Kansas vs. Illinois odds: Early point spread released on Jayhawks, Fighting Illini

Following Week 1, both Kansas and Illinois will begin preparing for their Week 2 showdown. According to Fanduel, the Jayhawks have opened up as early three-point favorites as of Sunday afternoon. In Friday night’s game, the Jayhawks will be wearing their newly released ‘Blackhawk’ uniforms.

One of the biggest storylines heading into Week 2 for the Jayhawks will be the health of the 2023 Preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Jalon Daniels. He’d been dealing with back spasms in all of fall camp and did not play at all in the Jayhawks’ season-opener on Friday night against Missouri State.

The move caught plenty of people by surprise since Daniels was presented as the team’s starting quarterback by the video board at the KU stadium less than 30 minutes before the game. He walked onto the field for warmups, but Jason Bean took the initial snaps at quarterback during warmups. Daniels was also active in practice earlier in the week.

Daniels even threw a few passes in warming up before the start of the second half against MSU, but did not see any action. According to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, Daniels is expected to play in Friday’s game against Illinois.

Against Missouri State, Kansas wore their new all-blue uniforms they unveiled this offseason. The video the team released in the offseason had two different versions, all white and all blue.

While the Jayhawks pulled away for a 48-17 win, it wasn’t as easy as the final score might indicate. The Bears displayed some scrappiness and grit in the first half, only trailing 17-10 at halftime. Kansas outscored Missouri State 31-7 in the second half en route to the blowout victory.

If Daniels cannot play against Illinois, Jason Bean will take his place under center. Last week against the Bears, he racked up over 300 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Both of his touchdowns came through the air.

Illinois was favored to win in Week 1 against the Toledo Rockets and managed to pull out the win in a classic. The Rockets were leading the game 12-7 at halftime. Luke Altmeyer only had 93 yards passing in the first half for the Fighting Illini. Toledo’s dual-threat quarterback Dequan Finn gave Illinois plenty of problems, racking up over 140 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Illinois took control in the second half, leading 27-19 with over 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But that lead would slip away, thanks to Toledo’s dual-threat quarterback answering in the final minutes. He ran for a touchdown with 2:59 remaining to put the Rockets up, 28-27.

But Illinois prevailed in the final seconds thanks to the late game heroics of kicker Caleb Griffin. He drilled a 29-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to lift the Fighting Illini to a heart-stopping victory.

Dequan Finn racked up over 290 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns on the night, once again proving he’s one of the more dangerous quarterbacks from the Mid-American Conference.