Kansas Jayhawks Record Predictions - BWR Roundtable: 1 Day

Our crew gets together to tell you what they expect to see from the Kansas Jayhawks this season.

The season is here. The Kansas Jayhawks take the field tomorrow for the first time in 2023 to take on the Missouri State Bears. But before the season starts, we need to lock in our official predictions for how the Jayhawks will perform.

The offseason has given us plenty of reasons to be bullish on the capabilities of this team. But anyone who has been a Kansas fan for any length of time is justified in being a bit skeptical.

So which side of the coin do you fall on? Will the Jayhawks struggle and lose out on a second straight bowl game? Or will the offense carry them until the defense can catch up, leading to another year of exceeding expectations? 

Kyle Davis

I thought I was being optimistic last year when I picked KU to win four games, and then it turned out I undersold the Jayhawks. This year, I’m going to say KU ends with a winning record, and I still might be underselling them. I’ve been going back and forth between 7-5 and 8-4. I see five should-be wins: Missouri State, Nevada, BYU, Iowa State, and Cincinnati. Then it’s a question of where those others come from. I’m most confident in Illinois at home and think UCF will be a good matchup, which would get KU to seven. KU could absolutely win one of those other games on the schedule (OU, Texas, OK State, etc.) and, of course, weird things happen throughout the course of a season. I thought I’d end this saying 7-5, but give me 8-4 and a top-six finish in the Big 12.

Derek Noll

I’m with Kyle, but I’ll stick with 7-5 as it would almost be too perfect if the Jayhawks made it to eight or more wins. The Missouri State and Nevada games look like locks, but everything else on the slate is a challenge and it really depends on when the matchup is happening and the health of teams involved. Illinois should be at the perfect time for KU, but with so many heavy hitters in a row on the Jayhawks’ schedule, seeing them string together win after win after win seems unlikely even if the defense clicks. I say all this and we all saw how KU surprised everyone last year so I’ll take 7 and 5 with and optimistic view that it could be eight or even nine wins.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

My apologies for the uncreative answer, but I’ve been consistently picking 7-5 for a while now. I understand that a lot of outside perspectives are concerned about the schedule this year, and I’ve heard “they may be a better team, but finish with a worse record” more than my fair share of times. Kansas brings back so much talent and experience, though, the most in the country, in fact. I think this program is better this year than it was last year, and for that reason I’m not worried about a supposedly challenging schedule. Illinois in Week 2 will be a key litmus test, The road trip to Texas at the end of September is daunting, but every other game on the schedule is winnable, and the Jayhawks should be (and need to be) competitive in all of them. I’m buying as much stock in the offense as possible and with an even passable defense, this team is certainly a bowl-caliber squad again. I’m more than content picking KU to finish with its first winning season since 2008.

Andy Mitts

I talked about it a lot in both the worst case scenario and best case scenario, but this year feels like the Jayhawks can be competitive in every game they play in without help, except the one against Texas. The numbers the Jayhawks put up with Jason Bean taking over halfway through the year were nothing short of ridiculous, and I expect that to continue this season. And I expect the defense to step up throughout the year, which is perfect given how the offenses of their opponents ramp up throughout the year, with the exception of game 4.

So even though my way-too-early predictions indicated a somewhat unrealistic at the time 9-3, I keep coming back to that number as what feels most likely to me. Illinois has some real issues on offense, and the Jayhawks can afford to let their own offense carry them there. Texas is talented enough to get a blowout, but no other team is complete enough to both limit the Jayhawks and put up their own gaudy numbers. I say that the Jayhawks start 5-1, lose one in Ames or Stillwater, and then pick up one of Texas Tech or Kansas State. Get ready for a good bowl destination.

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