Kansas heads to Salt Lake City this weekend with a brutal assignment waiting on the other side. The Jayhawks will face No. 12 Utah in a Big 12 matchup, and ESPN’s Matchup Predictor doesn’t leave much room for optimism.
The projection gives Utah an 88.9% chance to win, while Kansas sits at 11.1%. That marks the lowest win probability the model has given Lance Leipold’s team all season, and it paints a pretty stark picture for a KU group that is still searching for consistency.
Kansas comes in at 2-2 after blasting Middle Tennessee State 55-0 last week, a game in which the offense piled up more than 700 yards. But this one is a different animal entirely. Utah is a two-touchdown favorite and has already stacked up wins over Idaho, Arkansas, Utah State and Iowa State.
The Utes’ 31-17 win over Iowa State in their Big 12 opener showed how tough they are to chase down, even when an opponent makes a second-half push. Quarterback Devon Dampier has powered one of the country’s most efficient offenses, and Utah has been overwhelming on both sides of the ball through the early part of the season. The Utes lead the conference in points scored at 43.3 per game and points allowed at 10.3 per game.
Kansas does bring one of the nation’s better defensive numbers into the game, sitting inside the top 10 in total yards allowed. Still, that figure comes with some context: the Jayhawks have faced an FCS opponent and, most recently, a struggling MTSU team. Against Power 4 competition, KU’s offense has not shown much life, and it has looked stagnant in losses to Missouri and Arizona State.
Utah enters the game rested after a bye week and will be playing its home conference opener with plenty of momentum. For Kansas, the path to an upset is thin, and the matchup predictor reflects that reality.
In Other News...
Utah Is Moving Toward A Rice-Eccles Change Fans Will Notice
Rice-Eccles Stadium could be heading for one of its more noticeable updates in years, with the University of Utah and Crimson Brand Partners mapping out a renovation concept that would modernize parts of the building fans already know well. The current plan is centered on the West Tower and is aimed at giving the Utes a more premium game-day experience, while the project is now far enough along that architects and engineers are being sought for the work.
The early timeline points toward initial completion by August 2027, and the changes on the drawing board go beyond a simple facelift. Along with suite upgrades and new club spaces, the concept also calls for turning storage space in the northeast corner into a field-level club, a move that could alter how fans move through the stadium and expand the game-day amenities footprint in a way Utah supporters will likely notice quickly. [Read more 🡒]