Kansas football returns to action Friday night, hosting the UNLV Rebels at Children’s Mercy Park. Coming off a 23-17 loss to Illinois, the Jayhawks will be looking for a win to get back on track. Here’s how the staff thinks Kansas will handle the UNLV Rebels:
This is an excellent bounce-back opportunity for the Jayhawks. They return to Children’s Mercy Park in front of fired-up Kansas fans looking for a win. The one thing standing in the way is a UNLV Rebels team looking for revenge for its 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl loss to Kansas.
The bottom line is that Kansas needs to feed the ball to senior running back Devin Neal and redshirt junior running backs Daniel Hishaw Jr. more on Friday night. Having two playmakers like Neal and Hishaw Jr. in the backfield should make opposing teams scramble to stop the run. 21 carries between the two will not cut it against a good UNLV team.
Alongside getting the run game going, the Kansas defense will have its hands full. UNLV comes into Friday night's matchup averaging 49.5 points per game, including a 72-point performance in its win over Utah Tech. Long story short, the UNLV offense is a good unit, and Kansas’s defense will need to show up if the Jayhawks want a chance to win. The Rebels will score, but holding them from scoring a couple of times should be enough.
I think Kansas will fulfill my two keys to the game: get its own run game going and slow down the Rebels' offense enough to win. With that, Kansas will win a high-scoring affair, beating UNLV 37-31 to bounce back and improve to 2-1 moving into conference play.
Offensive Shortcomings
Last week, Kansas succeeded in limiting Illinois for as long as it could, but due to the offense, the defense could only bend so far before it broke. The offense's shortcomings let the team down, and it wasn’t just one thing that let the offense down, it was the gameplan itself and the execution of the gameplan that ultimately led Kansas to fall to Illinois.
A Similar Opponent, But More Dangerous
The opponent for its next game is similar to Illinois, but more dangerous on the ground. UNLV has rushed for almost 700 yards through only two weeks. On the defensive side of the ball, it has two game-wreckers in senior outside linebacker Jackson Woodard and senior cornerback Jalen Catalon.
Running Backs Need More Touches
Game planning against UNLV's rushing attack is something the defensive coordinator Brian Borland is up to as his defense held Illinois to 79 yards rushing. This game on the offensive side of the ball is offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ second test. He failed his first test versus Illinois, but if he and redshirt junior quarterback Jalon Daniels can bounce back from that game, I don’t see Kansas losing.
However, the game plan should not, I repeat, should not be centered around Daniels and the passing game. Until I looked at the box score on Monday, I didn’t even know that Devin Neal had 101 rushing yards on 14 carries. Having that quiet and that good of a game should not happen again. The game needs to be centered around him and Daniel Hishaw Jr., with the occasional pass to one of many options for Daniels.
I don’t see this game against UNLV being that high-scoring, with the fight hopefully coming from the trenches from both teams. If the defense holds firm against the run and if the offense can continually pound the rock, I see Kansas leaving Children’s Mercy Park with a victory over UNLV.
Kansas, 27-21.
Kansas Needs a Bounce-Back
Well, to put it plainly, last week sucked. From the jump, the offense for Kansas just didn’t look right, as Jalon Daniels was picked off on his first drive.
Despite some success mixing and matching runs and passes on their scoring drives, the Kansas offense was too sloppy. However, I do think this is a perfect bounce-back opportunity.
I think offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes will make it a point to run the football on Friday. With that, Daniels should have an easier and better time passing the ball.
A Test for the Jayhawks Defense
On the defensive side of things, this will be a true test for the Kansas defense. While it has looked solid two games in, UNLV will be the best offense they’ve faced so far. UNLV seems a little more run-heavy so far this season, compared to last season, as its senior quarterback Matthew Sluka leads the team in carries.
If Kansas's front seven can step up and hold the run game, I think it will win this one going away as their nonconference slate comes to an end.
All in all, I do think that this will be a high-scoring affair, similar to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl last season. Once again, I do think Kansas comes away with the win.
Kansas, 38-30.
