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Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetKansas.com specializing in covering state issues. He covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years.
Kansas Football Bowl Projections: Odds For Jayhawks’ 2025-26 Bowl Game
After a down year in 2024, all eyes are on head coach Lance Leipold to see if the college football veteran leader can flip the script for the Kansas Jayhawks in 2025, with the Big 12 stalwarts kicking off the 2025 season at home against Fresno State on Aug. 23.
With sixth year senior quarterback Jalon Daniels back for a final go-round under center and a host of fresh faces joining him on offense, it should be an entertaining fall in Lawrence, as Leipold and his staff look to flip the script from last year’s 5-7 campaign. With that in mind, BetKansas.com is keeping tabs on KU’s bowl game odds in 2025, with this week’s preseason edition including potential stops in Fort Worth, Memphis, Dallas, San Antonio and Phoenix.
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Kansas Football Bowl Projections: Odds For Jayhawks’ 2025-26 Bowl Game
Bowl | Location | Conference Opponent | Odds | Percentage Chance |
Armed Forces Bowl | Fort Worth, TX | vs. AAC/MWC/Sun Belt | +225 | 30.8% |
Liberty Bowl | Memphis, TN | Vs. SEC | +360 | 21.7% |
First Responder Bowl | Dallas, TX | Vs. AAC/ACC | +555 | 15.3% |
Alamo Bowl | San Antonio, TX | Vs. TBD (used to be Pac-12) | +770 | 11.5% |
Rate Bowl | Phoenix, AZ | vs. Big Ten | +875 | 10.3% |
The Field |
|
| +900 | 10% |
Looking back at KU’s recent football history, there’s not a lot of bowl game data to pull from as the Jayhawks were among the worst teams in the FBS from 2009 through 2021, with 28 victories in 13 seasons and no more than three victories between going 8-5 under then-head coach Mark Mangino and Leipold’s 6-7 campaign in 2022.
Since then, the former Buffalo Bulls and Wisconsin-Whitewater head coach has managed to get KU into two bowl games, those being the 202 Liberty Bowl (which KU lost to Arkansas, 55-53) and the 2024 Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which the Jayhawks won over UNLV, 49-36.
This fall, we’re going with a return to Fort Worth for the Jayhawks, with KU playing in the Armed Forces Bowl for the first time since it was called the Fort Worth Bowl back in 2005. That season, Mangino led KU to a 24-13 win over Houston to cap off a 7-5 season, serving as the first of three straight bowl game victories between 2005 and 2008, setting the high-water mark for the program that still stands.
In 2025, we’re banking on Leipold to get KU back into the sport’s postseason, with other potential landing spots including the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis (at +360), the First Responder Bowl in Dallas (+555), San Antonio’s Alamo Bowl (+770) and Phoenix’s Rate Bowl (+875). Keep tabs on the Jayhawks all season long at Kansas sports betting apps.
Where KU Stands Entering 2025 Season
As KU prepares for the Jayhawks’ season opener in Lawrence against Fresno State on Aug. 23, it seems like oddsmakers are riding high on Lance Leipold’s bunch (in Week 1, at least). That’s because the team at bet365 Kansas has KU as a 13-point home favorite over the Bulldogs, with a -550 moneyline on the Jayhawks, compared with +400 odds on the visitors from the San Joaquin Valley.
As for the season ahead, it seems like Kansas’ odds aren’t quite as rosy, with the Jayhawks holding +1500 odds of winning the Big 12 championship on FanDuel Sportsbook Kansas, while the team’s preseason win total over/under is set at 6.5 in 2025 on the New York-based sports betting goliath.
One storyline to keep an eye on for KU in 2025 is the health of Daniels, who has thrown for 2,000 yards or more twice, including a career-high 2,454 yards in 2024.
Daniels, who has 6,751 passing and 1,041 rushing yards to his name so far with KU, enters the season with +10000 Heisman Trophy odds on FanDuel Sportsbook, speaking to oddsmakers’ belief that the veteran gunslinger can finish his NCAA career on a high note after missing time in each of his first four seasons with the Jayhawks to back and knee injuries.
According to 247Sports.com, KU’s spread over Fresno State in Week 1 is the largest for the Jayhawks since being a 28-point favorite against Nevada in 2023, though the Jayhawks failed the cover the spread in that one, beating the Wolf Pack, 28-23.
This year, Daniels and company will look to fly past the Bulldogs, potentially building a head of momentum as KU looks to turn the tide after a disappointing, 5-7 campaign in 2024.
Kansas Bowl Game History
Year | Bowl | Result |
2023 | Guaranteed Rate Bowl | Win, 49-36 vs. UNLV |
2022 | Liberty Bowl | Loss, 55-53 vs. Arkansas |
2008 | Insight Bowl | Win, 42-21 vs. Minnesota |
2007 | Orange Bowl | Win, 24-21 vs. Virginia Tech |
2005 | Fort Worth Bowl | Win, 24-13 vs. Houston |
As stated above, KU’s recent bowl game history is thin, with five postseason trips since 2005, with the Jayhawks posting a 4-1 record in those games, with victories over UNLV (49-36 in the 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl), Minnesota (42-21 in the 2008 Insight Bowl), Virginia Tech (24-21 in the 2007 Orange Bowl) and Houston (in that 2005 Fort Worth Bowl).
The Jayhawks’ lone loss in their five most recent bowl game trips was that 2022 Liberty Bowl defeat to the Razorbacks in Memphis, with KU dropping a shootout to Arkansas by a 55-53 final score.
This fall, Leipold and his staff will look to add a third bowl game in four years to KU’s ledger, with non-conference games against Fresno State and FCS program Wagner at home on Aug. 23 and 29, before heading to Columbia to play Missouri in the football version of the Border War on Sept. 6.
USA Today photo by Evert Nelson.
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Q&As
For the current 2025-26 CFB season, we have the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, TX as KU’s top postseason landing spot, at +225.
As the CFB regular season hasn’t kicked off yet, nobody knows where KU will play this bowl season.
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