Kansas football set to replace New Hampshire with Southern Illinois

Kansas football has officially filled the gap in its schedule left by New Hampshire with Southern Illinois in late August.

The first game in Kansas football’s schedule is officially back after New Hampshire announced that they would not be competing in Fall sports. Instead of the Wildcats, the Jayhawks will be taking on the Southern Illinois Salukis on August 29; however, a time and channel have yet to be announced.

Kansas was originally supposed to take on New Hampshire on September 5, so the game against Southern Illinois will be one week earlier than that. As it stands now, here is Kansas’ first four games of their 2020 schedule:

• Aug. 29, vs. Southern Illinois (FCS, Missouri Valley)
• Sep. 12 @ Baylor (FBS, Big 12)
• Sep. 19 vs. Boston College (FBS, ACC)
• Sep. 26 @ Coastal Carolina (FBS, Sun Belt)

Southen Illinois was originally supposed to play against Wisconsin, but since the Big Ten nixed all non-conference games, the Salukis were left without a week one opponent. According to Southen Illinois, they will receive $300,000 dollars for coming to Lawerence and playing against the Jayhawks.

Overall, this is a good scheduling for the Jayhawks. Kansas is 4-0 all-time against Southern Illinois, so history is Kansas’ side for once.

Last season, the Salukis finished 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference. They’re ranked as the No. 19 overall team in the FCS in Athlon’s Preseason FCS Top 25 for 2020, compared to New Hampshire who came in at No. 15. Southern Illinois is obviously a respectable team, but that doesn’t mean the Jayhawks shouldn’t win handily.

Any Power Five conference school should have no problem defeating an FCS school, but the Jayhawks struggled with Indiana State last season at home, coming away with a slim 24-17 win. While both teams may look sloppy due to the erratic offseason, there’s no excuse for Kansas not to start off the season with a 1-0 record.