LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas and Kansas State had plenty of reasons to believe this season, despite spring football scuttled by the coronavirus and an offseason unlike any other, would produce another solid brick for the foundation of their program. Turns out it was crumbling right from the start.
There is still time to put the pieces back together, of course. But the Week 1 lumps taken by the Big 12 rivals at the hands of the Sun Belt — the Jayhawks lost to Coastal Carolina and the Wildcats to Arkansas State — means they head into conference play Saturday with very little momentum and a dramatic step-up in competition. Kansas plays Baylor while Kansas State visits Oklahoma.