Kansas football: Three teams that could replace New Hampshire

Kansas football’s season opener vs. New Hampshire is canceled. Here are a few teams that could fill the gap in the schedule.

It was only a matter of time until one of Kansas football’s non-conference opponents canceled on the Jayhawks. Now, Kansas will have to either try and find a replacement for New Hampshire on September 5 or just play one-less game.

Based on head coach Les Miles and athletic director Jeff Long’s statements, Kansas will be looking to try and find a new opponent, which begs the question: who should the Jayhawks try and schedule?

Well, Kansas does have quite a few options. At this point, the only FBS-level conferences to have made any modifications to their schedules are the Big Ten and Pac-12, who will both be going conference-only. That means that all Group of Five conferences plus the other three Power Five conferences are still planning on playing this season.

Here are three teams that the Jayhawks could replace New Hampshire with on September 5:

1. Kansas football vs. Illinois State

Illinois State would be a great substitute for New Hampshire as the season opener for the Jayhawks. The Red Birds were originally scheduled to play at Illinois on September 5, so it’d be as easy as coming to Lawrence instead of Urbana-Champaign.

Illinois State is an FCS school and a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They went 10-5 last season, making the playoffs and advancing to the semifinals before being beaten by eventual champion North Dakota State.

2. Kansas football vs. University of Northern Iowa

UNI is very similar to Illinois State as for as Kansas is concerned. The Panthers were supposed to play at Iowa on September 5, so once again, all UNI would have to do is come to Lawrence instead of Iowa City.

Similar to Illinois State, UNI is an FCS school in the Missouri Valley Conference. They also finished 10-5 and were defeated in the semifinals; however, the Panthers lost to the James Madison Dukes.

3. Kansas football vs. Colorado State

If the Jayhawks decided they wanted to play against a non-FCS opponent, they could take on the Colorado State Rams, who were originally scheduled to play Colorado on September 5. The Rams were expected to host Colorado, so one detail that may need to be worked out is where exactly the game will be: Fort Collins or Lawrence.

Colorado State is an FBS level team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, and they went 4-8 last season in 2019.

All of these schools have an opening in their schedules that the Kansas Jayhawks could fill if they go forward with plans of replacing New Hampshire. They shouldn’t cause any other problems on the schedule, and all of the schools are reasonably close to Kansas as well. With any luck, Kansas will have a matchup planned for September 5 before the end of July.