College Football Preview 2024: Kansas Jayhawks win projections, strengths and weaknesses, quarterback spotlight and more

Head coach: Lance Leipold (fourth season)
2023 record: 9-4 (Won Guaranteed Rate Bowl)
PFF power ranking: 33rd
Chance to win the Big 12: 5%
Strength of schedule: 52nd
Projected win total: 6.5
FanDuel win total: 8.5
2024 recruiting rank (On3): No. 41 nationally, No. 4 in the Big 12

Lance Leipold continues to work miracles with Kansas, which used to be a laughingstock of college football. The Jayhawks finished with a 9-4 record in 2023, the program's first winning season in 15 years. That was mainly due to an elite offense, which should remain the same in 2024. The only concerns on that side of the ball are the departure of offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki (left for the same job at Penn State) and the health of quarterback Jalon Daniels, who missed 10 games this past season. On the other side of the ball, the secondary remains very strong but the front seven must improve in all aspects.

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Biggest Strength: Talent everywhere on offense

Only LSU, Oregon and Georgia had more efficient offenses last year than Kansas by EPA per play among Power Five programs. The Jayhawks return star quarterback Jalon Daniels, a top-10 running back unit, their top-three receivers and three offensive linemen who played at least 400 snaps last season. The loss of Kotelnicki stings, but Kansas has enough offensive talent to make up for it.

Biggest Weakness: Front seven

Kansas finished outside the top 75 in the FBS in run-defense, pass-rushing and tackling grades in 2023. Four of the eight front-seven defenders who played 300-plus snaps last season are gone, including star edge defender Austin Booker.

2023 Team Overview

Offense
EPA per play	Yards per play	Successful play rate	Explosive run play rate	Explosive pass play rate
0.201	7.2	40.0%	18.5%	22.5%
5th	5th	13th	24th	2nd
Defense
EPA allowed per play	Yards allowed per play	Successful play rate allowed	Explosive run rate allowed	Explosive pass rate allowed
0.026	5.7	37.4%	13.2%	14.2%
88th	70th	T-109th	T-28th	65th

Three Notable Transfer Portal Additions

C Bryce Foster (Texas A&M): 60.1 PFF grade
S Devin Dye (Utah State): 71.4 PFF grade
TE DeShawn Hanika (Iowa State): 66.8 PFF grade

Three Notable Transfer Portal Losses

OG Ar’maj Reed-Adams (Texas A&M): 61.7 PFF grade
DI Gage Keys (Auburn): 62.9 PFF grade
WR Tanaka Scott (North Alabama): 50.8 PFF grade

Quarterback Spotlight: Jalon Daniels

2023 Grade: 84.7
Key Stat: 92.6 PFF passing grade over the middle since 2021 (10th in FBS, minimum 100 attempts)