat of an eye on him as he’s willing to take off when necessary. While I’ve been unable to find any type of depth chart for Lindenwood, it would make sense for Davis to be the starter, barring an incoming transfer I’m not aware of, as he is the only remaining QB on the roster who saw game action last year. He wasn’t particularly accurate, but had a decent passer rating nonetheless as he averaged over 7 yards per attempt. I wouldn’t call Davis scary based on the numbers, but they seem to paint the portrait of a QB who could be ok given some more blocking and experience.
Giving some extra boost to the passing game is the return of the team’s leading receiver in 2023, Jeff Caldwell. Caldwell has FBS size at 6’5, 200 lbs, and hauled in 32 passes for 599 yards and 8 TDs last year, averaging nearly 19 yards/catch. Kansas has two all-Big 12 corners ready to take on the task, but few FCS schools will have a player like Caldwell on the outside, so don’t be surprised if he makes a few catches, even against a tough KU secondary. However, there won’t be much experience next to Caldwell, as their other top 3 receivers are gone, leaving RB Giaimo with the next best receiving numbers amongst the returning players.
Defensively, this Lindenwood team gave up some massive point totals early in the year, including a 77-9 drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. They went on to give up 45, 40, 48, and 52 points in their following games before shutting out Tennessee Tech, 23-0. They would give up 35+ points two more times last year, though the overall defensive numbers did improve as the year went on.
As far as individual defensive performers go, cornerback Taylen Blaylock had all three of the team’s interceptions last year and returns to try and stick to KU’s threesome of Skinner, Arnold, and Grimm, Esq, ready to handle all your personal injury needs! I don’t know, it sounded like a law firm. Whatever, forget I said it, it wasn’t funny. Anyhow, Tre Bell and Jayden Patrick led the team with 5 pass breakups apiece, and both return, meaning this Lindenwood secondary took some hits last season, but has bounced back with their top performers all returning, looking to quell the Kansas passing attack. LB Ethan Stuhlhatz led the team in QB hurries and also returns, while edge rusher Kobe McLendon led the squad with 6.5 sacks and is also back. The story with this defense is that they struggled mightily early on, got modestly better as the season went on, and now they return all their key components with a chance at being a much improved unit compared to what happened to them last season.
Prediction
Lindenwood didn’t play well last year, but the scores looked better as the season went on, and they return most of their top talent, at least statistically. They return nearly every player who made a defensive impact, and Giaimo seems like an athletic runner who could break free offensively if given the chance. This isn’t a team bereft of any talent or production, even if they lack enough to be a major threat to the OVC this year.
This game will say a lot more about Kansas than it will about Lindenwood. The Lions have some things to feel good about coming into the season, but at the end of the day, KU went 9-4 against a real FBS schedule last year and they aren’t going to get pushed around by a school still adjusting to the FCS. KU’s offense returns enough players with experience that scoring on this defense should be a matter of how many points they want to score. I like that the Lions return the whole top end of their secondary to pose at least a slight challenge to KU’s experienced receiving corps, but the Jayhawks should still shred that secondary if they get to a point where it’s necessary. Lindenwood’s offense was bad last year and returning a QB who barely completed more than half of his passes doesn’t exactly scare me, even if I’m not quite sure about KU’s front seven yet.
On the topic of the front seven, assuming the game isn’t close, that would be an area to focus on. If they push around the Lindenwood front line, it’s no guarantee that they’re right back to where they were last year, but it’s a good sign. If Giaimo has room to run and Carter has time to throw, well…that means there’s work to do. For the most part, games like this are about judging what you’ve got, not hoping for wins. If KU barely scrapes together a win against this crew, it’s going to be a nervous week going into the Illinois game. That said, I think they take care of business here, even if Lindenwood is just barely good enough to force a slow start. I don’t think we can quite name our score, but unless things really bounce the Lions’ way, this should be a relaxing game to watch.
Kansas 44, Lindenwood 17