Iowa State Football: Ranking Cyclones’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Les Miles might get Kansas back to relevance, but that won’t happen overnight. We learned that in 2019 with the Jayhawks finishing 3-9 and having one of the least productive teams in college football.

In fact, the Jayhawks had the No. 122 defense and 90th-best offense in college football which was ninth and eighth in the Big 12, respectively.

Kansas brings back Pooka Williams Jr. on offense after rushing for 1,000 yards and three touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry. They also bring back three of their top four receivers but no starting quarterback with experience. That will be a problem.

The defense could be a major issue with three starters back and the top two leading tacklers gone. Defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot has his work cut out.

Like a handful of other teams in the Big 12, Texas Tech is under the direction of a second-year head coach in Matt Wells who came over from Utah State before the 2019 season.

Wells’ first year produced just four wins and he finished with six losses in the final seven games of the season. That was mostly due to one of the worst defenses in the nation, ranking 127th and worst in the Big 12. They also had one of the worst passing defenses.

Offensively, the Red Raiders should be just fine with Alan Bowman back under center and two of the top three receivers returning along with the entire starting interior offensive line.