On January 3, the Kansas Jayhawks defeated Virginia Tech 24-21 in the Orange Bowl to finish the 2007 College Football season with a 12-1 record.

Now, the question for a team with such limited football tradition becomes whether it can duplicate that success a year later, and possibly contend for the national championship.

To answer this question, I will break down the 2008 schedule for the Kansas Jayhawks into several different parts.

Part 1: Early Season Cupcakes

8/30 Florida International 

9/06 Louisiana Tech

The Kansas Jayhawks scheduled two early season cupcakes to begin the 2008 season.

If the Kansas Jayhawks take good care of their business against Florida International and Louisiana Tech, the Jayhawks will possess a 2-0 record.

Part 2: Early Season Semi-Challenges

9/12 @ South Florida

9/20 Sam Houston State

10/04 @ Iowa State

10/11 Colorado

During weeks three through seven, Kansas faces slightly tougher competition than they did during the first two weeks of the season.  During this five week stretch, Kansas plays four games (two on the road, and two at home) with a bye week in between.

Undoubtedly, the night game at South Florida will be the toughest of these four games.  If Kansas can walk out of South Florida with a victory, it would be a huge confidence booster.

Part 3: Mid-Season Tough Challenges

10/18 @ Oklahoma

10/25 Texas Tech

During weeks eight and nine, Kansas will face by far its toughest tests of the season.

If the team enters this part of the season with a 6-0 record, a split of these two games may not necessarily put an end to their quest to repeat.

However, if the Jayhawks enter this third part of the season with a 6-0 record and somehow find a way to win BOTH of these games, they will have put themselves in a GREAT position with an 8-0 record.

Part 4: Late Season Breather

11/01 Kansas State

11/08 @ Nebraska

During these games, Kansas will face relatively easier tests than they did during weeks eight and nine.

If they enter this part of the season with a 7-1 record, they must win both games to have a shot at a championship.

However if they enter this part of the season with an 8-0 record and win both of these games, Kansas will have put themselves in an excellent position to make the BCS Championship Game with a 10-0 record.

Part 5: Late Season Challenges

11/15 Texas

11/29 @ Missouri

12/06 Big 12 Championship Game

These weeks will have the Jayhawks facing arguably their toughest competition of the season.

If they enter this part of the season with a 9-1 record... they MUST win ALL 3 of these games to put themselves in position to repeat.

However, if the Jayhawks enter this part of the season with a 10-0 record, then a positive split of these three games (2 wins and 1 loss) may be enough to put the Kansas Jayhawks in the title game.

If they enter this part of the season with a 10-0 record, and win all three of these games, the Kansas Jayhawks will have put themselves in a perfect position to win it all, with a 13-0 record.