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Kansas football: Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings project rough 2021 for Jayhawks

By Ethan Lee

The University of Kansas new football coach Lance Leipold, left, shakes hands with athletic director Travis Goff, right, during a news conference Monday at the indoor football facility.
The University of Kansas new football coach Lance Leipold, left, shakes hands with athletic director Travis Goff, right, during a news conference Monday at the indoor football facility. /
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Unsurprisingly, 2021 is expected to be a bad year for Kansas football, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+.

Well, this isn’t much of a shocker for anyone who keeps up with college football. Just about everyone who has been remotely or peripherally paying attention to Kansas football over the past decade or so would tell you the same thing.

In case you weren’t aware for whatever reason, 2021 is almost certainly going to be another tough and frustrating season for Kansas football fans. But, it’s not like KU football fans are expecting this season to magically be some significant improvement over where it was in the past. At least not in terms of wins and losses, that is.

The Kansas Jayhawks have a new head coach in Lance Leipold and some reasons to be optimistic about the eventual direction of their program. This season is all about moving forward in the right direction.

That direction likely doesn’t include a ton of wins and losses, according to ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+ preseason rankings.

Kansas football: ESPN’s Bill Connelly’s SP+ is projecting a rough season for the Jayhawks

The Kansas football team isn’t expected to have a great offense or great defense, and the Jayhawks overall preseason ranking is pretty reflective of that.

According to SP+, the Kansas Jayhawks have the 112th best offense in the country while they also have the 115th best defense in the country. In total, Kansas checks in at No. 119 overall, according to the SP+ preseason rankings.

There are a total of 130 teams ranked by SP+ headed into 2021.

That’s… not great.

But again, the focus for Leipold and company this season should be about building for the future, not immediate success. Kansas football fans are almost certainly going to be patient with this coaching staff this year and they should be willing to give Leipold all the time he needs.

For more information on ESPN’s Bill Connelly, his magical SP+ analytics system, and the 2021 preseason rankings, click here.

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