Kansas football: Game-by-game predictions for the Jayhawks 2023 season

Game 8 vs. Oklahoma Sooners

Kansas football returns home to play the Oklahoma Sooners. A 5-2 start will certainly have David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium juiced and ready to go against the Sooners. There will certainly be a lot on the line in this matchup, and I’m sure the Jayhawks will want to send Oklahoma out with an “L” on their way to the SEC after the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners had to abruptly replace Lincoln Riley and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams after they bolted for USC last year, and they decided to hire longtime Clemson defensive coordinator and Kansas native Brent Venables as head coach. It got off to a rocky start for Venables last year, and it resulted in them going 6-7 (3-6) and losing to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl.

It’s not all bad for the Sooners, though. Venables brings back his starting QB Dillon Gabriel along with a top-10 recruiting class. The Sooners had a prolific offense last year but really struggled on defense. They were able to handle a Jalon Daniels-less Kansas team last season 52-42.

Similar to Texas, Oklahoma is able to recruit extremely well and always out-talent the Jayhawks on the field. They seem to have trouble with the physical teams — Kansas State and Baylor in the Big 12, and the way to beat them is the be able to run the ball consistently and control the game from start to finish. Leipold has made it known that he wants the Jayhawks to be more physical up front on both sides of the ball. I just don’t know if the Jayhawks have enough talent to beat the Sooners this year.

My Prediction: 

Oklahoma wins 45-34 over Kansas

Kansas Football Record: 5-3