To buy or not to buy into the Kansas Jayhawks hype in 2023, that is the question. What do the Kansas season predictions indicate about the 2023 season for the Jayhawks under head coach Lance Leipold?
Kansas Season Predictions: Predicting the Game-By-Game Results
Using groupthink, College Football Network analysts have painstakingly gone through every game for every team in the Big 12 and across the country.
Find every Big 12 Season Prediction per team: Baylor | BYU | UCF | Cincinnati | Houston | Iowa State | Kansas | Kansas State | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | TCU | Texas | Texas Tech | West Virginia
Picking these games straight up with a projected score using the rosters as up-to-date as the last spring practice, the Kansas season predictions indicate what fans can possibly expect for the Jayhawks in 2023.
Week 1 – Kansas vs. Missouri State: Win, 38-10
The Jayhawks get a favorable matchup to start the year and ease back into competition. Reminder that the last time we saw Kansas, they dropped 55 and still lost a classic, but that’s the kind of football Kansas plays.
With Jalon Daniels back, this game is all about instituting the offense, reworking the defense, and staying healthy ahead of the Illinois game next week.
Week 2 – Kansas vs. Illinois: Win, 23-19
After a historic run on defense last year, former Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters has taken the head coaching job at Purdue. Usually, though, a defensive coordinator leaving doesn’t do that much for season predictions, but in this case, it does.
Combine Walters’ departure with the fact that Illinois lost three starting defensive backs to the NFL and the Jayhawks have a distinct advantage here. Daniels will have to play a terrific game but he has the chance to get a marquee non-conference win for Kansas.
Week 3 – Kansas @ Nevada: Win, 35-19
Heading to Reno for a date with a Wolfpack, Kansas is in good shape to cruise into their Big 12 schedule ahead of schedule. Nevada is a few seasons away from competing in non-conference games like this after Jay Norvell left the program two offseason ago.
Still, there is some pieces that should give Kansas fans pause at a runaway victory here, at least enough to keep it competitive in the first half. Ultimately, Leipold knows how to keep his team motivated and with their eyes on the current task rather than the next.
Week 4 – Kansas vs. BYU: Win, 35-29
Welcoming BYU to the Big 12, Kansas has the distinct honor of playing host to the Cougars in their first Big 12 road game as a member of the conference. BYU brings a unique brand of offense to Lawrence and can score with the best of them.
However, their defense is subject at times and lacks some star players in the back seven thanks to the transfer portal. Daniels has the legs and arm talent to expose those holes in BYU’s defense.
Week 5 – Kansas @ Texas: Loss, 24-32
The big one for Kansas. Can the Jayhawks scare one of the big two in the conference this season or will the Texas Longhorns remain supreme? Our predictions weren’t split on the outcome and rather kept this game close.
All that means is that this is a sneaky game for Texas and a big-time opportunity for the Jayhawks. As stated above, Daniels will have to play error-free football in Austin to come even close to pushing Quinn Ewers and the Longhorns in this one.
Week 6 – Kansas vs. UCF: Win, 29-24
Similar to their Week 4 clash against BYU, the Jayhawks welcome in another new conference member with their date here against UCF. This is a marquee matchup of quarterbacks as John Rhys Plumlee and Daniels go toe-to-toe.
Plumlee is arguably the faster player whenever he steps foot on a football field, but can his downfield passing improve enough to compete in the Big 12? Odds are yes, overall, but not here against Kansas.
Week 7 – Kansas @ Oklahoma State: Win, 35-29
The Oklahoma State Cowboys are going to be hurting for victories during their stretch of Big 12 games in 2023. Thanks in part to a projected loss to the Jayhawks here, the Cowboys are primed to finish with a losing record in 2023, the first time since Mike Gundy took over back in 2005.
The transfer portal has decimated the Cowboys and they have no answer at quarterback. Scoring 29 points may even be too high until Oklahoma State figures some things out.
MORE: 2023 Big 12 RB Rankings
Week 9 – Kansas vs. Oklahoma: Loss, 22-33
Entering this matchup against Oklahoma off a bye week, Kansas will hope to surprise the Sooners in this one. Despite that favorable schedule alignment, Kansas’ offensive scheme and defensive prowess don’t quite align with Oklahoma’s on the other side.
Dillon Gabriel can sling it to all levels of the field and is the best passer of the football outside the numbers in the conference. Kansas will have to do everything in their power to get after Gabriel, but he’s prone to making something happen out of the structure all the same.
Week 10 – Kansas @ Iowa State: Loss, 23-26
The Iowa State season predictions are kind to the Cyclones, taking into account a potential “next step” for their quarterback Hunter Dekkers. With this being the second game in a row against a left-handed signal-caller, expect the Jayhawks’ defense to be ready for this matchup and push Iowa State to the brink.
Week 11 – Kansas vs. Texas Tech: Loss, 33-35
Here is where the schedule gets a bit dicey for Kansas. Sure, these three games are winnable, but do they have the horses to stay ahead of the Red Raiders for long enough?
Our predictions were split on this matchup, with half going to Kansas and the other half going to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders got the edge once the scores were factored and the average point totals were accumulated.
All this means is one thing: This is a winnable game for Kansas.
Week 12 – Kansas vs. Kansas State: Loss, 24-25
Similarly, the Sunflower Showdown is up in the air. Sure, we’re months away from this happening, but the rosters are together and the schemes are available for us to analyze this as if it was happening sooner than later.
When it boils down to it, Kansas has the pieces to stay on top of the Wildcats’ offense, while Kansas State may ultimately have a better defense than the Jayhawks. Again, our analysts were split and the fact remains that this is also a winnable contest this season.
Week 13 – Kansas @ Cincinnati: Win, 32-24
So the last two games weren’t kind to the Jayhawks but could have gone the other way. Even with those in hand, Kansas is sitting at 6-5 entering their regular season finale against Cincinnati.
Heading to the Queen City to take on the Bearcats, this is a very winnable game for Kansas as Cincinnati lacks a defensive identity and does not have the horses offensively to keep up with Daniels.
All of these games predict one thing — it’s a fun time to be a Kansas Jayhawk fan. It’s a 7-5 predicted record now, but looking at the losses, only two of them got out of hand, and three of them totaled just six points altogether.
With a few lucky bounces and maybe one or two timely plays, those games could go either way and Kansas could be pushing 9-10 victories in 2023.
