Kansas football's schedule could prove to be more challenging than anticipated

From the moment the Big 12 schedule was announced, it's been deemed that the Kansas football schedule was one of the easiest in the country. Bryan Clinton of Heartland College Sports broke down the Big 12 and ranked the teams by their strength of schedule. He has the Jayhawks with the easiest slate of game.

Once the preseason polls came out, only one KU opponent is ranked - in-state rival K-State. KU is only one of a handful of schools with such a lackluster schedule on paper.

While it may look like it now, the Kansas football schedule is bound to be tougher than it appears in August, before any games have been played.

Why the Kansas football schedule will be more difficult that it appears now

The most obvious obstacle the Jayhawks must overcome is the fact they have zero true home games on campus. All of their "home" games will be played at neutral sites off campus, due to stadium construction.

The three non-conference games will be played at Children's Mercy Park, home of the local MSL club, Sporting KC. It's a fine venue, but it's 25 miles away from Lawrence, and seats about half of what Memorial Stadium would.

The rest of Kansas' "home" games will be at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, 50 miles from the KU campus. While the university is going to provide free transportation for students to both sites throughout the season, it is not the same thing as playing on campus.

KU plays Iowa State at "home" and the Cyclones have a strong fan base in Kansas City. It makes sense that Iowa State, who received 33 votes for the AP Top 25 poll, could have just as many fans in the cavernous Arrowhead Stadium as the Jayhawks.

This lack of campus games should not be quickly dismissed. Different gameday routines will have to be installed, and they'll probably be different for each venue. The team won't have the same comfort level as when playing in their own stadium, and the atmosphere's won't be the same.

While not in the Top 25, West Virginia did receive 17 votes, and KU has to play them on the road, a long a difficult trip into a tough venue. There is a good chance that both Iowa State and West Virginia will play above their preseason rankings this season. It would be surprising if neither doesn't enter the Top 25 at some point during the year.

While Kansas does seem to avoid some of the other top Big 12 teams this season, like newcomers Arizona and Utah, and holder over Oklahoma State, the Jayhawks cannot be faulted for this. Maybe the worst by-product of the super conferences are these uneven schedules. It is the luck of the draw if you catch a school in a good year or a bad one. The 10-team conference is the most fair allignment as far as scheduling goes. In football, all teams would play all others, and in basketball, each team would play each other twice. There is little luck of the draw involved.

Of course, as with any season, there will be a surprise school that is much better than expected. There is a good chance a couple of Kansas opponents will be tougher than preseason analysis predicts.

While it remains to be seen how the season will shake out, the Big 12 will be an extremely tough conference. There are no obviously horrible teams like in other conferences. At this point, there might not be a dominant school or two, but there are also no pushovers. From the top to the bottom, this conference may be the most balanced and competitive.

While this may or may not help when it comes to polls and playoffs (that remains to be seen), it will still be incredibly entertaining to watch as a fan.

People can be negative about the perceived weak schedule the this KU football team, but there may not be any such thing in the Big 12. The Jayhawks just have to beat whichever school is in front of them and they'll be just fine! Kansas is certainly going to be one of the schools vying for national attention, and we're all along for the ride, no matter where they have to paly.