Unfortunately, gaining 706 yards, rushing for 480, and winning 55-0 does not mean you get to continue to live your best life in the Big 12.
Instead, the Jayhawks get #12 Utah.
In Salt Lake City.
At night.
That’s one way to find out what we actually learned last week.
Kansas enters Saturday at 2-2 after finally putting together something resembling a complete football game against Middle Tennessee. The Jayhawks gained a school-record 706 yards, allowed 136, didn’t turn the ball over, and generally spent
three hours doing everything they had failed to do consistently during the first three games of the season. (KU ran over MTSU so bad that the Jayhawks somehow picked up six more yards after the game ended.)
Utah presents a different challenge.
The Utes are 4-0, averaging 43.3 points and 491 yards per game, and allowing just 10.3 points. They have defeated Idaho 66-14, Arkansas 43-10, Utah State 33-0, and Iowa State 31-17. That said, some perspective is necessary. Arkansas is now 2-3 and has spent the last few weeks making Utah’s win look somewhat less impressive. Idaho and Utah State are, well, they are Idaho and Utah State.
But then, Utah went into Ames and beat Iowa State by two touchdowns, and none of its four games has been particularly close.
So yes. This should tell us considerably more. Maybe not everything, though. Utah may simply be good enough that a Kansas loss doesn’t mean the progress we saw against Arizona State and Middle Tennessee was fake news. It may just mean the Jayhawks aren’t ready to compete for a Big 12 championship.
And that by itself is still a fairly important thing to learn, even if most of you are going to say you already knew that.
PREGAME
This will be the sixth meeting all-time between Kansas and Utah, with the Utes holding a 3-2 advantage.
The most recent meeting came last November in Lawrence, when #13 Utah beat Kansas 31-21. KU led 14-10 entering the fourth quarter before Utah scored three touchdowns in the final period.
Kansas also threw three interceptions. This may become a recurring theme — you have been warned.
Saturday will be KU’s first trip to Salt Lake City since 1996, which was going just fine right up until it wasn’t. Anyway, Utah enters THIS game ranked #12 nationally and the aforementioned 4-0 overall, including 1-0 in Big 12 play. Kansas is 2-2 and 0-1 in the conference.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. CT at Rice-Eccles Stadium. ESPN has the broadcast with Roy Philpott, Brock Osweiler, and Sherree Burruss.
Utah is also having a White Out. Because that’s just what you do when the mighty Jayhawks come to town for a nationally televised night game on the four-letter!
FIRST DOWN
Run the dang ball.
Wait. Didn’t we already do this?
Kansas rushed for 480 yards against Middle Tennessee. Dylan Edwards ran for 137 on 20 carries. Isaiah Marshall added 110. The Jayhawks averaged 8.3 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns on the ground. Those are fun facts.
Utah is allowing 84 rushing yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry. Those are less fun facts.
Arkansas managed 61 rushing yards on 28 carries against the Utes. Iowa State had 111 on 37. Utah has gone from allowing more than 180 rushing yards per game last season to having one of the best run defenses in the country.
So we probably don’t need to start comparing this Kansas offense to 1995 Nebraska just yet. Still, this may be the most important matchup of the game. Kansas does not need 473 rushing yards. It probably doesn’t need 250. But the Jayhawks absolutely cannot afford to spend Saturday night living in 2nd-and-9 and 3rd-and-8 against this defense. Because…
Isaiah Marshall is completing less than 55% of his passes this season. He has made some incredible throws, has been dangerous as a runner, and has generally looked promising for a quarterback making his first four college starts.
He is also still a quarterback making his first four college starts. Utah would presumably prefer to make Marshall beat them from the pocket in obvious passing situations. Kansas would presumably prefer not to cooperate.
There’s also reportedly been a change to KU’s starting offensive line, with Amir Herring moving ahead of Tavake Tuikolovatu at right guard. The O-line was overwhelmed against Missouri, considerably better against Arizona State, and then demolished Middle Tennessee.
Now we get the useful test — can Kansas run the football when the other team can actually stop it?
SECOND DOWN
“They can’t block me.”
Leroy Harris III said that after the Arizona State game.
So far, no one has proven him wrong. Harris has seven tackles for loss and has forced a fumble in three consecutive games. His disruption has been one of the biggest reasons Kansas enters Saturday leading the Big 12 in total defense at 244.8 yards allowed per game. And you guys wanted DK McDonald’s head on a platter!
Utah will clearly be the best offensive line — and best offense in general — that Kansas has faced so far. The Utes are averaging 7.3 yards per play and have scored at least 30 points in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season. Quarterback Devon Dampier has completed 70.3% of his passes for 896 yards, nine touchdowns, and one interception. He’s also a threat to run, which actually plays to KU’s strengths as the Jayhawks have historically held dual threat quarterbacks in check I’M TOTALLY MESSING WITH YOU.
And because Dampier isn’t enough to worry about already, let’s talk about Wayshawn Parker. Parker is averaging 6.6 yards per carry and has nine total touchdowns — five rushing and four receiving. Against Iowa State, he produced 239 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, including a 54-yard touchdown on his first touch.
Insert Quantum Leap Oh Boy dot gif.
So this is not going to be simply a matter of stuffing a running back between the tackles. Utah uses Parker in the passing game, Dampier can create with his legs, and the Utes have enough balance that selling out to stop one creates problems elsewhere.
It’s entirely fair to say that KU’s defense has been legitimately good through four games. Opponents are averaging just 4.2 yards per play and converting roughly one-quarter of their third downs. There are schedule caveats there, obviously. LIU and Middle Tennessee aren’t Utah. But the Jayhawks also held Arizona State to 228 yards and 3.5 yards per play. This is the game where we find out whether those numbers are telling us something real.
Harris says they can’t block him.
Let’s find out.
THIRD DOWN
Utah is already good enough; they don’t need our help to win this game. The Utes have turned the ball over just twice in four games. Dampier has thrown one interception. Meanwhile, Utah’s defense has forced seven turnovers.
Kansas, however, has spent the first three games experimenting with innovative ways to make life more difficult for itself. Against Missouri, turnovers turned a 14-14 game into a two-touchdown deficit in roughly three minutes. Against Arizona State, Kansas outgained the Sun Devils by nearly 200 yards and still lost because the Jayhawks turned the ball over three times, went 0-for-3 on fourth down, missed a field goal, allowed a kickoff-return touchdown, and produced a 17-yard punt. Honestly, losing that game felt like it required commitment.
Then, the one clean game KU played, the Jayhawks won 55-0. Insert Will Smith Hmmm dot gif.
Last year’s Utah game provides another reminder. Kansas led entering the fourth quarter, threw three interceptions, and lost by 10.
I hate to harp on this every week (or do I), but this is not particularly complicated. Kansas does not have enough margin for error to give Utah extra possessions. The Utes don’t need gift baskets.
And if you’re waiting for the KU defense to balance things out by intercepting somebody, well… Before the Arizona State game, I noted that Kansas had intercepted only two passes over its previous 13 games (and none by a cornerback). The Jayhawks have since played two more games, and you’ll never guess…
Insert Will Farrell We’re Going Streaking dot gif.
KU still hasn’t intercepted anybody.
That’s two interceptions in the last 15 games, and a Kansas cornerback has not recorded one since Mello Dotson picked off BYU’s Jake Retzlaff in November 2024. Dampier has thrown one interception this season, so I’m not sure this is the week to expect an outbreak.
On the other hand, Harris has forced a fumble in three straight games, so, there are other ways to steal a possession.
Insert Dumb and Dumber So You’re Saying There’s a Chance dot gif.
FOURTH DOWN
Apologies for getting gif-happy back there, I got carried away — kind of like how KU got carried away running the ball last week. (Ba-dum-tssss.)
Kansas just ran for 473 yards. Utah’s greatest defensive strength has been stopping the run. Marshall has completed 54.8% of his passes this season, while the Utes are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete less than 50% on the season. Utah has also allowed only seven completions of 20-plus yards through four games. If the Utes can control Edwards and the rest of the Kansas running game without devoting everybody on the roster to the box, Marshall is going to have to make plays. So, the Utah gameplan has got to be something along the lines of, make Marshall beat you.
If KU is throwing the ball 40 times, that is likely to be a sign that things aren’t going well. The Jayhawks have options, though. Kansas can move the pocket. Marshall can run. KU can use screens, play-action, and whatever else Andy Kotelnicki & Company can come up with to keep Utah from simply teeing off on a young quarterback. Conversely, Utah’s goal should be obvious: take away the easy rushing yards and make Marshall repeatedly beat good coverage. Not once. Not twice. For four quarters.
But there are probably going to be a handful of snaps Saturday where Kansas needs Marshall to stand in the pocket and beat good coverage. That’s the next step. Against Middle Tennessee, he didn’t have to be Superman. Kansas could hand the ball off and watch somebody run through a hole roughly the size of Butler County. Utah will not be so accommodating.
If Kansas is going to pull off the upset, Marshall probably has to make two or three throws Saturday that he hasn’t consistently been asked to make yet.
So, ya know. No pressure.
PREDICTION
I’m considerably more interested in this game than I thought I would be three weeks ago.
Kansas was physically competitive with Arizona State. The defense was excellent. Then the Jayhawks came home and did exactly what a Power Four team should do to Middle Tennessee — except they did it to an almost ridiculous degree.
There are reasons to think Kansas is better than its 2-2 record.
There are also reasons Kansas is 2-2.
Utah has been more consistent, more efficient, and considerably better at avoiding mistakes. The Utes have the more proven quarterback, one of the best run defenses in the country, home-field advantage, and an extra week to prepare. That’s a lot to overcome.
I do think Kansas can make this competitive. The defense has shown enough that I don’t expect Utah to simply score every time it touches the football, and KU’s running game has been strong enough that I don’t expect to average 2.8 yards per carry, either.
But at some point, I think Utah forces Marshall into situations Kansas would rather avoid. And unless the Jayhawks can finally create a turnover or two of their own, Utah’s ability to protect the football makes it difficult to find enough extra possessions for the upset.
Utah 31, Kansas 20
EXTRA POINT
Kansas hasn’t played at Utah since September 28, 1996. The Jayhawks entered the game 2-0 and ranked #20, still riding the momentum from the Aloha Bowl and top-10 finish the previous season. Kansas had opened 1996 by beating Ball State 35-10 and destroying TCU 52-17. Expectations were not exactly low.
Then KU went to Salt Lake City and gave up 579 yards. Still, Kansas nearly escaped. June Henley ran for 216 yards, and with 4:09 remaining, the Jayhawks used a fake field goal to take a 42-38 lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass. Four minutes separated KU from 3-0.
Utah then drove 82 yards in just six plays, scoring the winning touchdown with 1:39 remaining, and handing Kansas a 45-42 loss that dropped the Jayhawks out of the top-25. The Jayhawks would finish that season at 4-7.
So if you couldn’t pin down why you feel irritated by the words “night road game at Utah on ESPN,” don’t worry, it’s just PTSD.
