It’s safe to say that Year Two of the Lance Leipold era in Lawrence has gone about as well as can be expected for Kansas sportsbooks, with the Jayhawks matching their 2021 win total after just two games.
The Jayhawks’ latest conquest came on the road in Morgantown, where they knocked off Big 12 rival West Virginia as a 14-point underdog, 55-42 in overtime.
Leipold’s bunch managed to pull off the rarity that is a double-digit overtime victory, thanks to a walk-off “Pick Six” on the Mountaineers’ lone extra-period possession.
The net result is that the Jayhawks notched their seventh win as a double-digit underdog since 2008, with West Virginia joining the likes of Texas (twice), Boston College, Missouri, Georgia Tech, and TCU as KU’s victim de jour.
BetKansas.com broke down the biggest upsets of the last decade-plus for the Jayhawks to determine where Saturday’s upset stands overall.
Below is a list of those conquests, with an eye on how Kansas’ 13-point win over West Virginia ranks for a program that since 2008 has tasted defeat (130 losses) far more than victory (30 wins).
Bettors who want to place wagers on KU can come to BetKansas.com for all the Kansas sportsbook promotions.
Kansas’ Biggest Upset Wins Since 2008
1. 2021: Nov. 13: Beat Texas (57-56 in OT) as a 31-point underdog
2. 2016: Nov. 19: Beat Texas (24-21 in OT) as a 23.5-point underdog
3. 2019: Sept. 13: @ BC (48-24 win) as an 18.5-point underdog
4. 2008: Nov. 29: Beat Missouri (40-37) as a 16.5-point underdog
5. 2022: Sept. 10: Beat West Virginia (55-42 in OT) as a 14-point underdog
T6th. 2010: Sept. 11: Beat GA Tech (28-25)/ 2018: Oct. 27: Beat TCU (27-26) as a 13.5-point underdog
8. 2010: Nov. 6: Beat Colorado (52-45) as a 7.5-point underdog
9. 2013: Nov. 16: Beat WVU (31-19) as a 6.5-point underdog
10. 2019: Oct. 26: Beat Texas Tech (37-34) as a 6-point underdog
How Saturday’s Upset Compares to the Rest
The days of the Jayhawks being an automatic underdog on Kansas mobile betting apps may be nearing their end, as Leipold appears to have changed the narrative in Lawrence.
In his first 14 games as Kansas’ head football coach, Leipold has notched a pair of double-digit upset wins, against longstanding quality programs like Texas and West Virginia.
Kansas’ other noteworthy upsets came largely while the team was mired in mediocrity, with the 2021 and 2016 Texas upsets occurring during 2-10 campaigns. The 2019 squad finished 3-9, and the 2009 Jayhawks were 5-7 for the year.
There’s reason to believe that Saturday’s road win against WVU could be the first of many for the Jayhawks, with winnable games against teams like Duke, Iowa State, and TCU at home — to go with road games against Texas Tech and Sunflower State rival, Kansas State.
To keep their momentum alive, the Jayhawks will be tasked with trying to pull off another double-digit road upset this Saturday, as the Houston Cougars host KU at 6 p.m. Central time.
The folks at DraftKings Sportsbook Kansas give the Jayhawks +300 odds of beating Houston this weekend, with a 10-point spread on the contest.
For now, it seems that the Jayhawks have all the luck in the world on their side going into that contest, as they look to pull off a second straight monumental upset, this time against a future Big 12 member.
