After celebrating Saturday’s 22-21 rivalry victory over Utah as fully as possible during the 24 hours allotted by head coach Kalani Sitake, special teams coordinator and rushing ends coach Kelly Poppinga appeared on the tape of Kansas’ 45-36 upset of nationally ranked Iowa State and sent a quick text to players on BYU’s 9-0 football team Monday morning.

“This is the best 3-6 team I’ve ever seen,” Poppinga texted.

The Jayhawks (3-6, 2-4) are playing perhaps the best football in the Big 12 right now, along with No. 6 BYU (9-0, 6-0) and Coach Prime’s Colorado Buffaloes, hosting Utah at 10 a.m. hours MST Saturday in Boulder.

Three months ago, this looked like it would be one of the toughest games on BYU’s schedule, and it still remains that way. But instead of the Jayhawks, who were ranked in the top 25 in the preseason, being the dominant force, it’s BYU, picked to finish 13th at home in the 16-team Big 12 in front of more than 60,000 fans, boosted by the winning streak and the improbable The win over the Utes leaves the Cougars only a slight favorite, less than a field goal.

Many national forecasters are predicting a disruption.

“We see on film how dangerous they are,” Sitake said Monday. “A lot of talent. … They are playing really good football right now.”

Kansas’ record includes a 23-17 loss at Illinois, a 23-20 loss to UNLV, a 32-28 loss at West Virginia, a 35-31 loss at Arizona State and a 29- 27 in nationally ranked Kansas State. . The Jayhawks could easily be 6-3 or better.

“We respect all of our opponents the same, regardless of their record,” BYU safety Tanner Wall said. “It was an eye-opener to see them beat a respectable team like Iowa State the way they did. … They’ve lost a lot of one-possession games. They’ve been in every game. Their attack scores a lot of points. So it will be a great battle.”

Kansas brings one of the best quarterbacks, Jalon Daniels, and two of the best running backs, Devin Neal and Daniel Hishaw, that the BYU defense will face all season. The Jayhawks are averaging 421 yards per game, 42nd best in the country. They rank No. 4 in third-down conversion rate (51.8%).

Kansas’ offensive coordinator is former BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who was nearly hired as BYU’s offensive line coach last winter after losing his job at Baylor.

“Their offense is very creative. They have great players. We faced them, they faced us,” said BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill. “I think they’ll be familiar with our plan and we’ll be familiar with a lot of the things they’re doing. It will come down to the execution.”

With the expected cold weather potentially having a neutralizing effect, the Cougars could find themselves in a shootout after the win over Utah, which could leave them with an emotional hangover if they’re not careful.

Kansas’ defense has been mostly mediocre, although that wasn’t the case last year when the Jayhawks used two defensive scores (one came on BYU’s first possession) in the 38-27 win over BYU in Lawrence.

“A year ago they were really after us. Their secondary is really good. They’re running their stuff. They are an athletic team,” said BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick. “It seems like every week they have a little wrinkle for someone you’re not ready for yet. On Saturday we will get something that we have not seen yet this year, and they are also very good at what they do every week.”

BYU led 17-14 at halftime last year and had held the Jayhawks to 139 yards in the first 30 minutes before faltering in the second half. The Cougars’ leading tackler Ben Bywater suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter that would end his college football career.

Oregon transfer Harrison Taggart came in for Bywater and is now a mainstay on the BYU defense. And he’s looking for a little revenge.

“They gave us that Big 12 awakening, which I think gives our team a little boost,” Taggart said. “So yeah, I personally have a little chip on my shoulder.”

Hill and Roderick both mentioned this week how great of a home field advantage the Utah crowd gave the Utes last week, and would like to see the LES crowd perform again like it has in the first four home games. BYU is 14-2 in its last 16 home games.

“Home field advantage is huge for us, and the fact that we’re at LaVell Edwards Stadium and just the way our crowd is, and how rowdy it gets, and just the advantage they give us is big,” Hill said. “We’re still going to have to go out there and make plays. When the ball is kicked off, it’s a football match again. But being at home is a great advantage for us. We need all the fans and they need to show up loud and crazy.”