The Kansas football team is hours away from kicking off a crucial Big 12 clash against UCF this afternoon. It will be the second-to-last time the Jayhawks play at home in 2026 and perhaps the final chance for Lance Leipold and Co. to salvage what has been a disappointing season in Lawrence.

There was excitement surrounding the program after it picked up a thrilling walk-off win over Baylor two weeks ago, but that momentum came to a screeching halt after last game's second-half collapse to TCU. Now sitting at 3-5, the Jayhawks can only afford one more loss with four contests remaining to keep their bowl aspirations alive.

There is no better time to make a statement than right now. This game marks the first time in Big 12 play that the Jayhawks have been favored. Even the oddsmakers acknowledge KU as the better team in this one.

Kansas will get quarterback Isaiah Marshall back after he missed one game due to a lower-leg injury. Not only will the offense receive a massive boost by getting its signal-caller back, but UCF is coming off a horrendous showing against Baylor in which the Knights scored nine points.

There is still plenty of optimism for a bowl game if the Jayhawks come out victorious today. They would need to go 2-1 in their final trio of league games, though that shouldn't be as daunting as it sounds.

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Next up is a road trip with a West Virginia squad that boasts one of the nation's worst defenses, followed by the home finale against BYU, a school Kansas has defeated the past two meetings. The Jayhawks will then close out the regular season against an Oklahoma State group that just lost to Iowa State. Those are all glass-half-full outlooks, but all three are winnable if KU doesn't shoot itself in the foot as it has in the past.

While winning six games won't shield the coaching staff from its shortcomings this year, it would be disastrous to miss out on postseason play for a third consecutive season. Given where KU stood in the Big 12 after its nine-win campaign in 2023, things have quickly gone downhill for Leipold. Pulling off an improbable winning streak as the Jayhawks did late in 2024 would offer much-needed security for Leipold's job.