Kansas Football Picked 9th in USA TODAY Big 12 Preseason Poll

On Monday, media members for the USA TODAY Sports Network released their rankings of Big 12 football teams for the 2025 season. The preseason poll ranked the Kansas Jayhawks No. 9 on the list of Big 12 teams for this upcoming season.

The ranking for KU is not totally surprising given the results from the 2024 season as the Jayhawks finished 5-7 overall and failed to reach a bowl game for the first time in three years.

It’s also not a surprise given the amount of roster turnover from last year’s squad. More than 30 seniors are gone from last year’s team with big holes to fill at key positions such as running back, wide receiver, and cornerback specifically.

The Jayhawks also have new coordinators in place this year with former KU quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski sharing offensive coordinator duties with Matt Lubick and former KU defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald taking over as defensive coordinator.

There’s a lot of change on this year’s team, but they do have experienced quarterback Jalon Daniels at the helm for one final season in Lawrence. He’ll have one of the league’s best centers in Bryce Foster in front of him along with redshirt-senior running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. in the backfield.

KU also has a lot of returning upperclassmen on the defensive line and a crop of talented transfers who be heavily relied upon to help turn things around from a season ago.

One thing that should work in KU’s favor is a fairly favorable Big 12 schedule.

The Jayhawks will host West Virginia (No. 16 preseason), Cincinnati (No. 11 preseason), K-State (No. 1 preseason), Oklahoma State (No. 12 preseason), and Utah (No. 7 preseason). On the road, KU will face UCF (No. 15 preseason), Texas Tech (No. 2 preseason), Arizona (No. 13 preseason), and Iowa State (No. 4 preseason).

Five of the nine conference opponents are picked below KU in USA TODAY’s poll – meaning the Jayhawks will (or should) be favored in those matchups if the predictions go to plan. And two of their likely hardest matchups against KSU and Utah will be in Lawrence, giving KU a better opportunity to play spoiler.

KU will need to take advantage of their conference schedule and head coach Lance Leipold will likely need his star players to play like stars in order for KU to reach their peak. But if they do, there’s no reason why the Jayhawks can’t surpass a ninth place finish.