Can Kansas top win total of 6.5 in 2023?

Kansas shocked many people across college football last season when they opened at 5-0. They only won one game the rest of the way for various reasons but, in general, it was seen as a successful season in Lawrence. Now, heading into the fall, is KU more likely to prove that that wasn’t a fluke or that last year was just a flash in the pan?

On3’s JD PicKell took a stab at answering that question in an episode of ‘The Hard Count’ that looked at win totals across the Big 12. When it came to Kansas’ total of 6.5 from Vegas, the positive side of PicKell argument pointed to Lance Leipold and QB Jalon Daniels as reasons why the Jayhawks could end up around that number in 2023.

“Another 6.5 win total from Vegas. This is tough,” said PicKell. “I love Lance Leipold. Absolutely love Lance Leipold as the head coach there. And Jalon Daniels is a program guy. (He) had that offense humming when he was playing quarterback for them.”

However, on the negative side, the offense wasn’t the issue. Kansas’ offense was more than good enough as it finished Top-25 with an average of 35.6 points per game. The issue was the defense that finished 124th in the nation by giving up 35.5 per game. Considering most of that unit came back, PicKell doesn’t think that helps the Jayhawk’s chances, especially considering a pair of their wins came within eight points

“They had two wins in 2022 by one score. Gritty, gutted-out performances,” PicKell said. “Now, even so, they bring back 80% of the defense. You say that’s a good thing, right? Mhm. Not when you allow 37 points a game. No, it’s not a good thing.”

In the end, PicKell tried his best to make the case for Kansas to somehow get to seven wins. It just didn’t happen, though, as, considering their slate altogether, he felt more comfortable settling for bowl eligibility than to bet the over on 6.5.

“You get Illinois in your non-conference. I love Kansas, I love the direction of their program under Coach Leipold,” said PicKell. “This hurts me. It hurts me to my core, this kills me inside. (But) we’re taking under for Kansas on 6.5 wins.”

“I will say this though: I do think they make a bowl game,” PicKell said. “So we like six more than seven, leaving us on the short end of 6.5 wins for the Kansas Jayhawks”