Next season is mere steps away for Kansas football. Before you know it, Jayhawk fans will be packing the revamped David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium as Kansas welcomes Fresno State on week zero, where the two will square off on August 23rd in what is one of just five fixtures that week.
Before that kicks off, we have a number of series we want to invest our time in, and today, we are tackling an always fun question. What are the Realistic, Dream, and Floor expectations heading into the 2025 college football season?
Realistic: Kansas gets back on track with a "solid" season
What does "solid" mean? To us, solid means the Jayhawks bring home at least eight wins.
This would be the closest we have seen to repeating the 2023-24 success under head coach Lance Leipold.
In order to reach this mark, there has to be consistency on both sides of the ball. This can no longer be a team so reliant on one Jalon Daniels.
Thanks to the addition of running back Leshon Williams from Iowa, along with the improved core of wideouts, means that Daniels should hopefully have some pressure removed from them.
When looking at the defense, Kansas must show improved passing defense as the Jayhawks gave up 239 yards per game last season, which saw Kansas finish with the fourth-worst pass defense in the Big 12. Yet with a number of additions highlighted by linebacker Bangally Kamara, who comes in from South Carolina, there is hope the Jayhawks can regain some stability.
Floor: Kansas is stuck with five wins...Or worse
After last season saw five one-score losses hit the table, Kansas fans are fair to have their reservations over the future of the game when scores get tight.
The problem is, these things are hard to rid, and has Kansas taken the right steps on and off the field to mentally prepare for these late-game situations? Only time will tell, but it is entirely fair to make little changes in one-score games.
Ceiling: Kansas finally reaches the Big 12 Championship
Ambitious? Sure, super likely? Not particularly. The reason most won't think the Jayhawks will pose serious title threats is because the Big 12 is a strong league, and there are easily three or four teams that can compete for the title.
When Phil Steele came out with his preseason ranking of all 136 FBS teams, Arizona State (15), Baylor (18), Utah (19), Texas Tech (25), TCU (26), Iowa State (28), Kansas State (30), BYU (40), Cincinatti (42), Houston (46) all ranked above Kansas who was selected 49th in the list.
The thing is, these teams are relatively closely ranked together. meaning really any of these teams have a strong chance of getting to the Big 12 Championship.
This would of course, be Kansas' first ever Big 12 Championship appearance since the league's inception in 1996.