Why Kansas Football Can Still Make the Big 12 Championship Game

Although it might be a long shot, Kansas football re-entered the Big 12 title race in Week 6 with its close victory over UCF.

Oct 4, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold talks with an official during the second quarter against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Lance Leipold and Kansas football had a solid chance of competing for a Big 12 title game prior to a devastating Week 5 loss to Cincinnati.

But despite that heartbreaking defeat, the Jayhawks are not quite out of the conference title race after they defeated UCF 27-20 on the road yesterday.

They currently sit at 2-1 in conference play, tied for fifth with Iowa State and Baylor. It might be a long shot, but KU is still in it to win it.

The Big 12 is Wide Open

There are several teams in the Big 12 that have a better shot than KU right now, including BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Cincinnati, all of which are tied atop the standings with a 2-0 record.

However, all of those schools still have seven more games to play, and each of them faces at least two of the three other teams tied for first later on this year. Therefore, the Jayhawks are still right in the race even if they lose to Texas Tech this upcoming weekend (which they are widely projected to).

Following that game vs. TTU, they have back-to-back home matchups against Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

History would suggest that the team will struggle to defeat the Wildcats in the Sunflower Showdown, but Chris Klieman's group is struggling mightily right now, with losses to Army, Arizona, and Baylor yesterday.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is pretty awful right now and may not win another game in 2025 under interim head coach and former Jayhawk offensive coordinator Doug Meacham.

If KU wins two of its next three games, it will have momentum going on the road to Arizona and Iowa State, two contests that will likely be must-win. The Jayhawks have had success against the Cyclones in recent years, and their offense has been far from impressive.

Texas Tech is the clear frontrunner to win the league, but the Red Raiders have yet to take on top conference teams like Arizona State and BYU, both of which are still on their schedule later in the year. They are also missing star running back Quenten Joyner for the season.

MORE: Kansas Football's Big 12 Championship Odds Plummet After Loss to Cincinnati

Right now, the Big 12 might be the most wide-open power conference in the sport. Therefore, it is safe to assume that if KU can clean up its late-game mistakes and pull out a few improbable wins, it will still be firmly in position to compete for the Big 12 crown.

But regardless, the Jayhawks can only realistically afford to lose one more game in conference play if they want to find themselves in Arlington for the conference title game in December. A loss this weekend means there is no other path to make the title game besides winning out.

feed