Kansas Football 2026 Schedule Now Includes 3 AP Preseason Top 25 Teams

The Kansas Jayhawks have their work cut out for them this season with a tough schedule that only appears tougher after the Associated Press released its 2026 preseason Top 25 poll on Monday.

The poll features three opponents for the Jayhawks this year in BYU (No. 14), Utah (No. 21), and Missouri (No. 25). The good news for KU is that two of the three matchups will take place at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

KU will face Missouri at home in Week 2 of the season in what will be the first Border War (or Border Showdown) in Lawrence since 2005. The Jayhawks haven’t beaten the Tigers since the memorable matchup that took place at Arrowhead Stadium in 2008 and have lost six of the last seven with their hated rival from Columbia.

KU will also have the chance to host BYU in late November – a team they’ve had good fortune against in recent years. Since joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023, the Jayhawks are a perfect 2-0 against the Cougars with wins in Lawrence in 2023 and in Provo in 2024. But this year will likely be the toughest matchup yet as BYU is one of the favorites to win the Big 12 along with Texas Tech.

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To beat the Utes – something KU hasn’t done since 1951 – the Jayhawks will have to go on the road in a tough environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Utes have one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the country in Devon Dampier and are also considered a contender to win the Big 12 under first-year head coach Morgan Scalley.

Other teams who received votes for the AP Top 25 include TCU (11 votes) and Oklahoma State (8 votes) – both of whom the Jayhawks face on the road this season.

While preseason top 25 teams can often be misleading or inaccurate, these rankings can be used as an indicator of just how tough of a slate the Jayhawks have to reach the coveted six-win mark and get to a bowl game for the first time since December 2023 when they topped UNLV 49-36 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

KU kicks off the 2026 season on Sept. 4 at home versus Long Island University.

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