Kansas
83 Days Until Kansas Football – Illinois Preview
The Kansas Jayhawks’ first road test comes in the second week in the year against a Big Ten opponent that will give KU a good litmus of what type of season might be in store.
This is the return game from last year’s matchup where Kansas earned a 34-23 win during the blackout game on a Friday night at The Booth. KU led 28-7 at the half in the first of three games Jalon Daniels played in 2023. Daniels threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns and an interception as Kansas compiled 539 yards of total offense while holding Illinois to 341.
First Down
The Illini ended the season just outside of bowl eligibility at 5-7 after losing five of its final eight games, including against Purdue and Nebraska who both had losing records. Despite the struggles in the win column, Illinois had four players drafted in the NFL this spring.
Second Down
The defense saw a big drop off from 2022 when Ryan Walters was the defensive coordinator. But when Walters left for the Purdue head coaching job, Illinois went from allowing a nation’s best 12.8 points per game in 2022 to a 96th best 29.4 ppg in 2023. Part of that was talent that left for the NFL – mainly Devon Witherspoon – but the Illini had talent this year as well. At the top was defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton, who was a second-round pick in the NFL Draft.
Third Down
Another key to Illinois’ success will be the play of quarterback Luke Altmyer. Altmyer was just fine in his first year with the program after transferring from Ole Miss. He completed 64% of his passes but threw for just 1,883 yards and 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Though he did provide some decent production on the ground, with 282 yards and three rushing touchdowns. But his leading receiver – Casey Washington – is gone after being drafted in the sixth round.
Josh Paddock played in seven games and was a fixture late in the season for Illinois’ final three games and ended with 1,278 yards, nine TDs and three picks. His best game was a win over Indiana where he threw for 507 yards, four TDs, and an interception.
Fourth Down
One big area to watch with this matchup being early in the season is Illinois’ offensive line. Both starting tackles from last year’s squad are gone, and four linemen overall are no longer with the team. Meanwhile, only two returnees have more than 10 starts for their career. It looks like the Illini did a solid job in the transfer portal, but how quickly they can gel is still to be determined.
I would guess Kansas at this point would be the favorite in this game – as long as everyone stays healthy through the beginning of the season – but this is still a true road game against a Big Ten team that has the potential to be solid. It should be a fun matchup early in the season, and makes sense why it’s the FS1 primetime game.
Kansas
Woman seriously injured Tuesday in western Kansas crash
OAKLKEY, Kan. (WIBW) – A woman suffered serious injuries in a single-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in Thomas County in western Kansas, officials said.
The collision was reported at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday on K-25 highway just south of County Road D. The location was about 15 miles northwest of Oakley.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol’s online crash log, a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country minivan was northbound on K-25 when it left the roadway to the right — or east — side and overcorrected back onto the roadway.
The vehicle then began sliding sideways into the east ditch, where it rolled once.
The minivan then came to rest upright facing southeast in a field.
The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle, Terri Threlkeld, 50, of Page City, was transported to Logan County Hospital in Oakley with serious injuries. The patrol said Threlkeld wasn’t wearing her seat belt.
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Where to watch Iowa State vs. Kansas today: College basketball free stream
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The Kansas Jayhawks hosts No. 2 Iowa State Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The Cyclones are 16-0 this season, but the Jayhawks won’t be an easy out at home, led by star freshman Darryn Peterson.
Iowa State vs. Kansas will air on ESPN, and streams live on DIRECTV (free trial).
What: Men’s college basketball regular season
Who: No. 2 Iowa Cyclones vs. Kansas Jayhawks
When: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026
Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live stream: DIRECTV (free trial), fuboTV (free trial)
Here’s a recent college basketball story via the Associated Press:
WACO, Texas (AP) — Emanuel Sharp scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures for No. 7 Houston, which overcame two extended shooting slumps before halftime in a 77-55 win at Baylor on Saturday. The Cougars set a school record with their 16th consecutive road win.
Joseph Tugler had 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double in a row for defending Big 12 champion and national runner-up Houston (15-1, 3-0 Big 12). Isiah Harwell also had 12 points, while true freshmen Chris Cenac had 11 and Kingston Flemings 10.
The Cougars haven’t lost a true road game since at No. 8 Kansas on Feb. 3, 2024. That road winning streak is the longest active run in the country, with all of them Big 12 games for a league record.
Cameron Carr had 18 points for Baylor (10-5, 0-3), and Tounde Yessoufou had 10.
Houston missed 10 shots in a row over a 5 1/2-minute span early, then had another 0-for-10 span in the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half. But the Cougars took control of the game with a 23-3 run in the six minutes between those droughts.
Sharp and Harwell both had two 3-pointers in that big spurt. The Cougars trailed 14-6 before Sharp ignited that run, and a 3 by Harwell put them ahead to stay. The lead was 29-17 after Tugler’s dunk off a Baylor turnover with 6:34 left. That was their last field goal of the half, when they still led 33-26 before a 13-3 run to start the second half.
The Cougars shot 39.2% overall (29 of 74) from the field, with only five turnovers and 23 offensive rebounds. They scored 31 points off 16 turnovers by Baylor, which got 33 fewer shots.
Up next
Houston: Home Tuesday against West Virginia.
Baylor: At Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
Can I bet on the game?
Yes, you can bet on the game from your phone in New York State, and we’ve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.
Kansas
Kansas Bird Flu Tops Nation
Kansas is suffering from the worst outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the country, with nearly 414,000 birds affected, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
HPAI, an umbrella term for avian influenza that includes highly contagious strains such as H5 and H7, is considered a low public health risk, although it can pass to humans through birds and dairy products from infected cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows with sporadic human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers,” according to CDC.
As of Friday, there are four affected commercial flocks and six affected backyard flocks reported in Kansas, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Avian influenza kills almost 100% of the birds it infects.
The bulk of the infected birds, about 380,000, in Kansas were reported to be in a commercial operation in Pottawatomie County, USDA reports said.
In a map highlighting outbreaks across the nation, Kansas is the only state showing the most severe reports during the past 30 days. It is followed by Indiana, with about 87,000 birds affected, including two commercial flocks and five backyard flocks.
Kansas has not had a reported instance of avian bird flu in a human, according to CDC records. Since 2024, there have been 74 reported bird flu cases in humans and two deaths.
This year’s outbreak is similar to those during the last few years, said a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
“December and January have been the months when we have seen the highest number of positive cases since this outbreak began in 2022,” said Heather Lansdowne. “The winter of 2023-2024 was more active than this year, both in total cases and in number of birds affected. We are hoping this year follows the trajectory of those years and we begin to see a decline in cases moving forward.”
This year’s outbreak has spread primarily from migrating wild waterfowl, she said. The agency has encouraged poultry farmers and others to protect their birds from contact with migratory birds and their habitats.
“We have been promoting these actions to poultry owners from the start of the outbreak, both in public information and directly through veterinarians, extension agents, 4-H and FFA programs, to poultry owners we have through our systems, etc.,” Lansdowne said.
When the state discovers birds positive for avian flu, they work directly with the business owner to develop a response plan that includes a quarantine and long-term recovery plan, she said.
_ _ _
Story via Kansas Reflector
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