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It is time to continue our college football odds series with a Kansas-Kansas State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Kansas Kansas State.
The Kansas Jayhawks were ranked at the start of the season. There was a lot of hope and promise attached to this 2024 season for coach Lance Leipold, one of the highest-regarded coaches in the country and a guy other programs were considering as a candidate for an open job. It was seen as a real coup that Kansas was able to retain Leipold. A good program was expected to get better.
It just hasn't happened. The way the Jayhawks have fallen short has been impossible to avoid noticing.
Kansas has just two wins, and it's not as though the Jayhawks haven't been competitive. They just don't play well in the most important moments of a game. They give up late-game scores and are not able to generate a pass rush when they need a defensive stop. This has been a bad fourth-quarter team and a team which can't protect leads. West Virginia, Arizona State, UNLV, Illinois — they all came back to beat KU. The Jayhawks had chances to take control of each of those four games but could not close the door. Leipold has to be tearing his hair out wondering how to get his team to finish off games and make the timely play. KU is always coming close but rarely crossing the line.
Now let's see what Kansas can do against rival Kansas State, a team which has been consistent in finishing games even when it struggles for portions of the game. It's not as though Kansas State has been a dominant team, but the Wildcats rise to the occasion whereas the Jayhawks fall just short. It sets up a fascinating rivalry game in which Kansas will be intent on finally stopping its bad habits, and Kansas State will try to put the boot on the throat of its struggling neighbor in the Sunflower State.
Here are the Kansas-Kansas State College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Kansas-Kansas State Odds
Kansas: +9.5 (-102)
Moneyline: +280
Kansas State: -9.5 (-120)
Moneyline: -360
Over: 55.5 (-110)
Under: 55.5 (-110)
How to Watch Kansas vs Kansas State
Article Continues Below
Time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT
TV: ESPN2, ESPN Plus
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Kansas Could Cover The Spread/Win
Kansas doesn't have a problem playing close games. The Jayhawks, as we have illustrated above, do play close and tough games. They aren't losing by big margins. They are right there in the fourth quarter with a chance to win. They just don't finish the job. If Kansas doesn't finish the job here, it will lose a game, but if the Jayhawks are typically competitive, that means they will likely cover the spread. The spread is 9.5 points. A normal Kansas game which enters the fourth quarter up in the air and ends with the Jayhawks losing by four to eight points will result in a KU cover. Losing by eight or nine is not what the Jayhawks themselves want, but if it happens, Kansas will cash some tickets for Jayhawk bettors.
Why Kansas State Could Cover The Spread/Win
The Kansas State Wildcats are going to want to drive the sword through a Kansas team which has played with its food all season. This is where you're going to see the more mature team in this rivalry take charge of the game and not allow Kansas to get a sniff in the fourth quarter. KSU is a better, tougher team which receives better coaching. The Wildcats will win this game by 17 points.
Final Kansas-Kansas State Prediction & Pick
We are leaning to Kansas State, but a rivalry game can get wacky and unpredictable, so we won't touch this game with a 10-foot pole.
Final Kansas-Kansas State Prediction & Pick: Kansas State -9.5
