1953 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 1953 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Seven Conference during the 1953 college football season. In their sixth season under head coach Jules V. Sikes, the Jayhawks compiled a 2–8 record (2–4 against conference opponents), finished tied for fourth in the Big Seven Conference, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 179 to 83.^[1][2] They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

1953 Kansas Jayhawks football
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Record	2–8 (2–4 Big 7)
Head coach	Jules V. Sikes (6th season)
Captains	Morris Kay Bob Hantla
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	1
Missouri	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Colorado	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Nebraska	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Kansas	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Don Hess with 369 rushing yards and 20 points scored, and John McFarland with 343 passing yards.^[3] Morris Kay and Bob Hantla were the team captains.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	at TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	L 0–13	26,000	[4]
September 25	at No. 4 UCLA*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 7–19	42,829
October 3	Iowa State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 23–0	23,676
October 10	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 27–21	24,300
October 17	at No. 12 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 0–45	45,862
October 24	No. 13 SMU*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 6–14	29,000	[5]
October 31	at Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 0–9	33,000
November 7	Kansas State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 0–7	25,000
November 14	Oklahoma A&M*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 14–41	17,000
November 21	Missouri	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (Border War)	L 6–10	34,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game