It may be hard to believe, but October is just a couple weeks away. When it arrives, college football will be in full swing across the country. The four-week stretch represents the middle of the season for many teams, a time that can make – or break – a season.
For the first season of the 16-team Big 12, BetKansas.com – where you’ll find the top Kansas sportsbook promos – wanted to see how each team has performed in recent Octobers. Using Sports-Reference.com, we found the average October win-loss percentage for each team over the past five full seasons, excluding 2020.
Rank | Team | Average W-L% |
1 | Utah Utes | .833 |
2 | Houston Cougars | .733 |
3 | Iowa State Cyclones | .700 |
4 | Cincinnati Bearcats | .683 |
T5 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | .603 |
T5 | UCF Knights | .603 |
7 | Kansas State Wildcats | .600 |
8 | Baylor Bears | .583 |
9 | Arizona State Sun Devils | .400 |
10 | Texas Tech Red Raiders | .380 |
11 | TCU Horned Frogs | .373 |
12 | BYU Cougars | .353 |
T13 | Arizona Wildcats | .350 |
T13 | West Virginia Mountaineers | .350 |
15 | Kansas Jayhawks | .317 |
16 | Colorado Buffaloes | .217 |
Remember, Kansas sports betting is legal for another college football season.
The records above are from the past five full seasons (again not counting the COVID-shortened 2020) so we added up October records from 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Kansas State entered 2024 as the No. 2 team in the conference, according to the preseason media poll, and so far the Wildcats have looked like a contender. They’ve started the season 2-0, and last week, KSU rallied from down 14-3 to win 34-27 on the road at Tulane. Currently the No. 14 team in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Wildcats have odds of +375 at Caesars Kansas Sportsbook to win the conference. Only Utah has shorter odds on the Caesars board.
October has been a good month recently for coach Chris Klieman’s team. The Wildcats have posted 3-1 records for the month in back-to-back years. Last year’s wins over Texas Tech, Texas Christian and Houston came by a combined score of 120-24.
This year’s October slate starts with an off week before the Wildcats venture on the road to Colorado on Oct. 12 and West Virginia a week later. KSU concludes the month hosting the Sunflower Showdown against in-state conference rival Kansas. The host Wildcats have dominated the series for the past three decades, owning a 27-4 over their conference and in-state rivals since 1993 and having won the last 15 games against them. See Kansas State football bowl projections for our list of possible postseason bowl destinations.
Now in his fourth season at Lawrence, Lance Leipold has turned the Jayhawks football program around. After going 2-10 in his first season, KU has posted 6-7 and 9-4 marks over the past two years. The past two seasons also have included the school’s first bowl appearances since the Insight Bowl after the 2008 season.
Last year’s nine-win season had led to higher expectations. Big 12 media picked the Jayhawks to finish fourth in the preseason conference poll. But after a non-conference loss last week at Illinois, oddsmakers at Fanatics Kansas Sportsbook have KU listed in the middle of the pack for the conference championship. Both KU and Arizona have odds of +1500, with five schools offered at shorter odds.
Based on the past couple of seasons, Jayhawks fans are hoping to see the team perform better in October. Last year, Kansas went 2-1, ending the month with a 38-33 upset of then-No. 6 Oklahoma at home. The Sooners were the highest-ranked opponent Kansas beat since the 2008 Orange Bowl when it dispatched Virginia Tech, then the No. 3 team in the BCS rankings.
KU could get a chance to upset another ranked team at the end of October if Kansas State can maintain its position in the AP poll. Check out Kansas football bowl projections at BetKansas.com as the Jayhawks aim for a third consecutive season with a postseason trip.
Last year, the Big 12 welcomed BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida to the conference, but the conference went through an even bigger change this season. Both Texas and Oklahoma departed to join the SEC; in their place, the league added four Pac-12 schools: Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. Colorado is a returning member of the Big 12. It left the conference to become part of the Pac-12 in 2011.
Utah, which went to the Rose Bowl after the 2021 and 2022 seasons, enters its debut season in the now 16-team conference pegged as the favorite to win and represent it in the College Football Playoff. The Utes are still the favorites at BetMGM Kansas Sportsbook with odds of +250, Kansas State is next at +375, and KU is the co-sixth choice at +1200.
USA Today photo by Jay Biggerstaff
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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