Winning just one of five games to start the season isn’t really something to be happy about, but the Kansas Jayhawks have taken baby steps forward in each of their games thus far.
David Beaty’s boys are coming off their best outing of the year—a 24-23 loss to TCU last week. In that loss, the Jayhawks outgained their opponents, 470-366, got their pass rush working (three sacks on Kenny Hill) and were generally solid on both sides of the field.
However, there are still a lot of things that this team needs to improve on. Kansas can’t squander its lead and miss fourth-quarter field goals like the way it did versus the Horned Frogs. Committing too many errors and allowing its quarterback—Ryan Willis—be consistently punished by the opposing defense cannot be tolerated as well.
Speaking of Willis, who was sacked five times by TCU, he has also got to step it up. Well, doing that against No. 11 Baylor this weekend might be too much for the sophomore signal-caller. Yes, the Bears do have the overwhelming advantage in this matchup, but he can at least help the Jayhawks compete relatively well by playing mistake-free football.
Kansas has dropped its last 10 road games, going 2-8 ATS in that stretch.
The 11th-ranked Baylor Bears are one of the Big 12’s two remaining unbeaten programs. They hope to keep it that way in this weekend’s favorable matchup against a struggling, yet gradually-improving Jayhawks squad.
A win for the Bears is inevitable here, but you never know when overconfidence may lead to their downfall. And besides that, they’re also coming off an ugly 45-42 win over Iowa State two weeks ago, a game wherein Baylor showed some signs of vulnerability on defense by allowing 465 total yards and six scores in just the first half.
Offensively, the Bears have picked up the pace and are scoring in bunches (39.5 PPG) this season. Their running game has greatly made life so much easier for quarterback Seth Russell, who is priced at +20,000 to win this year’s Heisman Trophy. That’s mainly thanks to the pair of Shock Linwood and Terence Williams. Both have piled up more than 400 yards rushing this season, while the latter boasts a team-high of six TDs.
The Bears’ passing game should wreak havoc as well through KD Cannon. He missed the game versus Iowa State due to a groin injury. But the junior wide receiver who has hauled in a team-leading 27 catches for 370 yards this season, including four touchdowns, is expected to make his return against Kansas.
Baylor is 8-2 SU (4-6 ATS) in its last 10 home games.
