Can't Wait For Saturday | If they stay healthy, Jayhawks might rock chalk all the way to CFP

Greetings from "Can't Wait For Saturday," your morning morsel of college football, courtesy of longtime Illini beat writer, AP Top 25 voter and Heisman state rep Bob Asmussen. He'll give you his views each day on the game he loves

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Are you ready for the most college football ever? Twelve teams in the playoffs means eight more postseason games than before. What used to be three is now 11 to decide who is best,

The favorites might dominate in the first two rounds. Or the semifinals will be filled with bottom seeds. We can only hope.

Kick back, relax and enjoy every moment of it. As a primer, I will use this space over the next month and half to count down my preseason Top 50. I welcome complaints and disagreements I might even include them in future stories.

And away we go ...

19. Kansas Big 12

What's to like?

Fourth-year coach Lance Leipold has a good thing going in Lawrence. The basketball school won nine games last season and brings back more than half of its starters. Partly because of the talent on hand and partly because of Leipold's history as a winner, the team is considered a contender to reach the Big 12 title game. ... The most important player, by far, is quarterback Jalon Daniels, the preseason pick to earn all-conference honors. He played in only three games in 2023 before a back injury ended his season. ... Tailback Devin Neal is one of the best in the loaded Big 12 and should end his career as the school's all-time rushing leader. ... Three starters are back on the offensive line. ... Three starters are back in the secondary, which will be the strength of the defense. ... The Jayhawks don't play preseason favorite Utah or Oklahoma State.

Reasons to worry

Perhaps, the air is too thin for Kansas and the team will flop back to Earth. Some think the Jayhawks are a potential playoff team, but some are wrong a lot. ... Very risky to count on Daniels. ... The team faces early road tests at Illinois and West Virginia. Later, it goes to rival Kansas State, which is another Big 12 contender. ... The defense might need to keep Kansas in games early while Daniels finds his form.

Previous

50. Maryland Big Ten

49. Colorado Big 12

48. Georgia Tech ACC

47. Tulane American

46. UCF Big 12

45. South Florida American

44. Appalachian State Sun Belt

43. Rutgers Big Ten

42. Virginia Tech ACC

41. Texas Tech Big 12

40. Liberty Conference USA

39. South Carolina SEC

38. Washington Big Ten

37. North Carolina ACC

36. Boise State Mountain West

35. Memphis American

34. Kentucky SEC

33. Nebraska Big Ten

32. Florida SEC

31. Auburn SEC

30. SMU ACC

29. Wisconsin Big Ten

28. West Virginia Big 12

27. Iowa State Big 12

26. NC State ACC

25. Iowa Big Ten

24. Arizona Big 12

23. Louisville ACC--July 13

22. Southern California Big Ten

21. Kansas State Big 12

20. Texas A&M SEC--July 16