Toilet Bowl tale of the tape: It's going to be ugly between Baylor, Kansas
Two teams with a combined record of 1-15, with the lone win coming against an FCS opponent, and a minus-317 point differential on the season meet this Saturday in what is undoubtedly the ugliest Power 5 contest this year.
Baylor is winless on the campaign, lost at home to an FCS program, and are somehow still a 7.5-point favorite on the road at Kansas. That probably tells everyone all they need to know about the Jayhawks, and just how ugly this Big 12 matchup could be.
Let's take a closer look at the combatants:
Baylor
Record: 0-8
Points for: 195
Points against: 316
Biggest loss: 59-16 at Oklahoma State
Closest loss: 38-36 vs. West Virginia
Power 5 losing streak: 12 games
Matt Rhule's opening season with the Bears has been a disaster on the field, as Baylor is the only remaining Power 5 conference team without a win. The most embarrassing loss was the season-opener at home to Liberty, but there's been plenty to choose from in the disappointing schedule. Baylor's offense hasn't been terrible at moving the ball, as the Bears rank 69th in the country with 395 yards per game, but the defense has struggled to stop just about everyone its faced. The embattled unit is allowing a mind-blowing 503 yards per contest, placing them ahead of only five teams in the nation in that category.
While the Bears almost pulled out a win two weeks ago against West Virginia, they regressed greatly in last week's 38-7 loss to Texas, managing only 31 yards on the ground and turning the ball over three times. Despite that performance, Baylor is still favored by more than a touchdown on the road at Kansas.
Kansas
Record: 1-7
Points for: 130
Points against: 326
Biggest loss: 65-19 vs. Texas Tech
Closest loss: 30-20 vs. Kansas State
Power 5 losing streak: 6 games
Kansas being absolutely terrible has been a consistent storyline in college football in recent years, as the Jayhawks are a horrific 1-31 in their last 32 games against FBS opponents. Any improvement fans expected after beating Texas last season has been washed away, as Kansas has yet to finish within single digits of their foe in any FBS game this season.
The ugliest contest came on a nationally-televised Fox game against TCU, where the Jayhawks were held to a paltry 21 yards of total offense. No, neither of those statements were typos, as Fox somehow ended up with a Kansas game on national television, and the team actually only gained 21 yards of offense. It got so bad that the teams agreed to play with a running clock in the fourth quarter. With the loss, Kansas has now fallen in a record-tying 44 straight true road games.
Not surprisingly, the 12:00 p.m. ET kickoff is the only Big 12 game on the schedule this weekend that hasn't been picked up by a national broadcast.