The 2024 season has gone from bad, to worse for the Kansas Jayhawks football team. After winning their opener against Lindenwood, the Jayhawks have dropped four straight, and are now 0-2 in Big 12 conference play. Three of those losses have come in games where they held leads late into the fourth quarter. Now, there isn’t a game on the schedule that should be overlooked.
Arizona State was expected to put up little fight in the Jayhawks’ pursuit of a Big 12 Championship. Yet now, they might be the final nail in the coffin of Kansas just making a bowl game.
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Football History
This will be the first matchup between the two teams, and it comes with far different expectations than there were at the beginning of the season. The Sun Devils were picked to finish dead last in the Big 12, while the Jayhawks were picked to finish fourth.
Arizona State has played just one conference game, a 30-22 loss to Texas Tech a couple of weeks ago. The Jayhawks have dropped their first two conference games, against West Virginia and TCU. A Big 12 Championship Game appearance is almost certainly out of the picture for the Jayhawks, as they are on the brink of not making a bowl game.
Key Players for the Jayhawks
It continues to be the same recipe for success and failure for the Jayhawks. Devin Neal averages six yards per carry and has 100+ yards in four of the five games this season.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Luke Grimm has been an ultra-reliant option in the passing game, hauling in 30 receptions so far. However, the playcalling and quarterback play continue to be the downfall of the Jayhawks.
Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels is completing just 53 percent of his passes with only five touchdowns to eight interceptions. His inconsistency has kept the Jayhawks from stringing together a consistent offensive threat.
Defensively, the amount of time spent on the field is starting to take its toll. The Jayhawks defense are averaging just two sacks per game, and less than 1.5 takeaways per game. In nearly every game this season, they have started strong and slowed down as the game went on.
With the offense unable to put together drives on a consistent basis, the defense is constantly on the field; and Kansas just doesn’t have the bodies to keep up at the end of games.
Nearly 40 percent of the points allowed by the Jayhawks have come in the fourth quarter. Also, 27 of the points allowed by the Jayhawks have been defensive touchdowns by opposing defenses, or points off of turnovers by the Jayhawk offense. If you take away those 27 points, the defense is giving up just 18.4 points per game.
That would have been good enough to win four of their five games so far this season. The defense is doing their job the best that they can. They need some help from the other side.
Key Players for the Sun Devils
For Arizona State, it is a pretty well rounded attack. Quarterback Sam Leavitt has eclipsed 240 passing yards in three of their four games, while throwing just two interceptions in those games.
Meanwhile, running back Cam Skattebo has gone for 60 or more yards in three games, including a ridiculous 262-yard performance against Mississippi State. The Kansas Jayhawks won’t have a clear key player to focus on, and will have to play well at all three levels in this football game.
Keys for the Kansas Jayhawks to win the game
The key to a Jayhawk win is the same as it has been for the past few weeks. Jalon Daniels has got to figure it out. Improved play-calling would certainly help, but the rest of this season relies very heavily on the shoulders of Daniels. If he can find some consistency, the Jayhawks can still turn this season around. If he continues going the way he is, they will have a tough time getting to a bowl game.
