3 most important games for Kansas football in 2024

If you're a Kansas football fan, you have to be lighting up the phones at the university to ensure that a statue of Lance Leipold gets built immediately.

The fourth-year head coach might have a losing record in his first three years with the program, but he's turned the Jayhawks around in a hurry, getting better each season. In fact, Kansas was 9-4 in 2023 and that was mostly without star quarterback Jalon Daniels. Just imagine how good the Jayhawks will be now that he's back.

And you have to remember, Kansas was one of the worst teams in the entire Power Five for over a decade before Leipold got to town and he changed that in a hurry.

Now, he enters the 2024 season with major expectations in the Big 12 with Texas and Oklahoma gone. Which three games stand in his way of hitting major goals?

3. at Illinois (Sept. 7)

You might be somewhat surprised to see a non-conference game against Illinois appear on this list especially since Kansas handled the Illini a year ago, 34-23, but this could have a serious bearing on the type of season it's going to be for the Jayhawks.

Beat a decent team like Illinois with an experienced head coach on the road in Week 2 and make a statement to the rest of college football and the Big 12 that you're not messing around.

A loss here could put a damper on all hopes of being a serious contender.

2. at West Virginia (Sept. 21)

I'm still trying to wrap my head around West Virginia being one of the better teams in the Big 12 this season but that's what Neal Brown has set up for the Mountaineers after a successful 2023 campaign.

If Kansas can beat Illinois in Week 2, I see the Jayhawks starting 3-0 heading into this showdown with the Mountaineers in Morgantown. This will have serious Big 12 title implications.

A win here could give this team ll the momentum it needs to reel off three more wins in a row to begin 7-0 before its biggest game of the year, but a loss could lead to 1-2 more before Oct. 26.

1. at Kansas State (Oct. 26)

I'll be the first to admit that I expected Kansas to beat Kansas State in Lawrence last season, but Leipold and Co. fell short, 31-27. If they had just hung on to win that game at home in November, the Jayhawks would have had their first 10-win season in over a decade.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Now this rivalry game will be back in Manhattan and Kansasn needs to exact revenge not just because of the fact that these in-state foes hate each other and bragging rights are on the line, but also because a Big 12 title could be up for grabs. The winner of this game will be in the running for the conference crown still to begin November.