No. 6 BYU Returns Home To Host Surging Kansas Squad
Nov 15, 2024, 12:32 PM
No. 6 BYU football host the Kansas Jayhawks in Provo for the first time. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – BYU football is knocking on the door of the Top 5 of the College Football Playoff rankings, yet many around the college football world see the Cougars going into an upset spot against a team with a losing record.
No. 6 BYU (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) welcomes Kansas (3-6, 2-4 Big 12) to Provo for the first meeting between the programs at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Prognosticators have BYU favored by two or three points. Chris Fallica from FOX Sports noted that since 1978, the previous 66 instances of a 9-0 team facing a team with a losing record at home, they were all favored by double figures.
Not BYU.
Despite outscoring Big 12 foes by 74 points this season, many see this game as a potential upset.
Upset watch?
BYU is coming off a physically draining week against rival Utah, where they escaped with a 22-21 victory. Meanwhile, a preseason AP Top 25 team entering the year, Kansas, has found its groove after knocking off previously ranked Iowa State in Kansas City last week.
Since the Arizona State game on October 5, Kansas has been looking like the team many envisioned they would be this season.
It starts with QB Jalon Daniels.
BYU was one of the few teams last season that faced Daniels. The talented signal-caller’s last game of 2023 ended up being the BYU game, where he passed for 130 yards and rushed for another 54.
In the previous three games this season, Daniels has passed for more than 200 yards and ran for at least 58 yards in each game.
“He’s gifted, man. The guy can run, and he can throw, and he’s a veteran,” Kalani Sitake said on Daniels.
But Daniels hasn’t played in a hostile crowd like BYU at night this season.
BYU football returns home after a month away
BYU is back home for the first time since the last-second comeback victory over Oklahoma State four weeks ago. The average margin of victory in Big 12 home games for this season has been 18 points, which includes the close 38-35 win over the Pokes.
This game can potentially be a high-scoring affair, as BYU averages 33.7 points per game, while Kansas averages 31.7.
BYU QB Jake Retzlaff delivered another gritty performance to put the Cougars in a spot to set up the game-winning 44-yard field goal for Will Ferrin. Retzlaff continues to impress his offensive coordinator, Aaron Roderick, through this 9-0 run.
“I didn’t learn a whole lot, just what I already know. We have a tough team. Our quarterback’s got a lot of guts, and he’s really good in the two-minute drill,” Roderick said.
Shakeup along the BYU Offensive Line for Kansas week
The guys in front of Retzlaff along the offensive line will be a retooled group. Starting center Connor Pay is back from a foot injury that sidelined him since September 28 at Baylor. While BYU gets one lineman back, they lose a starter at offensive tackle.
Brayden Keim is out for this week’s game and is likely out the remainder of the regular season. Roderick said earlier this week that they hope to have the 6-foot-9 Keim back for the postseason.
That means Colorado transfer Isaiah Jatta will get the start at right tackle. The remaining question along the offensive line will be at right guard. Who gets the start there? BYU could roll with Austin Leausa, Bruce Mitchell, or Sonny Makasini.
The Cougars will face a Kansas defensive line that boasts a pair of standout defensive ends in Jereme Robinson and Dean Miller. Both players have combined for 10 sacks this season.
“I don’t think they get enough credit for what they do on defense,” Sitake said on Kansas. “We saw that [last year], how they can create HAVOC and create some turnovers.”
Revenge spot
Last year, Kansas defeated BYU 38-27 in the Cougars first-ever Big 12 game in Lawrence.
BYU had three turnovers, leading to a scoop-and-score and a pick-six for Kansas.
One of the bright spots from last year’s loss was wide receiver Darius Lassiter, who had eight catches for 84 yards against the team his late father, Kwamie Lassiter, played for along with his brother.
Now that his brother Kwinton Lassiter has graduated and moved on from Kansas, the Lassiter family will be supporting BYU this week.
“They’re all BYU this week. I mean, last year, they were kind of split between us two,” Lassiter said. “But now it’s just me in college. They are just rooting for the Cougars to win out.”
No. 6 BYU vs. Kansas
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. (MST)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM — Extended pregame begins at 6 p.m.)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
