Giants Country

Which College Football Program Would Be NY Giants’ "Twin"?

FanDuel Sportsbook posted a fun exercise in which it named a college football program "twin" for ever NFL team.
Patricia Traina|
The Kansas Jayhawks football program has something very much in common with the NY Giants program of late.
The Kansas Jayhawks football program has something very much in common with the NY Giants program of late. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

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New York Giants

It’s been a rough 13-year stretch for fans, who, since getting to witness the team’s huge Super Bowl triumph over the New England Patriots in 2011, have only been treated to two playoff-bound seasons (2016 and 2022) since.

But Giants fans, take heart: you are not alone in having been stuck in the midst of a disappointing dry spell, as in a new and fun exercise put together by FanDuel sportsbook ahead of the start of the NFL and college seasons, each NFL team was given a “twin” from among the college ranks whose situation best matches that of the NFL counterpart.

The Giants’ college twin ended up being the University of Kansas Jayhawks football program. 

A tale of two teams down on their luck

The choice certainly makes sense as both teams have struggled to generate annual winning seasons, particularly over the last eight seasons. 

In the Giants’ case, their last winning season came in 2022 when they posted a 9-7-1 mark, earning their first postseason berth since 2016 when they went 11-5 and finished in second place in the division, and their first postseason win since 2011, their last Super Bowl championship following a 9-7 regular-season campaign.

The Jayhawks, meanwhile, haven’t had much luck either. Over the last eight seasons, they have had just one winning campaign, that coming in 2023 when they finished 9-4 and won the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Nevada-Las Vegas by a score of 49-36.

But that’s not all the Giants and Jayhawks have in common. In 2007, the Giants famously transformed a 9-7 record that earned them a Wild Card berth into one of the most remarkable postseason runs in recent NFL history. 

That run, of course, concluded with the Giants upsetting the heavily favored and undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII by a score of 17-14.

That same season, the Jayhawks posted a school-best 12-1 record, earning an invitation to the FedEx Orange Bowl, where they defeated Virginia Tech 24-21.

The Giants, for what it's worth, currently do not have any players on their roster or practice squad from the University of Kansas.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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