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Kansas 2019 Football Preview: August Update

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We are just a few weeks away for another season of Jayhawks football!

Kansas opens the 2019 schedule Indiana State and sites like BetOnline have the Jayhawks listed as 3.5-point favorites. With wins coming at a slow clip over the last few years, starting off with a victory would be a welcomed event.

In fact, the Jayhawks have an excellent chance of going 2-0 before getting into a tough early schedule. After getting Indiana State at home, they host Coastal Carolina in Week 2. The Chanticleers went just 2-6 in the Sun Belt last season, and 5-7 overall. A home game against the bottom of the Sun Belt could be the confidence booster the Jayhawks need before a tough stretch that holds:

  • Boston College, on the road
  • West Virginia, at home
  • Texas Christian, on the road
  • Oklahoma, at home
  • Texas, on the road
  • Texas Tech, at home
  • Kansas State, at home
  • Oklahoma State, on the road
  • Iowa State, on the road
  • Baylor, at home

Ok, so it is more than a rough stretch; it’s the whole remaining season. But I’ve got one word for you: Pooka! And two others: Les Miles!

This will be the lauded head coach’s first full season in Kansas. But given the fact that he had the end of last season and a full offseason, we are likely to see closer to full-on second-year type adjustments. I would like to say that we will sky-rocket to a 7-win season, but unfortunately, it will be challenging to get six just yet. The schedule simply doesn’t allow for it .. at least not in the first real year of taking over a program. 

Though if anyone can turn a program around in short order, it’s Les Miles. After leaving the Cowboys, he turned the Oklahoma State Cowboys back into a powerhouse. Then, he brought LSU into perennial contention in the SEC. 

“’I think we have a better talent base here in Kansas than I had when I went with Oklahoma State,” he said. ”We were allowed to recruit a very significant number at Oklahoma State, recruited very well to start. I think that’s the same thing here. I think we will recruit well, over time, and I think you will see this Kansas team is much more talented than their record shows.” – Miles

Sure, Miles is always confident. But it seems like he legitimately likes his chances of turning this program into a Big 12 team that others fear in just a couple of years. On the even brighter side, the Jayhawks have a solid running back corps. We could see a break out year from Pooka Williams (after he is eligible again in Week 2) and Dom Williams and  Khalil Herbert add a kind of depth that could turn this squad into a run-first, gut-busting offense.

At QB, it seems there is still a duel going on and Miles will ‘choose the No. 1 starter when it happens naturally.’ But you have to think that Thomas MacVittie has a little bit of an edge over Carter Stanley. Why? Well, Les Miles tried to recruit MacVittie back in LSU but lost out to Pitt. Now Miles has finally gotten his hands on his former recruit in Kansas. It’s serendipitous if you ask me. 

Look for the Jayhawks to improve on their 3-9 record from last season, despite having a brutal schedule in 2019.

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