Kansas football travels to Provo, Utah, to face the 9-0 BYU Cougars on Saturday night. Can the Jayhawks spoil the Cougars’ dream season under the snowy Utah mountains and stay alive for bowl eligibility? Let’s see what the Kansan Sports staff thinks.
Katie Acosta ([email protected])
A month ago, the Kansas Jayhawks plummeted to the basement of the Big 12 Conference with five consecutive losses, each game somehow more brutal than the last. At that point, it would been very easy for Kansas to call it quits on a disappointing season. But since then, the Jayhawks have bounced back admirably with two home conference wins versus Houston and Iowa State and losing a heartbreaker on the road in Manhattan.
So, heading into Provo for a Saturday night showdown versus undefeated No. 6 BYU, the Jayhawks have momentum. Redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels has salvaged a disappointing start to his season, senior running back Devin Neal has made history, offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes has found a playbook, and head coach Lance Leipold has righted the ship.
But even momentum will be nowhere near enough for Kansas to pull off the upset on Saturday. LaVell Edwards Stadium is one of the best venues in college football, and I know Cougar fans will have that stadium packed.
The reason BYU has found so much success this season is due to their late-game execution and balanced team approach (cough, cough the weak point for Kansas.) BYU has won four games this season by six points or fewer, as the Cougars just find ways to take the W at the end of the night.
BYU has an extremely balanced running attack, with three backs having over 200 yards on the season, but no one star. If Kansas can limit the Cougar run game early, they will have a shot in this game, if not it’ll be a long night for the Jayhawks.
Limiting the run game is essential because BYU Quarterback Jake Retzlaff isn’t superhuman. Retzlaff has been efficient and led a historic eight-point comeback win in the fourth quarter last week versus Utah to win the Holy War, but is a much better quarterback when playing ahead of the sticks. If Kansas can consistently force third-and longs that will be the best shot the defense has at getting off the field and keeping BYU off the scoreboard.
For Kansas, it’s essential they keep up the momentum of connecting on big plays down the field. Last week vs. Iowa State, the Kansas offense connected on six 20+ yard plays, and keep a close eye on Kansas senior wide receiver Quentin Skinner in this one. Skinner is coming off a career game versus Iowa State with 135 yards and two touchdowns, and if Skinner can continue being a consistent threat down the field that makes the Kansas offense that much more explosive.
This has gotten quite long, so I will wrap up my staff pick and predict this will be a fantastic game. And like they have done all season, BYU will win another game by less than six points.
BYU 34-28
Ben Hooke ([email protected])
I’ve built myself a bit of a reputation of being a pessimistic predictor. In my last three picks, I’ve taken Kansas to lose, and this one looks like it’ll be no different.
It’s a night game at LaVell Edwards Stadium, a situation where the “Vampire Cougars” are virtually invincible, and if the history isn’t enough, the 35-degree temperatures and 62,000 of the world’s most belligerently sober fans are going to make this a tough, tough game for the Jayhawks.
Stylistically, this isn’t the toughest matchup – BYU’s offense does a lot of things well but doesn’t have a true game-changer in any of the skill position spots, and their defense is effective largely because of the outsized number of turnovers they produce. Special teams will be an issue, though, given the amount of speed the Cougars have in their returners.
So, do I give Kansas a chance?
I give them more than that.
On Saturday night, Kansas is going to shock the world and end BYU’s perfect season. It’s happening.
This BYU team has been incredible in one score games. Kansas has been very bad in them. At some point, the scales will tip, and I think it’s happening on Saturday. BYU’s turnover margin has to regress. This Kansas offense, which has been really good since the Arizona State game, will stay hot.
In their two quality wins of the season, BYU has needed to force three turnovers. If Kansas takes care of the ball and cuts off the BYU defense, I think this will become a game that the Jayhawks can take.
BYU is cruising around the edge, with open space and a playoff bid in front of them, and Kansas is about to come out of nowhere and hit-stick their greatest season since 1984 into an uncertain spiral.
Kansas, 35-31
Eli Fitzgerald ([email protected])
Since joining the Big 12 in the most recent edition of Conference Realignment, the BYU Cougars have done nothing but exceed expectations and prove everyone wrong, including me. If you had told me that BYU would be 9-0, have the best record in the Big 12, and sixth in ESPN’s most recent CFP rankings at the start of the season, I would have wondered if God really does have a favorite team.
Lance Leipold and company are coming off the biggest win of the season but now have the biggest test of the season: a night game in Provo, Utah. Since 2019, BYU has been 29-3 in full-night games, and with a 9:15 p.m. scheduled kickoff, this game unfortunately falls into that category.
BYU is coming off a huge win in the “Holy War,” defeating in-state rival Utah Utes 22-21 thanks to a walk-off field goal as time expired. The team is exceptionally physical and likes to make other teams’ receivers uncomfortable. BYU is riding high on momentum and has a number of impressive wins highlighted by a victory over Kansas State under the lights of LaVell Edwards Stadium.
That is not to say that the 3-6 Jayhawks can’t march into Provo and spoil BYU’s College Football Playoff hopes. I have said it and will say it again, “Kansas is the best 3-6 football team in the nation.” This team seems to have found a little mojo the last few weeks, winning games against Houston and No. 17 ranked Iowa State’s Cyclones. Apart from a close game in the Sunflower Showdown vs K-State in the last few weeks, this team looks like the Jayhawk football we all anticipated.
BYU leads the Big 12 in interceptions and is second in the country. If Kansas is going to have any chance of pulling off the upset, Jalon Daniels needs to continue his clean football and not turn over the ball. In the last four games, Daniels has thrown eight touchdowns and just one interception; he will need similar heroics in this matchup.
To win this game, the stars need to align. It may take another “hit-stick heard ’round the world” from Cobee Bryant, a flawless game from Jalon Daniels, and a usually poor performance for BYU’s mobile quarterback Jake Retlazaf.
I don’t see a scenario where this game is a blowout. I think that Kansas is not going down without a fight. Kansas has a chance to play spoiler the next few weeks partially against BYU and Colorado and I fully anticipate these ranked matchups being one possession games.
There is just something about playing a game in the Utah mountains that favors the Cougars. Last season, Kansas came away with a nine-point win at David Booth Memorial Stadium and this time around I expect the rolls to flip with BYU coming out on top at home with a victory to stay undefeated and almost guarantee a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
BYU, 35-31
Ian Sullivan ([email protected])
The Kansas Jayhawks have the opportunity to do the funniest thing of all time. That is, of course, marching into LaVell Edwards stadium Saturday night and snatching victory from the jaws of the undefeated BYU Cougars.
Last week, the Jayhawks not only showed that their offense can score at will against good defenses, but they also showed they can win big games. I think the Jayhawks have a legitimate opportunity to rewrite perception of this season, as beating BYU puts KU one step closer to being bowl-eligible.
Why do I think KU will beat the Cougars? The answer is simple: KU’s all-time leading rusher, senior running back Devin Neal.
I don’t predict the Jayhawks will come out of the gates, taking deep shots or trying to pull any trickery. Instead, I expect them to lean heavily on Neal’s graceful and patient rushing attack. BYU fans, despite being completely sober, will show out and create one of the most hostile environments that the Jayhawks have seen all year.
To that, I say: run the damn ball.
There’s no better way to suck the life out of the crowd than forcing them to watch Neal go for six yards per carry all night. While BYU has faced good running backs this season, their less-than-stellar rush defense hasn’t met Devin Neal yet. If the Jayhawks want to leave Provo still in bowl contention, they are going to need to find a way to take the crowd out of the equation.
Saturday night, I expect the Kansas offense to silence the crowd and keep the wagon rolling.
Kansas, 38-31
Kickoff against BYU is set for 9:15 p.m. at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
This post was originally published on here
