1. The defense has hardly improved from last season
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to Kansas fans that the defense isn’t going to be the team’s strong suit. However, fall practices have reaffirmed that sentiment. Reports suggest the offense has thoroughly dominated the D throughout camp, and there’s no reason to think that will change anytime soon.
You could argue that the offense’s success is a testament to how good they are, but I’d argue that the defense just isn’t good enough to stop them. Defensive linemen are struggling to bring pressure to the quarterback and are allowing wide-open run gaps to open quite frequently.
Sure, the defense returns a Big 12-leading 91% of its production from last year. But we’re talking about a unit that allowed 35.5 points per game and was statistically in the bottom 10 of the FBS in most categories last year. Ultimately, Kansas will go as far as Jalon Daniels and the offense takes it.