Kansas Jayhawks Football Predictions and Preview: Week 3 - Memphis

It’s that time of year again, when the first loss of the year sends even the most stalwart of fans into a deep spiral of gloom and depression, from whence they will never return. After being destroyed by Ohio, Kansas hits the road tomorrow to take on a Memphis team that destroyed them last year. Will this finally be the end of the infamous road losing streak? Give us your prediction, and then stick around to see what the staff thinks.

David: Ohio shredded the Jayhawks, and now KU goes on the road to face a better team. Memphis isn't as scary as they were last year, but they're more talented than the Ohio team that beat them up Saturday. Kansas comes out inspired, hangs around for a quarter, then the wheels come off. Memphis 49, Kansas 14

dnoll5: Last week I was chugging the kool-aid and this week I might as well chug the cyanide. But wait. Maybe, just maybe, last weekend was the wake up call that KU needed. They came out completely unprepared against the Bobcats, and I would be surprised (not shocked but surprised) if that happened again this weekend. So, in that regard, I agree with David above. KU will come out with some fire, but ultimately, they will fall to a more talented team by a lot of points. Memphis 44, Kansas 21.

Fizzle406: Puts on Elliott Smith playlist and gets pint of ice cream. Everything sucks. Why do we do this to ourselves every year? Once we get a little excitement after KU beats the equivalent of a really good high school team, reality comes crashing down again. We finally find a coach we like. A nice guy with a good job and bright future. But then he turns out to be just like all the other guys. Being a Kansas football fan is a hopeless endeavor. Memphis 76, Kansas 0

Winmore: So Beaty took over the play calling duties after last season. After Quiv lost two punts while acting like a doof on subsequent returns against Ohio this past Saturday, Beaty came out and said he is now in charge of punt returns as well. By the end of this season will Beaty be calling the defense? Will he send all his coaches home in a timeout? "Fine! I’ll do it all myself!" This is a bad look. These are moves prompted by desperation. In the preseason roundtable, I gave Beaty a grade of 47 out of 100. I’m gonna go ahead and drop that number down to 40 for these kinds of shenanigans.

With all those concerns though, after an atrocious first quarter when KU’s defense tightened up and the offense actually started going vertical, Kansas showed an encouraging pulse. Memphis is in a state of flux: Coach Fuente is now at Virginia Tech; there’s a lot of missing talent from the two winningest teams in Tigers football history the last two seasons. Memphis is an opponent Kansas could beat IF they play flawless football. But Kansas hasn’t won on the road since Sept. 12, 2009 so a win here isn’t likely. However, if the offense gets off to a faster start than last Saturday and Beaty lets Cozart air it out like he did on those beautiful, deep TD bombs he tossed to Sims against Ohio, I think Kansas makes a game of it. But, I fully expect the seven year tour of road ineptitude will continue for now. Memphis 35, Kansas 27

KU Grad 08: Now that we are a couple games into the second season of Beaty’s regime, a few things are becoming clear, the main one being that Beaty is a great guy and great recruiter but has zero idea how to be a solid Xs and Os coach. Our scheming sucks, our playcalling sucks, and just like Turner Gill did before him, he has made the wrong choice for who should be QB. And just like Turner Gill, he is likely going to find his stay in Lawrence to be fairly short. Kansas 35, Memphis 32.

mikeville: Dammit Grad, I can’t troll that. One thing is for sure, though, barring a major incident, Beaty will be here through at least the 2018 season. So buckle up and bear with him. Fizzle is being facetious, but I don’t think it’s as dire as David and dnoll are predicting. Memphis did lose a lot from last year, and in case you guys missed the memo from Sept 3, this is a new era in Kansas football. I’m not gonna get silly, though, I don’t expect the Jayhawks to pick up their first road win since the Mangino era. While I don’t think the game will be a blowout, I do think Memphis gets up early and keeps the Jayhawks at arms length the rest of the way. Memphis 38, Kansas 28.

jakebogen95: Memphis doesn’t have Paxton Lynch anymore but Kansas is still Kansas and unfortunately after dropping the ball against Ohio it’s not likely KU will be a competitive team this season. Blowing out Rhode Island is nothing to brag about (my local college UAlbany just beat them and they are new to FBS). I like Montell Cozart but he’s banged up, LaQuvionte Gonzalez is electrifying but can’t hold onto the ball, and the running game looks unspectacular to say the least. The best thing about Kansas is their NFL Draft Safety prospect Fish Smithson, other than that there’s a lot of work to do. Memphis pulls away in the fourth quarter. Memphis 34, Kansas 24.

misterbrain: I wish I could be optimistic about this game, but my thought that we had a chance in breaking our road streak required us to be 2-0 coming into this game, or at least not get embarrassed at all. Despite the fact that Memphis is breaking in a new head coach and new starting QB, I just don't see the Jayhawks really having a chance in this one. Memphis 48, Kansas 17