Kaden Warner | @profkjwarner
LAWRENCE – The Jayhawks enter this week sitting at #20 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and #19 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll after a 48-3 win over Lindenwood.
This week Kansas will be on the road for the first time this season, where they continue non-conference play against the unranked and undefeated Illinois Fighting Illini. Who had their own 45-point victory last week against Eastern Illinois.
This will be the seventh time in program history that the two teams will face off and the second in a row as Kansas took a 34-23 win last year in Lawrence.
In that matchup, the Jayhawks were able to rack up 539 yards of total offense compared to the Fighting Illini’s 341 yards.
Current seniors, quarterback Jalon Daniels and running back Devin Neal led the team on offense with Daniels throwing for 277 yards and Neal rushing for 120 yards on ten attempts, averaging 12 yards per carry. The duo also scored a few touchdowns. Neal rushed for one and Daniels passed for two connecting with Jared Casey and Torry Locklin.
The Jayhawks were also on point on defense as well. Last year Kansas bagged six sacks against Illinois and their starting quarterback, Luke Altmeyer. This may have been accomplished last year, but it will be a tall feat this season as Kansas head coach Lance Leipold has no doubt in Illinois’ ability to protect their quarterback.
“They made some adjustments on the o-line,” Leipold said in a press conference last week “I think they, between junior college and [the transfer] portal, brought in about 14 to 15 guys…”
It wasn’t just the defensive line having all the fun, though. In the secondary, current senior Mello Dotson and the now-graduated Kwinton Lassiter both picked a couple of passes from the air for two interceptions with Dotson taking his back for a touchdown.
The 5.5-point favored Jayhawks are making their first trip to Champaign since 1968 to play at Memorial Stadium at 6 pm on Saturday evening.
The game will be televised live on Fox Sports for those who are able to watch live, and if you can’t watch the game then be sure to tune in to 90.7 KJHK. Federico Moreno and Caden Letsche will be on the call from Champaign.