Kansas football is heading into its bye week with an 1-2 start, and ESPN’s latest Football Power Index numbers don’t leave much room for optimism. After three games, the Jayhawks sit 67th among FBS teams in the metric, and ESPN gives them a 15.3% chance to reach a bowl game.
That’s a noticeable drop from where Kansas stood before the season, and the weekly projections reflect it. KU has already lost to Missouri and Arizona State, and in both games the offense had trouble finding a steady rhythm.
The Jayhawks never topped 28 points in either loss. The defense has been sturdier against the run, while the pass defense showed improvement against Arizona State but also had shaky stretches against Missouri.
Special teams, meanwhile, have flashed both good and bad moments.
Here’s how ESPN now sees the rest of Kansas’ schedule shaking out, with the win odds, the implied betting line and the opponent’s FPI rank all moving in step with the Jayhawks’ current outlook.
The next stop is a home game against Middle Tennessee State on October 3. ESPN gives Kansas an 88.6% chance to win that one, down from 94.1% before the season, with an implied spread of KU -16. The Blue Raiders are No. 120 in FPI, and the updated projected record after that game is 2-2, 0-1 in Big 12 play.
The road gets much steeper after that. On October 10 at Utah, Kansas is given just a 7.3% chance, a sharp fall from the preseason 23.4%.
The implied line is Utah -17, and the Utes are ranked No. 15 in FPI. ESPN’s updated projection has KU at 2-3 and 0-2 in the Big 12 after that matchup.
The Oct. 17 trip to Kansas State brings another difficult read. Kansas has a 16.4% chance there, down from 37.4% in the preseason, with an implied spread of KSU -13.5. ESPN lists an early DraftKings line of KSU -8.5, and the Wildcats are No. 30 in FPI.
Home games don’t offer much relief in the middle of the schedule. Baylor visits on October 24, and Kansas is projected with a 32.6% chance to win, down from 45.7% before the year. The implied spread is BU -6, Baylor checks in at No. 38, and the updated projected record becomes 2-5, 0-4 in the Big 12.
The same story follows on October 31 at TCU. Kansas’ win chance there is 23.4%, compared with 32.7% preseason, and the implied betting line is TCU -10. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 41, and the projected record after that game is 2-6 and 0-5 in conference play.
UCF comes to Lawrence on November 7, and ESPN has Kansas at 43.8% to win, down from 61% before the season. The implied spread is UCF -2.5, the Knights are No. 52 in FPI, and the updated projection is 2-7, 0-6 in the Big 12.
West Virginia follows on November 14, with Kansas given a 26.8% shot, down from 49.6% preseason. The implied line is WVU -7.5, the Mountaineers are No. 49, and ESPN’s updated record projection moves to 2-8 and 0-7 in conference.
On November 21, BYU visits, and Kansas’ chances are 17.4%, compared with 28.1% before the season. The implied spread is BYU -12.5, the Cougars are No. 19 in FPI, and the projection becomes 2-9, 0-8 in the Big 12.
The regular season closes on November 28 at Oklahoma State. Kansas is given a 29.3% chance there, down from 42% in the preseason, with an implied spread of OSU -7. The Cowboys are ranked No. 50 in FPI.
In Other News...
Kansas Fans Have A New Reason To Worry About Quarterback
Isaiah Marshalls first season guiding Kansas has been steady enough on the surface, but not quite smooth enough to quiet the questions that tend to follow a young quarterback. Through three games, he has put up decent production and shown flashes of the talent the Jayhawks need from him, but the early stretch has also included enough rough edges to keep the conversation going around the position.
The unease only grows when another former Kansas quarterback starts making noise elsewhere, especially one who is off to a fast start at Miami (OH). Marshall has already dealt with some shaky moments in the operation around him, including mishandled snaps, and those kinds of plays can make a quarterbacks job harder than the box score suggests. For a Kansas team looking for stability, the biggest concern is not just the numbers, but whether the position can settle down before the season gets any longer. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Bye Week Suddenly Carries More Weight Than Fans Realized
The calendar is starting to tilt toward Kansas final nonconference date, and the Big 12 has now locked in a detail that changes the feel of that stretch run. The Jayhawks home game against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 3 will arrive as their first Saturday morning kickoff of the season, a spot on the schedule that tends to reshape everything from pregame routines to the atmosphere in the stadium.
It also gives Kansas one more unfamiliar wrinkle before league play takes center stage, because the Blue Raiders are a first-time opponent for the program. With the matchup landing on national television and coming at the end of the nonconference slate, it now has the look of a game the Jayhawks will want to handle cleanly before the real grind begins. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Showed Promise In London But One Problem Still Looms
Kansas came back from London with plenty to sort through after a 24-17 loss to Arizona State in its Big 12 opener, but not everything in the performance was discouraging. Lance Leipold pointed to a defense that kept the Jayhawks in the game, and sophomore wide receiver Tate Nagy provided the offensive spark, scoring both Kansas touchdowns in a matchup that had its share of momentum swings.
Still, the issues that tripped Kansas up were hard to ignore. The Jayhawks struggled to protect the ball on offense and also ran into trouble on special teams, two areas that can quickly erase the value of a solid defensive effort. For a team that showed flashes of promise on a big stage, the next question is how quickly it can clean up the mistakes that left it on the wrong end of a close one. [Read more 🡒]