# 2018 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 2018 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Jayhawks 129th season. The Jayhawks were led by fourth-year head coach David Beaty. They were members of the Big 12 Conference. They played their games at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, formally Memorial Stadium. The stadium was renamed following the Jayhawks 2017 season in December 2017 after a $50 million renovation was completed that was donated by Kansas alumnus David Booth.
The Jayhawks ended multiple losing streaks during the season, the longest being a 46 game road losing streak which ended with a 31–7 win over Central Michigan. The win also ended a 12 game losing streak against FBS opponents. With a 27–26 win over TCU, KU ended a 10 game losing streak against Big 12 teams. With back–to–back wins over Central Michigan and Rutgers, Kansas earned back-to-back wins against any opponent for the first time since 2011 and their first back-to-back wins over FBS opponents since 2009. Two other major losing streaks were still active at the end of the season, they have lost 44 consecutive road games in the Big 12 as well as 30 consecutive losses against teams ranked in the AP Poll. Following their 7th loss of the season to Kansas State, the Jayhawks became ineligible for a bowl game for the 10th consecutive season.
On November 5, Kansas athletic director Jeff Long announced that Beaty will not be retained as head coach but he was able to finish the season and was officially fired at the end of the season.

## All-conference players lost

| Position | Player | 1st/2nd/HM | Reason |
| TE | Ben Johnson | 2nd | Graduation |
| DL | Dorance Armstrong | 2nd | Entered NFL draft |

## Returning all-conference players

| Position | Player | Year | 1st/2nd/HM |
| DL | Daniel Wise | Sr. | 1st |
| OL | Hakeem Adeniji | Jr. | HM |
| WR/KR/PR | Steven Sims | Sr. | HM |
| DB | Bryce Torneden | Jr. | HM |
| K | Gabriel Rui | Sr. | HM |

## Preseason
### Big 12 media poll

The Big 12 media poll was released on July 12, 2018 with the Jayhawks predicted to finish in last place receiving all last place votes.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Oklahoma | 509 (46) |
| 2 | West Virginia | 432 (2) |
| 3 | TCU | 390 (1) |
| 4 | Texas | 370 (1) |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | 300 |
| 6 | Kansas State | 283 (2) |
| 7 | Iowa State | 250 |
| 8 | Texas Tech | 149 |
| 9 | Baylor | 125 |
| 10 | Kansas | 52 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 18 (FCS) Nicholls* | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | Jayhawk TV | L 23–26 $^{OT}$ | 24,305 |
| September 8 | 2:00 p.m. | at Central Michigan* | Kelly/Shorts StadiumMount Pleasant, MI | ESPN+ | W 31–7 | 18,127 |
| September 15 | 11:00 a.m. | Rutgers* | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FSN | W 55–14 | 28,044 |
| September 22 | 2:30 p.m. | at Baylor | McLane StadiumWaco, TX | FS1 | L 7–26 | 36,725 |
| September 29 | 11:00 a.m. | Oklahoma State | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FSN | L 28–48 | 18,364 |
| October 6 | 11:00 a.m. | at No. 9 West Virginia | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | ESPN2 | L 22–38 | 57,419 |
| October 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at Texas Tech | Jones AT&T StadiumLubbock, TX | FS1 | L 16–48 | 54,402 |
| October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | TCU | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FS1 | W 27–26 | 15,069 |
| November 3 | 11:00 a.m. | Iowa State | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FSN | L 3–27 | 15,543 |
| November 10 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kansas State | Bill Snyder Family Football StadiumManhattan, KS (Sunflower Showdown) | FSN | L 17–21 | 50,062 |
| November 17 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 6 Oklahoma | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | FOX | L 40–55 | 86,371 |
| November 23 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 11 Texas | David Booth Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | FS1 | L 17–24 | 15,219 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||
    Source:

## Game summaries
### Nicholls

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 18 (FCS) Colonels | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 26 |
| Jayhawks | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 23 |

### At Central Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |
| Chippewas | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Rutgers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Scarlet Knights | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Jayhawks | 17 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 55 |

### At Baylor

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Bears | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 26 |

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 14 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 48 |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

### At West Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 7 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| No. 9 Mountaineers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 38 |

### At Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 3 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| Red Raiders | 3 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 48 |

### TCU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Horned Frogs | 0 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 26 |
| Jayhawks | 7 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 27 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cyclones | 14 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### At Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |

### At Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jayhawks | 7 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 40 |
| No. 6 Sooners | 7 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 55 |

### Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 11 Longhorns | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 24 |
| Jayhawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |