TCU vs. Kansas Betting: Which surprise success story will stay unbeaten on Saturday?

If you had TCU and Kansas both being perfect through five weeks of the college football season, kudos to you.

Sure, a number of the most renowned programs in college football take up the top spots in the polls. And it’s hard to see this year’s national championship ending up in the hands of someone other than Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, or USC, the top six teams in this week’s AP poll.

But every season throws up a surprise or three, especially in the first several weeks. And as conference play heats up around the country, the Horned Frogs or Jayhawks are two unexpected top-20 teams heading into Saturday’s showdown in Lawrence.

The Horned Frogs have the signature win among the two, as they throttled Oklahoma 55-24 last Saturday in one of the results of the season thus far.

The Jayhawks have yet to beat a ranked team, but they own three wins as an underdog and will be eyeing a fourth come Saturday.

TCU Horned Frogs vs. Kansas Jayhawks Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: TCU Horned Frogs (4-0, 1-0 Big 12, 2-0 away, #17 AP/#18 CP) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (5-0, 2-0 Big 12, 3-0 home, #19 AP/#17 CP)
• Venue & Location: David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium (Lawrence, Kansas)
• Date: Saturday, October 8, 2022
• Game Time: 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (11:00 a.m. local time)
• How to Watch TCU vs. Kansas: FS1

TCU vs. Kansas Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other recommended sports betting sites may also appear in this article.

Spread

• TCU -7 (-105)
• Kansas +7 (-115)

Over/Under

• Over 68.5 (-110)
• Under 68.5 (-110)

Moneyline

• TCU -275
• Kansas +220

TCU vs. Kansas Prediction and Betting Picks

TCU vs. Kansas Prediction: TCU to win

TCU vs. Kansas Picks: TCU to cover (Best Value: -7 @ -105 at BetOnline) & TCU team total over (Best Value: over 37.5 @ -127 at BetUS)

Last week, the Horned Frogs racked up 668 yards in their rout of the Sooners. It was a well-balanced onslaught as well, as they put up 307 yards passing and 361 yards rushing, averaging nine yards per pass and 8.8 yards per rush.

Offense had led the way for the Jayhawks in their wins over Tennessee Tech, West Virginia, Houston, and Duke.

Game By Game Offensive Totals for Kansas

• vs. Tennessee Tech (56-10 W): 205 yards passing (16 of 19), 297 yards rushing (30 attempts)
• at West Virginia (55-42 W in OT): 219 yards passing (18 of 29), 200 yards rushing (36 attempts)
• at Houston (48-30 W): 158 yards passing (14 of 23), 280 yards rushing (43 attempts)
• vs. Duke (35-27 W): 324 yards passing (19 of 23), 209 yards rushing (39 attempts)
• vs. Iowa State (14-11 W): 101 yards passing (8 of 15), 112 yards rushing (31 attempts)

But in Saturday’s 14-11 win over visiting Iowa State, defense stepped up where Jalon Daniels and the offense struggled.

The Cyclones had the ball for over 35 minutes and ran 32 more plays than the Jayhawks. But they were held to just 26 yards rushing, and the only time Kansas broke when Iowa State ventured on their side of the field came in the second quarter, when a 53-yard pass play set up ISU’s only touchdown of the day.

It has to be said though that Kansas also got a serious measure of good fortune, as Cyclones kicker Jace Gilbert missed field goals of 38, 45, and 37 yards, the last of which would have tied the game in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

The Jayhawks haven’t been overly reliant on luck to this point, but Iowa State was the best opponent they had faced. Their fortunate escape might be a sign that the meat of conference play will bring Kansas back down to earth.

Upcoming Schedule for TCU

• at Kansas
• vs. Oklahoma State
• vs. Kansas State
• at West Virginia
• vs. Texas Tech
• at Texas
• at Baylor
• vs. Iowa State

The same may happen for TCU in the next couple of weeks, but if they can remain unblemished through the next three weeks, which will see them host #7 Oklahoma State and #20 Kansas State after their trip to Lawrence, they will be well-positioned for a first trip to the Big 12 Championship Game since 2017.

I expect TCU to successfully navigate the road portion of that upcoming trio, as their offensive balance and explosiveness will be too much for Kansas on Saturday.

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