Here we go Jayhawk fans! After four weeks of high-scoring wins against competitive teams, a 3-1 Iowa State team comes to Booth Memorial Stadium for a showdown with the 4-0 Jayhawks. Without further ado…your Kansas Jayhawks vs Iowa State Cyclones Quicklook!
An exciting BRAND of football 😏 pic.twitter.com/pW6I3oUqYZ
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 29, 2022
Series History
Unlike our previous four opponents, KU and ISU have played 101 times. The series began with an 11-6 Kansas win in 1898 and the series has been pretty even over the years. KU is 50-45-6 all time vs the Cyclones. Iowa State has won the last 7 games vs KU, culminating with a 59-7 beatdown of the Jayhawks last year. Head Coach Matt Campbell, one of the really good dudes in College Football, when asked about the similarities between he and Head Coach Lance Leipold:
“For Coach Leipold and myself, we’ve both come up a very similar way,” Campbell said this week. “The reality is, certainly his path and our path [at Iowa State] our staff’s path, is very similar. We’re Division III coaches, we’ve worked our way up from the ground up.”
While neither team comes into this game ranked, Kansas and Iowa State both should factor into the Big 12 championship picture. The Cyclones lost a heartbreaker last week to Baylor with 2 late game interceptions and would be ranked if they were able to close out the Bears. Kansas remains unranked, though they are generating attention from the AP poll voters, garnering the most votes for any team not in the top 25.
Odds
Iowa State comes into Lawrence as three point favorites. Oddsmakers seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach with the Jayhawks this year…a tactic that is helping with the chip on the Jayhawks collective shoulders. The hallmark of Leipold-coached teams is process-focused players that don’t give the other team any motivation with quotes. KU players have been quiet about being underdogs at home and remaining unranked…but KU twitter fans certainly have not.
The over/under for the game has been set at 57.5.
Weather is forecasted to be cool with a 20% chance of rain at the Booth. The stadium will be packed again, giving Jayhawk players a real home field advantage many of them have never seen. Coach Leipold after the Duke win:
“This room is a lot more full than it used to be. And that’s neat. And that’s great for our players and our university. It’s great to hear a different volume, probably if you’re asking, on third downs and some of those things and embracing the efforts. Hopefully today’s performance gave enough people a reason to get back here next week because we’ll need them again.”
There are few injuries to report on either side…both teams have remained healthy this season.
Jayhawk Outlook
After 4 games, we know who Kansas wants to be on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive Coordinator Andy Kotelnicki keeps the attack well-balanced, typically running the ball slightly more than he throws it. With their RPO-heavy attack, this shows that defenses have been giving the run game to the Jayhawks and Quarterback Jalon Daniels is making great reads in both aspects of the game.
Last weeks stat line was skewed towards the passing game (324 to 139), but the play calling was balanced.
With the wealth of good running backs at KU paired with Jalon Daniels ability in the run game, this philosophy should not surprise anyone.
On defense, the Jayhawks have enjoyed some really good play in all three levels. Up front, Lonnie Phelps continues to make plays and be disruptive. KU linebackers continue to play well, with Craig Young and Rich Miller seeming to always be around the ball.
The KU secondary has really emerged. Cobee Bryant and RaMello Dotson have played extremely well at CB and Kenny Logan continues to play and lead at a high level. For the first time since Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr, KU has the DBs to cover the great WRs every Big12 team can roll out.
The biggest challenge for KU this week will be establishing and committing to the run game. ISU only allows 78 yds rushing a game.
Watch Details
The game this week will be on ESPN with a 3:30 EST kickoff.
Calling the game will be Brian Custer and Dustin Fox.
Look for KU to roll out the all-blue look to offset the ISU yellow and burgundy.
Prediction
In July I predicted:
October 1st brings Iowa State to Lawrence and begins a run of difficult games. Iowa State is good–they beat Kansas 59-7 last year. This year will be a much closer game, but Iowa State gets the win, 45-31. Jayhawks 3-2.
I’ve been wrong once so far (I thought Houston would be tougher). So far I’m 3-1 and 4-0 vs the spread.
Let’s pack the Booth this weekend Jayhawk fans! Your Kansas Jayhawks vs Iowa State Cyclones Quicklook for the week!
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