Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. CST on ESPN

Broadcast Team: Mark Jones, Lewis Riddick, Quint Kessenich

Vegas Line: KU -9

• Kansas enters Saturday’s showdown with BYU following a 31-24 victory at Nevada, marking Kansas’ second-consecutive 3-0 start to the season for the first time since 1991-92. Prior to the 2022 season, Kansas hadn’t begun the season 3-0 since 2009. The Jayhawks have now won four road games since head coach Lance Leipold took over at Kansas in 2021. Over the previous 13 seasons, dating back to 2008, Kansas won only four road games during that span.

• Through the first three games, Kansas is averaging 500.3 yards of total offense, as the Jayhawks have surpassed 500+ yards in two games, including 539 against Illinois and 521 in the season opener against Missouri State. The Jayhawks have now gone over 500 yards of total offense in nine games under head coach Lance Leipold, eight of which have come in the last 16 games. In the six years prior to Leipold’s tenure (2015-2020) the Jayhawks had seven games of 500+ yards, spanning 64 total games.

• Among the nation’s leaders in returning production, Kansas returns 85% of its production from 2022 (No. 2 in the country), including a nation’s leading 91% production on offense and 80% on defense (No. 10 in the country). The Jayhawks enter Saturday’s game with a roster that features players with 464 career starts.

• In addition to its returning production on the field, Kansas returns its head coach, all 10 position coaches and strength and conditioning coach for the first time in nearly 20 years. The last time Kansas returned its head coach and all 10 position coaches in consecutive seasons was the 2003-2004 seasons.

• Through three games this season, the Jayhawks are averaging 500.3 yards of offense, which ranks 17th nationally and is the most yards gained (1,501) through the first three games since 2009 (1,613). Kansas averaged 7.0 yards per play in 2022, the most in school history and the fourth most among power-five programs. The Jayhawks are currently averaging 7.3 yards per play this season, which compares to Kansas’ 7.6 yards per play through the first three games of 2022.

• Much of Kansas’ success has been due to its play on third down, converting 62.9% of the time on third down, which ranks second in the Big 12 Conference and third nationally. The Jayhawks have been converting consistently on third down through the first three games of the season, including 9-of-13 (69.2%) against Illinois and 7-of-11 (63.6%) at Nevada. In 2022, Kansas ranked eighth nationally and first in the Big 12 on third-down conversions, converting 50.6% on third down, compared to 35.8% in 2021. Kansas’ +15% improvement from 2021 to 2022 was second in the country behind Florida State (+17%).

THE SERIES. BYU and Kansas are meeting for the second time overall after matching up in the 1992 Aloha Bowl. The Jayhawks beat the Cougars 23-20.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN. After starting with two home games for the first time since 2012, BYU will play its second of two road games in as many as weeks. The Cougars beat Arkansas last week on the road 38-31 and will look to continue their road streak.

WELCOME TO THE BIG 12. BYU and Kansas will be the Cougars' first official Big 12 league game. BYU embarks on its inaugural season as a member of the Big 12 Conference after 12 years as an independent program. The Cougars finished the Independence Era with a record of 99-56. The 99 wins tied for No. 18 in college football.

CONFERENCE DEBUT. The Cougars are playing a league game for the first time since Nov. 27, 2010 (Utah). It will be the fifth time BYU plays a "first" conference game in its history. BYU won its most recent debut in a conference, beating No. 23 Colorado State 34-13 on Sept. 16, 1999, to open up its tenure in the Mountain West Conference. BYU began in the Rocky Mountain Faculty Athletic Conference (1922- 37), later known as the RMAC, then the Mountain States/Skyline Conference (1938-61), was a founding member of the Western Athletic Conference (1961- 98) and then the Mountain West (1999-2010).

LASSITER AND KANSAS. BYU receiver Darius Lassiter has multiple family ties to Kansas. His father, the late Kwamie Lassiter, played football for the Jayhawks prior to an NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams and San Diego Chargers. Darius’s brother, Kwamie II, played receiver at Kansas while another brother, Kwinton, currently plays cornerback for the Jayhawks

I do like this matchup for the Jayhawks.

BYU is a solid team but I believe some of the things they are good at Kansas can use to against them. On defense BYU is a physical team and one thing that impressed me is the pressure they were able to get on KJ Jefferson using their front four.

But Arkansas doesn't have a big threat of a passing game. That helps because you can play inside the box. BYU would much rather see the game played between the hashes and in a phone booth.

I think Andy Kotelnicki will have a plan that makes BYU go sideline to sideline and I don't think that is their strength. It is very similar to Illinois. They have big, physical players up front and solid linebackers but may be challenged in space.

Offensively the BYU OL doesn't make sense to me. They have a big offensive line that wants to play physical and good personnel. But they have not been able to open many holes in the run game. They are 102nd in the nation in yards per rush. Slovis can throw the ball if you let him get set. The best player on the offense might be TE Isaac Rex. At 6-foot-6, 255 pounds he might be the toughest matchup for the defense.

I think Borland will be aggressive in his blitz packages. He can go into the game with an aggressive plan since Slovis doesn't run well and the BYU running game has struggled.

BYU is a proud program who will come in believing they can win. They trailed Arkansas twice by double digits and found a way to win in large part due to mistakes by the Razorbacks. I don't see this being an easy win but a game I like the Jayhawks based off matchups.

Kansas 31- BYU 24

The Kansas Jayhawks welcome BYU to Lawrence as they open Big 12 play on Saturday. After winning at Nevada Saturday night, Lance Leipold’s squad has an opportunity to start the season 4-0 for a second consecutive year. KU Football last accomplished the feat in 1914 and 1915.

The Jayhawks again have one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation, averaging 490.5 yards per game (No. 12) and 6.9 yards per play (No. 20). They face a BYU defense that is yielding just 15.5 points (No. 26) and 305 yards per game. KU is the nations best third down offense (66.67.%) and BYU is the nation’s best third down defense (14.8%).

The Cougars are coming off a 38-31 road win over Arkansas. Quarterback Kedon Slovis is completing just over 61% of his passes with six touchdowns to just one interception. At 6-foot-3, 215-pounds, the transfer from USC is the first traditional drop-back passer KU has faced this year. Getting pressure on him will be a tough task with BYU’s big, experienced offensive line.

The Jayhawks backfield will again be key on Saturday. QB Jalon Daniels played has played well since missing Week One, but running back Devin Neal has been been arguably Leipold’s best offensive player. With 302 rushing yards and 5 TDs on just 40 carries, he’s shown his knack for the big play. He and Daniel Hishaw have carried much of the load on the ground, totaling 478 yards and 8 TDs between them.

This game comes down to KU’s offense and a BYU defense that hasn’t seen an attack as varied and explosive as what offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki will roll out on Saturday. This is likely the week the Jayhawks OC reveals the first new wrinkles he’s added in the offseason, and BYU doesn’t have the athletes to keep up.

Kansas 34 - BYU 24

BYU’s first Big 12 Conference game ever is going to present a fair share of challenges for the visitors. To start, the Kansas offense is looking solid through three games. Outside of a very worrisome fumbling problem, the Jayhawks have had no issue moving the ball.

If the Jayhawks can avoid turnovers, I believe that they’ll be able to move the ball against BYU as well. While players like Tyler Batty and others in BYU’s front seven will pose a threat, the Jayhawks will be able to use their speed and playmaking ability at quarterback to cancel out the amount of havoc BYU can induce.

When BYU’s offense takes the field, the Jayhawks get to see how much their front seven has improved from last year. The Cougars average just 2.7 yards per rush, meaning that if the Jayhawks can hold them to their average, it will put the offense in a very good position.

Sometimes the best way to alter a powerful offense like Kansas is to simply not give them the ball. If BYU struggles to run the ball like they have, that will mean their defense will have to frequently come away with stops against the Kansas offense. The Cougars may not have the gas to do it for four quarters if they can’t keep their defense off the field.

Saturday's game comes down to two things if the Jayhawks want to win. Can they stop the run? And can they hold onto the ball? If the answer is yes to both of those questions, I think the line from Las Vegas serves as a good benchmark. If not, we’ll see a nail-biter and perhaps BYU’s first ever Big 12 win.

Kansas 30- BYU 24