KANSAS

Kansas vs. West Virginia: Final Kickoff Time of Big 12 Opener Revealed

Kansas football received a late-afternoon start time for its Big 12 opener against West Virginia.
Joshua Schulman|
Sep 21, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Hudson Clement (3) catches a pass and stiff arms Kansas Jayhawks safety O.J. Burroughs (5) during the first quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2024; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers wide receiver Hudson Clement (3) catches a pass and stiff arms Kansas Jayhawks safety O.J. Burroughs (5) during the first quarter at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-Imagn Images | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

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Kansas JayhawksWest Virginia Mountaineers

The Kansas Jayhawks and West Virginia Mountaineers are set to face off in two weeks on Sept. 20 as Lance Leipold’s squad looks to open Big 12 play with a victory. It will be KU’s first game coming off a bye week after it dropped its first contest of the year to Missouri in the Border Showdown.

On Monday, the scheduled kickoff time for KU’s next matchup was revealed. The Jayhawks will get another late-afternoon slot at 5 p.m. CT, the third game in the renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Kansas won its first pair of games that had 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. start times, respectively. However, the Jayhawks came up short for their first game at 2:30 p.m. at Mizzou last week.

In addition, FS1 will host a Kansas football game for the first time this season. FOX, ESPN+, and ESPN2 broadcasted the first three games of the year.

Kansas Must Get Back on Track vs. West Virginia

KU looked fantastic in their first two games of the season, defeating both Fresno State and Wagner by big margins.

However, things changed when Leipold’s group traveled to Columbia to take on the formidable Tigers led by Beau Pribula and Ahmad Hardy. Kansas hung around and even led by as many as 15, but both the offensive and defensive units struggled to deliver when it mattered most.

As a result, the next two weeks will feel especially long for Jayhawk fans since the program lost momentum after failing to defeat another rival.

Thankfully, West Virginia should provide Kansas with an opportunity to get back on track. While the Mountaineers aren’t quite at the level of a Fresno State or Wagner, they’re coming off a loss to Ohio and just lost star running back Jahiem White for the season to injury.

MORE: Kansas Football 2025 Opponent Preview: West Virginia Mountaineers

There is still hope that Rich Rodriguez can bring the WVU program back to respectability in the Big 12, but year one could be a challenge. Meanwhile, KU will enter the contest with an extra week of rest and potentially a few key players back from injury.

The loss to Missouri stings, but the Jayhawks now kick off a favorable Big 12 slate that begins with WVU and follows with Cincinnati and UCF.

Either way, fans now know the start time whether they plan to buy tickets or just watch from home.

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Joshua Schulman
JOSHUA SCHULMAN

A longtime Kansas basketball and football fan, Josh is at The College of New Jersey majoring in Communications and minoring in Journalism. Josh has over 1,000 published articles on KU athletics on FanSided's Through the Phog, with additional work at Pro Football Network and Last Word on Sports. In his free time, Josh often broadcasts TCNJ football games on WTSR 91.3FM.

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