After narrowly defeating Indiana State last week, Head Coach Les Miles and the Kansas football team look to improve their record to 2-0 against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers on Saturday. The writers at Through the Phog have made their final score predictions for the matchup.
Quick recap of Kansas vs. Indiana State:
As week one of the college football season came to a close, the Kansas Jayhawks found themselves at the tippy-top of the totem pole. Well, the top of that totem pole is populated heavily by almost a hundred other teams; nevertheless, Kansas is tied for the best record in the country. That’s a fact.
In all seriousness, it was a massive sigh of relief to see the Jayhawks escape week one with a 24-17 win.
His first victory in Lawrence wasn’t exactly appealing to the eye, but in year one of the Les Miles rebuild, Kansas doesn’t have room to be meticulous when it comes to the style of wins.
Saturday’s style of victory can best be described as, “meh.”
Given the new offensive system, an inexperienced defensive front seven, and the suspension of all-conference running back Pooka Williams, it would’ve been naive to expect a blowout victory in favor of Kansas.
READ MORE: The Magic is Back: Why Pooka Williams is the key to Kansas’ season
On offense, the Jayhawk offensive line failed to produce a consistent push for senior running back Khalil Herbert, as he only rushed for 88 yards against an average Indiana State defense.
However, Kansas quarterback Carter Stanley found his new favorite targets in Andrew Parchment and Daylon Charlot. The wide receiver duo absolutely blasted Indiana State, combining for 200 of the team’s 241 passing yards.
The defense played well considering they only gave up 10 points (A fumble in the endzone by Carter Stanley led to an Indiana State TD). But judgment should be cautioned until we see this new front seven matchup against a solid Big 12 offense.
Predictions:
Kansas is set to take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers out of the Sun Belt Conference this Saturday at 6 pm. The Chanticleers finished 4th in the east division of the Sun Belt Conference with a conference record of 2-6 and an overall record of 5-7. They were predicted to finish 4th in the east division yet again according to a preseason coaches poll. The Chanticleers lost their week one matchup against Eastern Michigan 30-23.
READ MORE: Should you bet on the Jayhawks vs. Coastal Carolina
Kansas is currently the betting favorite across the board. They started the week being a 10.5 point favorite, but the line has moved down to Kansas -7.5.
- Hopefully, Coastal Carolina’s errant passing game will carry over to this week and allow the Kansas secondary to have a big day. I’m also looking forward to seeing Pooka Williams and Carter Stanley in the same backfield. I think the Jayhawks will be too much to handle for the Chanticleers and will win by a comfortable margin. 28-16 Kansas.
- Coastal Carolina had one of the worst defenses in the Sun Belt Conference last season. That defense got even worse in the offseason with their star pass rusher and safety both transferring. It’s going to be really tough for them to prepare a gameplan that limits both Khalil Herbert and Pooka Williams. The skill players for Coastal have some speed, but overall they just aren’t very talented. I really don’t see this game being close. 31-14 Kansas.
Austin Fitzgerald, Contributor:
- Last week Kansas relied mostly on the passing game as QB Carter Stanley threw it 29 times and it worked out in their favor as they found their big-play weapon in Andrew Parchment. Expect things to be a bit more balanced tomorrow as RB Pooka Williams returns from suspension and is expected to take all the snaps. If we remember back to last season, Pooka exploded into the scene after sitting the first game as well with 14 carries on 125 yards in the second game. So expectations can be sky-high to replicate that same production. 28-10 Kansas.
The experts have spoken.