Kansas Jayhawks football is running out of winnable games

A 45-0 embarrassment at the hands of Iowa State pretty much sums up the 2017 season for the Kansas football team. There aren’t many winnable games left for the Jayhawks this year.

When I looked at the Kansas football schedule at the beginning of the year, Iowa State was one of the games I thought they might win this year. Instead, the Kansas Jayhawks took a complete beat down at the hands of the Cyclones this weekend. Looking at the rest of the schedule, it’s hard to find any more winnable games on the KU schedule.

Nobody expected much from the Jayhawks this year. Let’s face it, we all know that KU is a basketball school that just happens to have a football team. However, after the progress we had seen from the team last year, there were some hopes that things were turning around.

This 2017 team for Kansas has taken a clear step backwards, and it’s hard to see even the slightest hint of a silver lining. You wouldn’t be far off if you said the Jayhawks were the worst team in the FBS right now. That doesn’t bode well for David Beaty’s job security.

The Problem Is Obvious

Why hasn’t the Kansas football team been able to pick up any wins this year? Well, that’s going to happen when you can’t hold your opponents under 45 points. Apart from their opening week victory over Southeast Missouri (an FCS school), the Jayhawks haven’t allowed fewer than 45 points in any contest.

Having a bad defense is nothing new or special. It happens to somebody every year in football, and is an obvious hurdle for any team. However, the Jayhawks are putting up abysmal numbers on defense (despite a somewhat decent showing this past week). It’s hard to imagine anything worse than what we’re seeing from KU football right now.

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In fact, this is  probably enough to where we need to question David Beaty’s job security. In his third season as head coach, Beaty has led the Jayhawks to just three total wins. It will be hard for him to justify his employment when the school fired Charlie Weis with a better record. Don’t be surprised if a move comes before the end of the year.

Can They Find Another Win?

Looking ahead at the schedule for Kansas football, it’s hard to see another opportunity for a win. Three of KU’s final six opponents this year are ranked teams. Barring a miracle, it’s safe to register each one of those as a loss.

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Of the unranked teams on the Kansas schedule, both Texas and Kansas State would appear to be too much for the Jayhawks. I won’t say those games are impossible for Kansas, but you won’t catch me laying money on KU there.

That leaves just Baylor as a possible win. Now, based purely on records, you could argue Kansas is the better team. However, I’ve been more impressed with the Bears than the Jayhawks this year. While many of the KU faithful will point to this as a winnable game, you’ll find that Baylor fans are saying the exact same thing about Kansas.

It has been a disappointing season for Kansas football, and that’s saying something. With their remaining schedule, I really just don’t see any games left that I’d say they have a good shot at winning. This year has been bad enough that it’s time to start questioning the tenure of David Beaty as the KU head coach moving forward.