Kansas Jayhawks football vs. TCU Horned Frogs: Prediction, kickoff time, TV
The details
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
TV: FS1
Radio: WHB (810 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM) in Wichita
The line: TCU by 14 1/2.
Prediction
By now, you should be familiar with the mantra repeated here every week: It’s best to not overreact to the previous game’s result.
That’s especially useful when looking at KU’s opponent on Saturday, as TCU is coming off an unexpected loss at home to SMU.
The Horned Frogs, who were ranked 25th in last week’s Associated Press poll, appear to have a few shortcomings based on their last performance. In particular, they have struggled through the air, ranking in the bottom five nationally in yards per pass attempt.
Even knowing that ... this is a program that remains 28th in ESPN’s SP+ advanced ranking, which should indicate this is still a good team that is simply coming off a bad week.
KU, as mentioned here Monday, is making its own progress in SP+ while moving up to 77th. While that’s encouraging ... there’s still a significant gap there between what we should think of the Jayhawks and the Horned Frogs overall, especially with this game taking place in Fort Worth.
One other worry for KU comes because of injury. Linebacker Dru Prox has been one of the top performers defensively, and once he left last week’s game with an ailment, KU struggled to replace his production. Coach Les Miles said earlier this week that Prox wasn’t expected to be out for a significant length of time, but if the linebacker misses Saturday or is limited, the Jayhawks defense could easily take a step back.
The Vegas line, which started at 20, had fallen to 14 1/2 by Friday afternoon.
If we believe in what TCU was before last week’s game, that final number looks a bit low — making the Horned Frogs the pick for both the win and cover.
TCU 35, KU 14
Last game prediction: West Virginia 31, KU 20 (Actual: West Virginia 29-24)
