Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (13.3%).
Started Kansas’s last game, the first start of the season. Came on in Q4 vs Baylor; Kansas won 25-24.
L 16-22 at TCU, Oct 31: 20 of 35 for 285 yards, a touchdown, an interception, a lost fumble · 13 carries for 36 yards.
Kansas’s next game: vs UCF, Sat Nov 7, 3:45 p.m. ET · ESPN2
Arizona State · L 17-24
No pass attempts.
Middle Tennessee · W 55-0
No pass attempts.
Utah · L 24-41
No pass attempts.
Kansas State · L 24-35
No pass attempts.
Ballard has pass attempts in 4 of Kansas’s 8 games: none in the other 4.
Dashed line: 300 yards.
Yeah so I don't want to hear anyone calling for Ballard to start anymore lol
Kansas fan
6 stories this week, from 5 outlets.
Cole Ballard starts at quarterback for Kansas football against TCU - The Topeka Capital-Journal
The Topeka Capital-Journal Nov 1
Cole Ballard
Fourth year in the Kansas quarterback room. A game that shows it: 285 passing yards and 36 rushing yards against TCU — Week 9, 2026.
381 passing yards · 1 passing TD · 50 rushing yards
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
2 of the team's 15 inside-the-5 carries (13.3%).
from 5 outlets
Cole Ballard starts at quarterback for Kansas football against TCU - The Topeka Capital-Journal
The Topeka Capital-Journal Nov 1 · 1 outlet
Talk is up: 6 stories this week, from none the week before.
from 9 outlets
Cole Ballard vs Isaiah Marshall: What Both Kansas Football QBs Bring to the Table
Sports Illustrated +1 Aug 12 · 2 outlets
Each week: his team’s game, the stories about him that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 4.
Fans first named Cole Ballard vs Long Island University.
Against TCU on Oct. 31: 20 of 35 for 285 yards. In the 4 games drawn here: 25 of 43 for 381 yards.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
Last game (Wk 9): 285 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 interception.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 4 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | Grade | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | SK | RUSH | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 51-6vs Long Island University | Came on in Q3 | 4/6 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 | 88.2 | — | 14 | |
| Wk 2 | L 21-38vs No. 23 Missouri | Left in Q3 | 1/1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | -- | 0 | — | |
| Wk 8 | W 25-24vs Baylor | Left in Q4 | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | -- | 0 | — | |
| Wk 9 | L 16-22@ TCU | Great | 20/35 | 285 | 1 | 1 | 8.1 | 54.3 | 1 | 36 | Season-high 285 yds |
| Total | 25/43 | 381 | 1 | 1 | 8.9 | — | 1 | 50 |
Week 9 · 2026
L 16-22
at TCU
The plays that mattered most
| Stat | His | Nation | Big 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 381 | 175th of 370 | 21st of 42 |
| Yards an attempt | 8.9 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Touchdown passes | 1 | T-202nd of 370 | T-26th of 42 |
| Passer rating | 135.6 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Completion percentage | 58.1 | Not ranked | Not ranked |
| Rushing yards | 50 | 152nd of 370 | 21st of 42 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 0 | — | — |
Counting stats rank all FBS quarterbacks with a pass attempt; the rates rank those with at least 10 attempts a game. He has 43 attempts of the 80 needed after 8 games, so the rates are not ranked.
| Rk | Quarterback | Yards | TD | INT | Att | Y/A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drew Mestemaker | 2,649 | 25 | 7 | 281 | 9.4 |
| 2 | Noah Fifita | 2,464 | 19 | 4 | 269 | 9.2 |
| 3 | Jaden Craig | 2,207 | 11 | 6 | 269 | 8.2 |
| 4 | Conner Weigman | 2,052 | 20 | 2 | 233 | 8.8 |
| 5 | Devon Dampier | 1,876 | 18 | 7 | 227 | 8.3 |
| 6 | JC French | 1,773 | 13 | 3 | 213 | 8.3 |
| 7 | Bear Bachmeier | 1,750 | 12 | 4 | 214 | 8.2 |
| 8 | D.J. Lagway | 1,671 | 13 | 4 | 242 | 6.9 |
| 9 | Michael Hawkins Jr. | 1,598 | 11 | 2 | 159 | 10.1 |
| 10 | Will Hammond | 1,561 | 6 | 6 | 205 | 7.6 |
| 11 | Isaiah Marshall | 1,506 | 11 | 7 | 196 | 7.7 |
| 12 | Jaylen Raynor | 1,416 | 10 | 5 | 186 | 7.6 |
| 13 | Cutter Boley | 1,360 | 13 | 5 | 173 | 7.9 |
| 14 | Avery Johnson | 1,301 | 10 | 3 | 187 | 7.0 |
| 15 | Keyone Jenkins | 1,181 | 11 | 4 | 180 | 6.6 |
| 16 | Isaac Wilson | 1,164 | 7 | 7 | 149 | 7.8 |
| 17 | Julian Lewis | 733 | 6 | 2 | 95 | 7.7 |
| 18 | Nate Bennett | 568 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 9.3 |
| 19 | Alonza Barnett | 477 | 2 | 1 | 65 | 7.3 |
| 20 | Mikey Keene | 448 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 7.3 |
| 21 | Cole Ballard | 381 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 8.9 |
| 22 | Blake Barnett | 265 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 8.0 |
| 23 | Jake Fette | 224 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 4.5 |
| 24 | Jacob Knuth | 201 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 4.8 |
| 25 | Byrd Ficklin | 192 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 9.6 |
| 26 | Thomas Castellanos | 189 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 6.5 |
| 27 | Sawyer Anderson | 112 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 |
| 28 | Kaneal Sweetwyne | 105 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 6.2 |
| 29 | Connor Moberly | 83 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 4.4 |
| 30 | Keisean Henderson | 83 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 10.4 |
| 31 | Chase Jenkins | 65 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21.7 |
| 32 | Broderick Vehrs | 61 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7.6 |
| 33 | Jyron Hughley | 27 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27.0 |
| 34 | Scotty Fox Jr. | 27 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6.8 |
| 35 | Edward Griffin | 19 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3.2 |
| 36 | Liam O'Brien | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.6 |
| 37 | Treyson Bourguet | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5.0 |
| 38 | Samaj Jones | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.5 |
| 39 | Kaleb Annett | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.0 |
| 40 | Dillon Duff | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 |
| 41 | Adam Schobel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
| 42 | Kirk Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
Sorted by passing yards. Gray: under 10 attempts a game, so not ranked on yards an attempt.
Ratings of the games shown run from +8 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Pickett and Cox saw 20 of the 43 charted throws.
| Receiver | Targets, caught | Targets | Catches | Yards | Throw depth | After catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Pickett | 11 | 10 | 113 | 4.0 | 5.8 | |
| Nahzae Cox | 9 | 5 | 145 | 26.4 | 2.6 | |
| Carson Bruhn | 4 | 2 | 9 | 8.2 | 2.5 | |
| Dylan Edwards | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3.5 | 9.0 | |
| Bryson Hayes | 3 | 3 | 61 | 13.7 | 6.7 | |
| 5 others | 10 | 4 | 45 | 12.4 | 5.8 | |
| No receiver charted | 2 | The interception is among these | ||||
Play by play: 43 passes, 25 caught, 381 yards. Throw depth: average air yards per target. After catch: average yards after the catch per catch. Bar: targets; the blue part was caught.
4 seasons under Lance Leipold — 22-23 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 4 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 32.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 0.0 |
| Road1g | 285 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-72g | 48.0 | 0.0 | 10.5 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 142 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Lance Leipold
Pass share
41.7%
242 pass / 338 run
Plays / game
72.5
8 games
Scheme: Run-leaning.
| Cole Ballard | Threw in 4 of 8 games · 25 of 43, 381 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT · 8.9 yards an attempt on 43 attempts · ran for 50 yds, 0 TD |
| Isaiah Marshall | Threw in 7 of 8 games · 105 of 196, 1,506 yds, 11 TD, 7 INT · 7.7 yards an attempt on 196 attempts · ran for 403 yds, 2 TD |
| Chase Jenkins | Threw in 1 of 8 games · 3 of 3, 65 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT · 21.7 yards an attempt on 3 attempts · ran for 58 yds, 1 TD |
Box score. Every quarterback on the team who has thrown a pass this season.
Who threw in each quarter. Blue: Cole Ballard. Gray: Isaiah Marshall, Chase Jenkins. From the play by play.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer passes and runs a game than most FBS quarterbacks who play every week.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
1 coachPlayed every college season under Lance Leipold.