Kansas Jayhawks Football Predictions: West Virginia Mountaineers

It’s Senior Day for the first iteration of the Lance Leipold-led Kansas Jayhawks, and there is a lot of optimism surrounding the program after a win down in Austin was followed up by a very competitive showing down in Fort Worth. Can this team send the seniors off with a huge win in the finale against the West Virginia Mountaineers?

Take a look at what our staff thinks, them put your own prediction in the comments!

Fizzle406: We got this. Kansas 34, West Virginia 26

Kyle_Davis21: Senior night, under the lights, with a team that has shown fight and an unwillingness to roll over. Let Daniels air it out and find Kwamie Lassiter early and often. I would feel more confident if I knew Devin Neal was playing, but I’m going to hope (at the time of writing) he finds a way to make it on the field. Kansas 31, West Virginia 27

Mike.Plank: You can read the full prediction on the preview article, but basically, it’s another battle of two really bad defenses. Can Kansas keep up in a shoot out with Western Virginia? Or will the Mountaineers shut KU down for a half like Duke and a few others have? That will determine how this one will go. Yes, we’re all excited about the “progress” we’ve seen over the last two weeks, but I’m not even to “cautiously optimistic” yet. My jaded prediction; West Virginia 45, Kansas 28 in a game that’s not as close as that score might indicate.

dnoll5: I was hoping that with a K-State win and a KU win, we could forever hold a last place finish in football over the Texas Longhorns and their annoying fan base, but alas, the Wildcats couldn’t beat that perennial doormat. Anyway, KU holds up their end of the bargain. One KU team has to perform well this weekend, right? Kansas 31, West Virginia 28.

David: There's a lot of optimism in these predictions, and I get why. We're starting to look like an actual football team and Western Virginia isn't anything special. But while we've had some reason for hope recently, this is still a team that's been throughly dominated in about half their league games. I'm not ready to say the team has turned the corner and just expect a good game out of them yet. Western Virginia is also playing for bowl eligibility, so they're unlikely to competely overlook Kansas, especially now that the Jayhawks have scared a few teams. I think WV pulls away as the game goes on and Kansas ends the season with a frustrating big loss. Western Virginia 49, Kansas 23

Andy Mitts: It’s a sign of just how much the mood surrounding this team has changed, given that most of the predictions would have been for huge blowout losses just 3 weeks ago. This is another game where I expect Kansas to buck the trend of the last 10 years. The emergence of Jalon Daniels and Jared Casey are huge for this team and I expect the tandem of Daniel and Jason Bean as dual running/throwing threats to be a big wrinkle that West Virginia will struggle with somewhat. Add in that the West Virginia offense is quarterbacked by a highly inconsistent Jarrett Doege, and this game has the perfect recipe for an upset. I said on the podcast that I think the difference in this game is likely going to be whether the Jacobee Bryant interception is just a pick or a pick 6 could be the deciding factor, but I actually see Kansas pulling this out late to allow a proper celebration on the field to end the season. Kansas 31, West Virginia 30.