The college football offseason is almost over as we are into July. The season will get going in about a month and a half, and college football fans everywhere are eager for the new beginning. College football fever is rampant across the country as we get closer to the season, but also because of the new EA Sports NCAA 25 video game that will be coming out in mid July. All in all, it's an exciting time to be a college football fan, and one fan base that is excited for the season is Kansas football fans. The Jayhawks have a big season ahead of them.
This college football season is going to be a big one for a number of reasons. The sport is going through big changes, and some of those changes are going to be seen for the first time this season. Let's take a look at what some of them are.
First off, there are going to be some new rules seen this year in college football, and some fans aren't really in favor of them. Perhaps the biggest change is the addition of the two-minute warning. Fans have already started getting sick at all of the commercials that are happening in today's era of college football, and the two-minute warning is another way for tv networks to get more commercial times in.
The bigger changes, however, come with conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff. College football is going to look completely different next year because of those two things. California schools playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Yeah, things are changing.
Conference realignment has shaken things up big time in college football. The power five is no longer a thing as the Pac-12 is essentially dead. Every team left for a new conference except for Oregon State and Washington State. Those two teams have scheduling alliances with the Mountain West.
Every other Pac-12 school found a new home. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State are now in the Big 12. Oregon, Oregon State, USC and UCLA joined the Big Ten. Lastly, Cal and Stanford joined the ACC (makes a ton of sense, right?).
The other big change with conferences comes in the SEC. Oklahoma and Texas are both leaving the Big 12 and they will join the SEC. The Big Ten and the SEC are loaded with good teams and seem on the verge of forming two super conferences.
This season, we will also see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff. For about a month, the College Football Playoff will be happening. Some people aren't in favor of the big expansion, but there will be more marquee college football games, and it's hard to be too upset about that.
All in all, this is going to be one of the biggest college football seasons of all time. The game is changing, and this is the start of a new era.
Kansas football has high expectations for 2024
Not too long ago, the Kansas football team was regarded as one of the worst FBS college football teams in the country. The Jayhawks were a consistently bad squad, and they were always finishing near the bottom of the Big 12. It didn't seem like there was anything that was going to fix Kansas, and then Lance Leipold took over as head coach.
It has been incredible to see what the Kansas football team has done in the past couple of years under head coach Lance Leipold. Leipold has been extremely successful as a head coach as he was the coach of DIII powerhouse Wisconsin Whitewater from 2007-2014. He played college football there, and he won six national championships there as a coach.
Leipold moved to D1 in 2015 and was the head coach for Buffalo until taking the Kansas football job in 2021. So far, he has only brought the Jayhawks up. Kansas has showed steady improvement under Leipold as they have finished 2-10, 6-7 and 9-4. They have been to a bowl game each of the past two seasons, and last year they got a win in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
After building some success the past couple of years, expectations are getting higher for Kansas football. The Jayhawks are looking to build more momentum this season, and they are expected to be a solid team. Here are a couple reasons why they are capable of winning the Big 12 this season.
Schedule
One thing that is in Kansas' favor is their schedule. The Big 12 is not expected to be a very strong conference this season. Texas and Oklahoma were traditionally the two best teams in the conference, but they have moved over to the SEC. The Longhorns are expected to be one of the best teams in the country, and they would be the heavy favorite to win the conference if they were still in it. Because of their departure along with the Sooners, the conference is wide open.
The Big 12 isn't particularly strong this year, and Kansas football avoids some of the top teams. They don't have to play Utah or Arizona, so their toughest matchup is probably a road game at Kansas State. After that, their next toughest game is maybe a home game vs. Iowa State. This schedule is not very difficult and Kansas could very well end up making a run to the Big 12 championship game.
Jalon Daniels
Another big reason why Kansas football can be successful in 2024 is their quarterback, Jalon Daniels. Daniels was injured for most of last season, but he will back this year and is looking for a big bounce back season. Daniels should be one of the best QBs in the Big 12.
Daniels had a good year in 2022 before his 2023 injury. He can hurt teams with his arm and he can also make big plays with his legs, which makes him an incredibly tough player for defenses to deal with. With him running the offense, the Jayhawks are going to be in good shape on that side of the ball.
Kansas will need to see some improvements from their defense, and if they do, they will have all the tools necessary to make a run at the Big 12 championship.
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