When the Kansas Jayhawks fell to the Missouri Tigers last Friday night, the loss did more than just put a damper on the Border War rivalry for KU fans. It put the team in a must-win position heading into their overseas trip for a Week 3 matchup versus Arizona State.
KU and ASU will face off in the Union Jack Classic at historic Wembley Stadium in London, England. It's the first time in the building's history that a college football game will be played inside its walls.
It's also a game the Jayhawks must win if they hope to have a realistic shot at reaching a bowl game this season.
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Challenging schedule
To reach a bowl game, KU really needs to come out of September with a 3-1 record after their game in London and final nonconference game against Middle Tennessee State (MTSU) in Lawrence later this month. That will give the Jayhawks at least a fighter's chance to secure three more wins in a schedule that does them very little favors the rest of the way.
KU's one and only bye week comes next weekend after getting back from London. After that, they must play MTSU and the rest of their remaining eight Big 12 opponents straight through the end of November – only three of which are at home, and one is against a ranked BYU team (No. 11 in latest AP Top 25 poll).
After the MTSU game, the Jayhawks have tough road trips to No. 17 Utah and Kansas State – the latter of whom they have not beaten in 17 straight years. Their other road games include at TCU, at West Virginia, and at Oklahoma State.
In addition to BYU, the Jayhawks will host Baylor, whom they haven't beaten since 2007, and the UCF Knights.
The Jayhawks will likely be underdogs in every conference game the rest of the season, except perhaps against UCF and West Virginia. Those should be two winnable games for KU, even if they are not favored, which means they would just need to capture one more win (should they beat ASU this weekend) to reach the coveted six-win mark to become bowl eligible for the first time in three years.
But if KU falls to the Sun Devils on Saturday, the loss will likely put them at 2-2 heading into the thick of Big 12 play – making their postseason dreams even slimmer than they appear now.
Kickoff from London on Saturday is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT with the game airing live on FOX.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/kansas as Why Kansas Football is Now Facing a Must-Win vs Arizona State in London.