Kansas football: Jayhawks face many unknowns with Baylor

Kansas football’s game against Baylor next Saturday is up in the air, and the Bears still have yet to play a game in the 2020 season.

Kansas football might be hitting a COVID-19 related snag next Saturday. The Jayhawks were supposed to travel to Waco and face the Baylor Bears; however, the Bears had to postpone their game yesterday against Houston due to not meeting COVID-19 requirements set by the Big 12. Even if Kansas does take on Baylor, there are going to be a lot of unknowns.

The Bears have a new head coach in former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who replaced Matt Rhule after Rhule left for the NFL. Not only that, but the Bears also lost almost every starter from last season’s defense, so they’ll have some fresh faces on that side of the ball. Despite the new coach and defense, Baylor does have Charlie Brewer.

If Kansas football is going to give themselves a chance against the Bears, they’ll have to do something to neutralize Brewer, who’s easily one of the better quarterbacks in the Big 12. One way the Jayhawks can do that is by putting some serious pressure on him. The Baylor offensive line was a weak point last season, but they do have four starters back on the o-line. If Kansas can send some blitzes and get to Brewer, it might tip the scales in the Jayhawks’ favor.

The Kansas Jayhawks also have the advantage of having played a game already. It’s a double-edged sword though since Baylor has some recent film on Kansas and not vice-versa. Then again, this may not even end up mattering.

If the issues with COVID-19 aren’t solved, the game next Saturday will likely be postponed or just canceled outright. This would obviously not be good for either team, and it’ll mean the Jayhawks’ next game won’t be until October 3 when they take on Oklahoma State in Lawrence.