Kansas, meanwhile, still hasn't picked a starter. Cole Ballard, Isaiah Marshall and Chase Jenkins are grinding through fall camp for the job Jalon Daniels left behind, and Lance Leipold has made clear he's not handing it to whoever throws a highlight in a scrimmage. Ballard's experience in the system gives him a slight lean as of today, but nothing here is settled with a game on the calendar in October. Leipold brought in the biggest transfer class of his tenure to paper over the uncertainty, including a massive addition on the interior line in Connor Stroh.
Both of these teams missed bowl season last year and know it. Baylor's issue was a talent exodus that hollowed out the skill positions; Kansas's issue was a red-zone problem, scoring on just 34 of 47 trips inside the 20. Fix that and the Jayhawks are a different team. Whichever side answers its most obvious question first — Baylor settling in behind Lagway, or Kansas actually naming a starter and sticking with him — probably controls this one.
This is a program-defining stretch for both coaching staffs, just with lower stakes than the marquee games elsewhere on the Big 12 slate. Neither team enters ranked, neither is chasing a conference title, but a Friday night in Lawrence with two teams trying to prove last season was the outlier still has juice for the fans who show up.