Who Will Cover the Massive Spread Between Kansas and Wagner Football?

Coming off a dominant 31-7 victory over Fresno State in the season opener, the Kansas Jayhawks are heading into their next contest against Wagner with plenty of momentum.

Quarterback Jalon Daniels delivered one of the most complete games of his collegiate career, while the defense controlled the game all night and did not give up a point after the Bulldogs’ opening drive.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m. CT, KU will once again take the field in the renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium to host FCS opponent Wagner. The Seahawks, who compete in the Northeast Conference, figure to be the least challenging opponent of the season for Kansas, but the betting line for the matchup is enormous.

Kansas vs. Wagner Spread: Kansas -46.5

This is an extremely large line, even against a Wagner team that finished 4-8 last season and is not one of the more competitive FCS programs.

For context, KU has never defeated a team by 47 or more points in the Lance Leipold era. The largest margin of victory during Leipold’s tenure came in a 56-10 win over Tennessee Tech to open the 2022 season, and that still would not have covered tonight’s spread.

The Jayhawks also defeated FCS schools Missouri State 48-17 in 2023 and Lindenwood 48-3 to start last season. Leipold is not a coach who hesitates to go deep into his bench once games get out of hand, so Jayhawk fans should expect to see plenty of freshmen, sophomores, and reserves who do not get regular playing time.

Another storyline to monitor is the looming matchup with Missouri in the Border Showdown, which gives the coaching staff even more incentive to rest starters early.

It is very possible that KU’s backups string together multiple scoring drives, and Wagner will almost certainly struggle to move the ball, even against Kansas’ second and third-string defenders. Still, keep in mind that this remains a betting line that Leipold has never covered since arriving in Lawrence.

Wagner, while far from competitive, was not completely overwhelmed in its FBS matchups a year ago, losing 41-10 to FAU and 35-7 to UMass.

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Kansas is clearly a much more talented team than either of those programs, but the question is how long Leipold decides to keep his starters on the field before putting his foot on the brakes.

Taking Wagner here is risky given the lack of talent on its roster. But if forced to make a pick, the play would be Wagner +46.5 tonight.