Kansas Football’s Bowl Chances in Jeopardy Following Ugly Loss to Kansas State

The Kansas Jayhawks’ loss to Kansas State last weekend in Lawrence is one that hurt in many ways. It was a bad showing in front of a host of big-time recruits, it extended a horrendous losing streak to 17 years, and perhaps most importantly, it severely hurt the chances of KU reaching the postseason.

With just four games remaining and KU sitting at 4-4 overall (2-3 in Big 12 play), they’ll need to find two more wins in order to reach a bowl game.

At least one of them shouldn’t be a problem with downtrodden Oklahoma State (1-7 overall, 0-5 in Big 12 play) coming to town for homecoming this Saturday. The Jayhawks are currently 24.5-point favorites against the Cowboys.

After that it gets tricky with KU heading on the road for two of their three remaining games. History is not in KU’s favor when it comes to conference road trips as the Jayhawks own a Big 12 road record of 5-11 dating back to the 2022 season.

First, the Jayhawks take on Arizona (4-3 overall, 1-3 in Big 12 play) in Tuscon next Saturday. If Kansas does beat Oklahoma State this weekend, the game against Arizona will be KU’s best chance to get that all-important sixth win.

The Wildcats appear to be about as competitive as the Jayhawks this year, but it’s unlikely that KU will be favored in that game – and if they are it won’t be by much. However, among all of KU’s remaining foes after Oklahoma State, Arizona is clearly the worst of the bunch and presents the best opportunity for the Jayhawks to become bowl eligible.

KU then gets a bye week before traveling to Ames, Iowa, to face off against Iowa State (5-3 overall, 2-3 in Big 12 play). Kansas has had success recently against Iowa State, winning two of the last three, but the Cyclones are the better team, and they’ll likely be at least a touchdown favorite in that game.

The Jayhawks then return home for the final game of the regular season against No. 24-ranked Utah (6-2 overall, 3-2 in Big 12 play). The Utes are the toughest remaining opponent of the bunch, and if KU is unable to win one of their road games against Arizona or Iowa State, this game will be an even taller task for the Jayhawks.

The road to six wins is a murky one for the Jayhawks, but it’s one of their own doing. They’ll need to turn things around and play some of their best football of the season over the next four weeks if they hope to avoid back-to-back seasons with no postseason appearance.