After nine months of waiting, Kansas football fans will finally see the team take the field today. As Lance Leipold enters his sixth season at the helm, the Jayhawks are hoping to kick off a bounce-back campaign following consecutive years without reaching bowl eligibility. The opposing team today is Long Island, an FCS school in the Northeast Conference that finished 6-6 a year ago. The Sharks are coming off a 21-point loss to North Dakota in which they trailed by six scores before halftime.Fans should expect a huge victory for the Jayhawks, but there are still plenty of interesting things to monitor with this new-look squad. Here at Kansas on SI, we'll be updating this live tracker throughout the game to keep everyone informed on the score and whatever else is happening during the contest.Jul 8, 2026; Frisco, TX, USA; Kansas head coach Lance Leipold speaks to reporters during Big 12 Conference Football Media Days at The Star. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectFirst Quarter15:00: Kansas wins the toss and defers to LIU. Let's play some football. 13:34: Three-and-out for LIU on the defense's first drive of the year, with Bam Crouch recording his first sack as a Jayhawk on third down. Tate Nagy made a nice punt return to bring the ball near midfield. 11:19: After a first-down catch by Nik McMillan, the Jayhawks' offense stalled and faced a fourth-and-short opportunity. Marshall missed on a throw over the middle of the field for a turnover on downs. 10:07: Another three-and-out for the Sharks, something we'll likely repeat multiple times today. Unfortunate scene for Bam Crouch, who made a sack in the last drive but had to be helped off the field after a hard hit to the upper body. 5:59: First touchdown of the year goes to Syracuse transfer Yasin Willis, who had a productive drive. Kansas received a break by converting a 3rd and 18 play that Nik McMillan may have stepped out on. Then, the Jayhawks tried a funky-looking 2-point try with Tate Nagy under center that failed badly. Kansas leads, 6-0. 1:16: LIU began to string together some gains, tallying their first pair of first downs. However, the KU defense stepped up once the Sharks entered its territory, forcing another punt thanks to a sack and QB pressure by Trey Lathan. The Jayhawks will start their next drive inside their own 10.Second Quarter12:17: We are headed to another commercial break as LIU head coach Ron Cooper asked for a review of a Nik McMillan first-down catch, but he pretty clearly toe drags the turf for the completion. The Buffalo transfer leads KU's wideouts with three catches for 47 yards.9:46: A 16-play, 76-yard drive ends up in vain after the offense stalls in the red zone. First field goal of Martin Connington's Kansas career splits the uprights from 32 yards. Kansas leads, 9-0. 6:10: Marshall and McMillan connect on a 46-yard dot downfield for what was easily the most impressive play of the night. Shortly after, Willis recorded another rushing touchdown for his second trip into the end zone. He already has 64 yards on the ground and is doubling up Dylan Edwards in the carry department. Kansas leads, 16-0. 4:38: Yet another three-and-out for the LIU offense, which has mustered up just 34 total offensive yards so far. On the punt return by Tate Nagy, the Sharks were hit with a 15-yard personal foul for hitting him out of bounds, giving the Jayhawks excellent starting field position. 3:51: The offense wasted no time getting back in a rhythm, as Marshall threw an excellent ball to Middle Tennessee transfer Nahzae Cox for a 47-yard gain, his first catch as a Jayhawk. Jalen Dupree ran it into the end zone from three yards out the next play. What started as a slow day for Marshall and the KU offense has turned into an offensive onslaught, and the Jayhawks have opened the floodgates. Kansas leads, 23-0. 0:57: The Marshall-McMillan connection looks like something that will be featured a lot this season. The two connected on an unreal jumping catch over the middle of the field, and Marshall thread the needle two plays later to find him in the end zone for his first touchdown in the crimson and blue. That could be it for McMillan today, but he logged six catches for 130 yards and a touchdown in less than one half. Kansas leads, 30-0. Third Quarter8:13: While the second and third-stringers are starting to trickle into the game, KU's offense looked comfortable on its first drive of the second half. An Isaiah Marshall rushing touchdown was negated by a holding call, but Tate Nagy was able to reel in a deflected third-down pass for his first collegiate touchdown. This is now a five-score game and that was likely Marshall's final drive — let's see what Cole Ballard can do in his first series of the night. Kansas leads, 37-0. 4:11: LIU appeared poised for its first scoring drive of the night, until David Santiago ripped the Sharks' running back and forced a fumble in KU territory. A good bounce-back for a Jayhawk defense that looked complacent for a few minutes. 1:30: One of the best plays of the game by Tate Nagy, who evaded multiple defenders on a 3rd-and-19 catch and just made it past the line to gain. He has a chance to be a sneaky-good weapon in this offense.Fourth Quarter14:19: Micah Johnson, a redshirt sophomore who is not listed on the depth chart, continued his strong day (10 carries, 46 yards) for his first touchdown at the collegiate level. He ran it in from eight yards out to extend KU's lofty lead. Kansas leads, 44-0. 10:09: The shutout was never going to last for all 60 minutes. Ron Cooper's group is finally on the board, hitting a field goal from 39 yards out to cut the deficit to 41 points. The Sharks were able to move the ball downfield thanks to a 36-yard reception by Josiah Brown, the biggest gain for the team all night. Kansas leads, 44-3. 7:22: Cool little fact here: Donald Collier, a redshirt sophomore listed as a wide receiver on KU's website, is receiving work as the fifth-string running back today. This is only his second collegiate action as a Jayhawk, and he ran it in for six to extend the lead back to seven scores. Kansas leads, 51-3.How to Watch Kansas vs. Long IslandTime: 7 p.m. CTChannel: ESPNULink: Watch ESPNCheck out the KCSN official website and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest KU basketball and football news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow