Kansas vs Illinois Predictions: An Early Test

Our crew gets together to tell you what they expect to see tonight as the Jayhawks take on the Fighting Illini.

The Jayhawks passed last week's test with flying colors, as they dominated the second half to pull away from the overmatched Missouri State Bears. This week, they have a much better opponent on their schedule.

With the first major test of the new season (and the first game for quarterback Jalon Daniels), there are a lot of different possibilities for the outcome today.

Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hope over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.

Kyle Davis

Check out our Illinois Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.

Derek Noll

I’m all in on the positivity train. Jalon Daniels will want to put on a show, we know what Devin Neal, Daniel Hishsaw and the rest of the running backs are capable of, and the wideouts looked ready for the big time. And hey, the defense made big plays when they needed to and guys like Rich Miller and Cobee Bryant stepped up, so despite the obvious upgrade in talent facing the Jayhawks, I’m taking KU to beat Illinois and do it in style in front of a packed house. 

Kansas 42, Illinois 24.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

You really can’t undervalue how important it is to have Jalon back for this game. KU needs him to be at his best, but if he is it puts the Jayhawks in a prime position. I know Leipold and Kotelnicki spoke about execution down to down and not relying on explosives this week, but I think there will be some chances to take those shots Friday night. Illinois lost so much in their secondary after last season and I’m optimistic that the Kansas offensive line will give Daniels time to make those deep shots happen. I’ll take KU in a thriller. 

Kansas 31, Illinois 30.

Andy Mitts

This game is very interesting no matter what angle you view it from. Illinois had some struggles last week, and I don't think that Toledo's defense is better than the one Kansas is running out there. And while it may take a half for Jalon to warm up, Kansas is a second half team anyway.

I expect Kansas to outscore Illinois in the second half by 2 scores. The real question is if they can avoid enough mistakes in the first half to be ahead at the break, or if they will be mounting a comeback in the second half. Give me the crowd as they cause enough problems that the Illinois execution issues rear their ugly head again.

#HawksBy17

Kansas 38, Illinois 21.

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