Impressive news: We’re discussing the Lawrence, Kansas, football program before August has even arrived?

Impressive news: We’re discussing the Lawrence, Kansas, football program before August has even arrived?

Yes, people. On the Kaw, anticipation for football season is extremely strong, especially in comparison to what happened between 2010 and 2020.

With five (!!!) first-place votes, the Jayhawks were predicted to finish fourth in the newly redesigned Big 12 Conference media poll. To put things in perspective, Todd Reesing’s senior year of 2009 marked the last time KU received any first-place votes in a preseason poll, and that was only for winning the division.

CBs Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant were selected to the Preseason All-Conference team, while Devin Neal was oddly left out.

Let’s take a brief look at the three things I’ll be keeping an eye on from Kansas Football this autumn, as camp gets underway today. (Clarification: I’m looking for three things out of the season, not three things out of fall camp. I can’t resist looking ahead since I’m so enthusiastic!)

Daniel Jalon
Though it should go without saying, this is so crucial that it must be mentioned. Redshirt freshman Cole Ballard and true freshman Isaiah Marshall appear to be good backup options for this year’s team, but it’s probable that neither will be as good as we saw from Jason Bean the season before. This season, Kansas will follow Jalon Daniels’ progress; if he stays healthy, the Jayhawks should be able to win every game on their schedule. A few more games become much more of a coin flip if he isn’t.

Furthermore, a full season from players like Devin Neal, Cobee Bryant, Mello Dotson, and Michael Ford would undoubtedly be ideal, but Daniels is Kansas’s offensive engine and must remain in that role if the team is to live up to preseason expectations.

The Timetable
Let’s take a moment to discuss the schedule. For KU, it really breaks out rather nicely. The three teams that the Jayhawks were predicted to finish first, third, and fifth—Utah, Oklahoma State, and Arizona—are absent. Since K-State is the only school on KU’s schedule to receive a single first-place vote, the Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan on October 26 is a HUGE indicator of KU’s chances of making it to the league championship game.

Regarding the non-conference, following Week 2 and a trip to Champaign, IL to play Illinois, we ought to have a great deal more information about KU. The ‘Hawks dominated the Illini in Lawrence last season, and a similar showing versus them in 2024 should be encouraging for the remainder of the season.

Home Field Drawback
How successful will KU be this year “at home”? After all, this will be the first time Kansas has played its whole home schedule outside of Memorial Stadium since 1920. (Well, given that Memorial opened in 1921, it’s not exactly fair, but still.) While Arrowhead Stadium will host the Big 12 games, Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, will host the nonconference games.

Because of the small seating capacity at CMP, I expect big numbers and a packed house, which will provide KU a respectable homefield edge versus Lindenwood and UNLV. That being said, I’m worried about the atmosphere in Arrowhead. That is still fewer than two thirds of the capacity, even if 50,000 fans pass through the gates. And I anticipate a sizable Iowa State contingent to be present when Iowa State visits the area.