University of Kansas running back Devin Neal in the game versus Colorado on Nov. 23, 2024 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
University of Kansas running back Devin Neal in the game versus Colorado on Nov. 23, 2024 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kansas football wraps up its regular season Saturday with much on the line at Baylor. The Jayhawks can go from 2-6 to 6-6 and become bowl eligible. Does the Kansan Sports staff think Kansas will complete the four-game winning steak and go bowling? Here’s what the staff thinks:
Liam Carson, Sports Editor:
Fresh off a heartbreaking loss in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State on Oct. 26, Kansas football was sitting at 2-6, and the thought of a bowl game could only be found in the minds of delusional fans. Those fans don’t look too delusional anymore.
Kansas football has the chance to do something that seemed almost impossible just a month ago: beat Baylor on Saturday to move to 6-6 and bowl eligibility. The Jayhawks have now ripped off three straight-ranked wins over Iowa State, BYU and Colorado. Kansas is arguably the hottest team in the Big 12 Conference and maybe all of college football. Why would it stop now?
It won’t. I think the Jayhawks complete the gauntlet of winning out and go from 2-6 to 6-6. The seniors on this team never gave up and were not going out without a fight. Beating Baylor will not be easy but I think if Kansas can do what it’s done all season and lean on senior running back Devin Neal, I think it can be done.
The Baylor Bears come into Saturday’s matchup with a 7-4 record that could easily be 9-2 after some close losses to Colorado and BYU. Baylor is a good football team, and Kansas will have its hands full on Saturday, but I think the matchup favors the Jayhawks.
Baylor currently gives up an average of 150 rushing yards per game, which is right around where Colorado sits; the team Kansas just ran into the ground with Neal and the rushing attack racking up 331 yards. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Run the ball on Saturday, and Kansas will likely find itself bowl eligible.
Riding high on momentum with a senior class that isn’t ready to hang up their crimson and blue jersey for the last time. I’ve got the Jayhawks to complete the four-game winning streak to go bowling.
Kansas, 35-27
Ian Sullivan, reporter:
The wagon keeps rolling, and if anyone is counting, I am a perfect 3-0 on staff picks this season. As I predicted last week, the Jayhawks leaned heavily on senior running back Devin Neal in their upset victory over the Colorado Buffaloes.
Despite Neal’s historic four-touchdown and 287-yard performance, the job is not finished for the Jayhawks. The Baylor Bears are all that stands between the Jayhawks and bowl eligibility, as a win on Saturday would give Kansas the sixth win necessary to qualify for a bowl.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how red-hot the Jayhawks are right now, picking up three straight wins over three of the top four teams in the Big 12. However, their opponent, the Baylor Bears, is in a similar situation after building a five-game win streak.
Can the Jayhawks knock off four straight conference opponents and secure the greatest single-season turnaround in Kansas history? I certainly think so.
The Jayhawks have never won in Waco before and the Bears currently have a 13-game win streak over the Jayhawks. If the Jayhawks want to leave Waco victorious, they will need to protect the ball, finish drives and feed Devin Neal.
I may sound like a broken record week after week, but there’s no reason to overthink it: Neal is the heartbeat of the team and I expect them to follow his lead on Saturday. This season, the Bears’ defense has allowed the seventh most rushing yards in the Big 12, with 1651 rushing yards. I predict head coach Lance Leipold and his staff to give Neal as many opportunities as possible to make plays.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jayhawks face a formidable opponent as the Bears average 33.7 points per game. Overall, Kansas has played better defense over the past three weeks, especially in the red zone. Pessimistically, I predict that the Jayhawks will have a tougher time getting stops and regress back to their earlier season form.
No matter how many yards they give up on Saturday, if Kansas can force Baylor into turning the ball over, then it can consider the job complete. I expect Neal & Co. to do the heavy lifting in Waco.
I think the wagon keeps rolling, and the Jayhawks win in a shootout.
Kansas, 42-39
Jack Kenna, reporter:
There might not be a hotter team in college football than the Kansas Jayhawks. After three straight ranked wins, this is not an overreaction. Making my first appearance on Kansan’s staff picks, I have no choice but to claim the Jayhawks are going to march into Waco, Texas, and get it done on Saturday.
This game will be won or lost in the trenches. Both of these football teams utilize the ground game to open up everything on offense.
Luckily for Kansas, I think this leans more in their favor. The Jayhawks average 211.5 rushing yards per game, led by the best Kansas football player of all time, in senior running back Devin Neal.
This Baylor defense is one of the better run stopping units the Jayhawks have recently faced, only giving up 150.1 yards per game on the ground. However, I think if Kansas can come anywhere close to its season average, this game isn’t as close as some may say.
On the contrary, this game could also be a shootout. Baylor’s offense has shown that it can be lethal, averaging 33.7 points per game. So as scary as it may be, the chance to see Kansas in its third straight bowl game will be dependent on if the defense gets stops.
The ground game will be crucial, but Baylor has also shown efforts to air the ball out. Baylor redshirt junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson is coming off the game against Houston where he threw three interceptions. He will have to take care of the ball against a Kansas defense who has 12 interceptions on the year and has only looked better since the defeat in Manhattan.
Over the past three weeks Kansas has held its opponents to just under 24 points per game. If it can replicate a similar performance on the road, there is no doubt in my mind that the Jayhawks won’t be punching their ticket to bowl eligibility.
Kansas, 31-20
Grady Johnson, reporter:
The last time I was on staff picks, It fortunately did not end well for me. I had an unusual amount of pessimism, but I would like to thank a few of my fellow reporters, notably Charlie Krupski and Katie Acosta, who have instilled dangerous amounts of hopium in me.
That being said, this Kansas team is defeating Baylor this weekend and gaining bowl eligibility for the third straight season under head coach Lance Leipold.
While both of these squads are on absolute scorchers right now, with the Bears being winners of their last five, I think we are finally seeing the brand of Jayhawks’ football that we all expected to see much earlier in the season.
The key in this one, much like last week’s 37-21 win over Colorado, will be to run the ball and control the clock. You probably don’t need to hold the ball for 40-plus minutes this time around, but winning the possession battle, as cliché as it sounds, is necessary.
Senior running back Devin Neal, for some reason, is finally gaining national attention, although he’s been one of the best running backs in the country all season long. He’ll be asked to carry the load once again against a Baylor defense that is just okay at defending the run (10th in rushing defense in the Big 12).
On the defensive side, the Bears are seventh in the Big 12 in rushing offense and ninth in passing offense, yet are third scoring 33.7 points per contest. The play of senior cornerbacks Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson should be enough to contain the Bears’ weapons, and the front seven, led by senior linebacker Cornell Wheeler, amongst others, will need to make big play after big play in order to give the ball back to the offense.
If all goes well, and I think most things will go well, the Jayhawks will exit Waco, Texas, with their first win in 12 tries.
Kansas, 35-24
Kansas will finish its regular season with bowl eligibility on the line on Saturday. Kickoff at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas, is set for 11 a.m. central and can be broadcast on ESPN2.
120 Years of Kansas Basketball
Retired Jerseys
It’s the coliseum that is home to Kansas basketball’s 13-straight titles, Coach, Player and Freshman of the Year. Video by Brandon Cotter/KANSAN
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