68 Days Until Kansas Football: Way too early predictions - Big 12 Road Games

Instead of looking at the upcoming schedule on a game-by-game look, I have divided it up a little differently. I’ve already taken a look at the non-conference schedule and home conference slate, so now, let’s see which Big 12 schools Kansas will be visiting in 2020.

Once again, we’ll use Bill Connelly’s S&P+ for our team rankings and make some predictions three months too early. Per S&P+ Kansas is 113 out of 130 (for reference, KU started at #106 last year).

This is one of the years where Kansas has five road games in conference, and once again, I don’t think it will be very pretty. However, three of KU’s five road games are the 7th, 8th, and 9th best Big 12 teams (per S&P+). Could Kansas upset one of these teams? Sure. Should you bet on it? I wouldn’t.

Although the Jayhawks knocked off Boston College in Chestnut Hill last year and should have defeated Texas in Austin, KU’s road record over the past 10 years has been, well, abysmal, as Kansas has now dropped 49 consecutive true road games (52 if you include neutral sites).

Sept 12 @ Baylor (#33)

Kansas will head to Waco in week 2 for a bit of an oddly-timed conference game. Baylor has won 10 in a row against Kansas. The only one of those matchups that was close was back in 2011, where Kansas blew a huge 4th-quarter lead against the RG3-led Bears. The Jayhawks haven’t even scored in double figures against Baylor since 2014 (a game they lost 60-14).

This has NOT been a good matchup for Kansas, and that looks to continue in 2020. The Bears lost a ton on defense, but return a significant portion of their offense. Since it’s week 2, the Jayhawks should be able to score a bit, but likely nowhere near enough to keep up. Baylor 49, Kansas 28.

Oct 10 @ K-State (#54)

Man, the hype for this game last year was incredible. KU was a single-digit dog to K-State for the first time in 10+ years. The stadium was sold out and rocking. And K-State beat down KU without mercy just like they did during the Allen/Gill/Weis eras.

This is K-State’s super bowl, and they’ll look to maintain their recent dominance over KU. I was hopeful once Snyder was gone that the Wildcats would revert back to their former selves, but that hasn’t happened just yet. Funny things have happened in this matchup, even semi-recently, and the Jayhawks should have had a victory in Manhattan back in 2018. (Man, I’m still pissed about that one. Gotta let it go. Goosfraba.)

But those days are gone, and with Kansas breaking in so many new players this fall, it could be yet another long day over by Allen Fieldhouse West. K-State 44, Kansas 24.

Oct 24 @ West Virginia (#64)

Kansas had a shot to take one off of the Mountaineers last year in Lawrence, but just couldn’t quite take advantage. Now, KU will head east for a road trip. Another series that has been dominated by the opponent, this will likely be KU’s best shot at breaking that conference road losing streak. WVU finished just 5-7 last year and struggled for long stretches on offense, failing to top 24 points in each of their final seven games.

If KU can get the offense going at this point in the season, they may have a decent chance here, but pardon me for going back to the old adage “seeing is believing.” West Virginia 37, Kansas 33.

Nov 14 @ Texas Tech (59)

I’ve already covered this matchup a little more in-depth here, and to boil it down, this should once again be a fun, up-and-down the field, back-and-forth affair. Both teams should be able to move the ball, and while KU was just flat-out better last year in Lawrence, the Jayhawks have so many newcomers (albeit this is late in the season) that it’s hard to pick the good guys. Texas Tech 55, Kansas 50.

Nov 21 @ Oklahoma (#8)

Another matchup that we’ve already previewed, suffice it to say that Oklahoma is loaded and looking for a return to the CFP, where hopefully they won’t get embarrassed this time. Crazy things have happened, but Oklahoma just simply hasn’t overlooked KU over the past two decades, and you’d be hard-pressed to get me to believe that it’s going to happen this year. OU 55, Kansas 24.