Through two weeks of the 2022 college football season, the Kansas Jayhawks are averaging 55.5 points per game.
That’s good for first in the entire FBS, a position in which Kansas is certainly not used to being.
Get this only six teams in the entire NCAA have scored more points than Kansas through two games — FCS schools Arkansas-Pine Bluff (124) and Incarnate Word (119); Division II schools Virginia Union (122) and Saginaw Valley (112); and DIII programs Grove City (118) and Union College (118).
Not all of KU’s 111 points have been scored by the offense, of course, but that’s a number that any team in the country would take in two games, no matter how the points come.
It’s also not a number you should expect to see in the weeks ahead.
Nick KrugFor one, you have to expect some regression given the fact that KU’s opponents will present much greater challenges from here on out, with eight more Big 12 opponents, a road game at Houston next week and a home game versus Duke still on the schedule.
For two, the Jayhawks’ impressive offensive start has been bolstered by a matchup with FCS Tennessee Tech and an overtime period against West Virginia.
While the rest of KU’s schedule features some pretty stout defenses — more on that in a minute, even if we are still talking about a small sample size — their matchup in Week 3 might not be one of them.
Through two games, Houston ranks 115th in the FBS in total defense, giving up 454.5 yards per game, and 106th in scoring defense.
That’s far worse than the Jayhawks’ Week 4 opponent, Duke, which ranks 65th in total D and 23rd in scoring defense.
For what it’s worth, West Virginia is tied for 93rd in total defense and, thanks in large part to what KU’s offense did on Saturday, 126th in scoring defense.
Here’s how the rest of the KU schedule — after Houston and Duke — shapes up in those two defensive categories through two weeks, with total defense first and scoring defense in parentheses.
Iowa State – 11th (11th)
TCU – 53rd (T33rd)
Oklahoma – 46th (10th)
Baylor – 41st (46th)
Oklahoma State – 113th (97th)
Texas Tech – 47th (43rd)
Texas – 50th (T33rd)
Kansas State – 15th (5th)
Jalon Daniels has been a difference maker for this program, with his confidence, ability and efficiency taking the offense to new heights.
Given the depth at running back, the variety of options in the passing game and the experience and chemistry of this year’s offensive line, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Kansas’ offense can be one of the best we’ve seen in Lawrence in years.
Just take a look at what the program has done with Daniels operating as the team’s top quarterback during the past three seasons, and then remember that he’s a far better and more experienced QB today than he was in either of those first two seasons.
In Daniels’ 11 starts, KU has averaged 28.5 points per game.
Six of those starts came during his true freshman season (he was just 17 years old when he made his first start) and the Jayhawks have scored 28 points or more during the Lawndale, California, native’s five most recent starts.
When you consider that Kansas did not even reach 28 points in 94 of the 117 games it played during the 10 seasons leading into this one, that really hammers home the point that finding a QB (and an offense) that can lead the team to points is kind of a big deal.
The question now is can he continue to do it against defenses that will be far better than what the Jayhawks have seen through two the first two weeks of the season?
