Kansas Football: Realistic expectations for Jayhawks in 2018

Kansas Football is on the verge of a turnaround. How soon and how big a turnaround is yet to be determined. The Jayhawks look to be relevant again very soon.

It’s no secret that Kansas Football has been one of the worst collegiate programs in recent memory. Eventually, enough had to be enough. The program was put on notice this offseason.

Sheahon Zenger was relieved of his duties as the Kansas athletic director earlier this year. This was the first step in making Kansas Football relevant again, if I may.

The football program was stashed away and all but forgotten. Empty seats spread throughout Memorial Stadium, enough to invite the populations of many small, rural Kansas towns to fill the voids.

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While Kansas is and always will be a predominantly known “basketball” school, there was never any reason to allow football to be put on the back burner. There it has stayed for almost a decade.

The hiring of new athletic director Jeff Long seems to be a move to address the football fiasco going on at Kansas University.

Long is a football guy with a football mindset. This was a perfect hire for Kansas, since the basketball program takes care of itself with Bill Self at the helm.

Long is a big name in the football arena. He’s spent time at Michigan, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, and Arkansas.

With the name he brings with him, Long will find no problem bringing in a suitable coach to take over if David Beaty can’t get something out of his team this season. Even if said coach only uses the Jayhawks as a stepping stone for their own career, success will be returning to Kansas very soon.

What classifies as success for the Jayhawks? The bar hasn’t been set too high. David Beaty has three total wins since being hired, he’s entering his fourth season. The Jayhawks themselves haven’t had a winning season since Mangino was fired.

Realistically, if Beaty and the Jayhawks can win more games this season than the previous three combined, the fans and the Kansas brass should be pleased with what they see.

Would four wins in 2018 be enough to save Beaty’s job? That more than likely depends on the availability of the right replacement.

Four wins would be huge for the program. As sad as that sentence may be, it is the truth. That being said, the Jayhawks could go winless again yet be competitive in the majority of ball games and the 2018 season would still be seen as a success.

Long will have a very watchful eye over the course of the season. Each game will be graded by those that must make a decision by years end.

If the Jayhawks can pull together a couple of wins within the Big 12 conference and win the nonconference games on their schedule, confidence will be high and hope will reemerge for those who have weathered the storm.

*Note: All statistics are credited to sports-reference.com