Kansas Football is just weeks away from kicking off the 2026 season.
What are the expectations for the fall? It depends who you ask but the overall sense is that it is not as high as prior years.
Jalon Daniels is gone and the Jayhawks will feature a new-look offense. After back-to-back five-win seasons, head coach Lance Leipold will look to turn things around once again.
There are multiple games on the schedule that can determine whether Kansas gets to play a game in bowl season or heads home early once again.
The Jayhawks have two decisive victories on the schedule. Both out-of-conference games come in the first four weeks as Kansas opens up against LIU before a meeting with Middle Tennessee. There are also difficult games on the schedule such as Utah, BYU, and Kansas State.
These three games will be the biggest swings of the year for Kansas.
3. Sept. 19 vs. Arizona State
This is not the Arizona State team that made a run in the playoffs two years ago. With that being said, there are still higher expectations for the Sun Devils than Kansas. This game is being played at Wembley Stadium in London. With the travel taken into account, anything can happen. This is a chance for Kansas to earn an early statement win over an Arizona State team with many question marks, including quarterback after Sam Leavitt left for LSU. This will be a close game where Arizona State will be favored but if Kansas pulls off an upset, it could go a long way.
2. Nov. 14 at West Virginia
West Virginia went 4-8 last season. Rich Rodriguez hit the transfer portal hard, especially on the offensive side of the ball. At this point of the year, the offense should be clicking but that does not mean that Kansas cannot pick up a late-season win. This road matchup will be sandwiched between two home games with the next week being BYU. It could be a mini losing streak or win streak when looking at the games before and after. This is one final push for the Jayhawks to get to bowl season.
1. Oct. 24 vs. Baylor
This is the ultimate swing game and one that has not been kind to Kansas. The Jayhawks have lost 14 straight games to Baylor dating back to 2007. The Bears finished with five wins last season and attempted to improve at quarterback with DJ Lagway coming in. This game comes after back-to-back road games against Utah and Kansas State. It also comes before a trip to TCU. If Kansas loses this one, it could be looking at four in a row. This is the year for the Jayhawks to end a long losing streak against a conference rival.